Found Deceased CO - Suzanne Morphew, 49, did not return from bike ride, Chaffee County, 10 May 2020 #20

[scapa]

BBM:

Nor is SM able to leave.

He's blocking her means of egress.

That snapshot in time may indeed turn out to be a very symbolic representation of their relationship.

JMO.

Trying to follow but a bit confused as to the image in question given the spread of posts. Are we talking about the snap in this CrimeOnline article?

YouTuber who ‘secretly’ recorded video of Barry Morphew discussing wife’s disappearance says he believes Suzanne Morphew’s husband knew the camera was on

If so, then while I agree that this role of BM-as-gatekeeper may have been part of their relationship, as a longtime student of John Berger's Ways of Seeing, I find that my eye is drawn more to the background figure of SM, smiling and confident, looking straight at the camera, absolutely in command of her body and her responses -- whether or not the moment is one of welcome or unwelcome surprise, interruption of a private moment, etc. Actually, of the photos I've seen of her, she is generally looking highly self-possessed, always composed, unselfconscious, in control of the gaze of whomever the viewer may be. She dominates the frame, charismatically, like a veteran actor or performer, not a downtrodden spouse -- and, speaking as a veteran actor and performer, that isn't easy to fake.

BM, on the other hand, is frequently closer to the edge of the photo, looking relatively more self-conscious, certainly less easy in his skin. In photos of them together it is she who takes over the frame, IMO. This of course is purely IMO, and may have absolutely nothing to do with the case at hand. But I suspect that their relationship, like that of many longterm couples, is likely to have contained a complex power dynamic that ebbed and flowed, publicly and privately, without the static centres or silos we sometimes (myself included) project onto the likely victim of a crime.

One recent eye-opener for me in this respect was the Maddie Bell case. For those of you who've made it through her videos in which she tells her story, her self-representation is a pretty substantial counter to the MB portrait built up through the media/family narratives -- not judging in any way, just an interesting case in point, IMO, where the divergent views actually help to explain the particulars of the story.

 

[Goldenseal]

RSBBM

Yes that’s a great analogy! I think most of us are at least in agreement about the playbook but could it be that they haven’t arrested BM yet because one of the plays involves other suspect(s)? Maybe BM is acting so strange because he suspected who took Suzanne and why so he told LE and their investigation has led to a much bigger more complicated scenario? I’m not saying I believe that is what happened just speculating as we wait this out. And even if someone else did this BM could still be an accomplice or unwitting participant. But one reason I’m leaving tge possibility open of another suspect is because it would explain why BM has not been arrested and the FBI is involved in Indiana.

Maybe it’s bigger than BM...maybe he was involved in something shady but not murder? Just like OP said awhile back...BM could still be a control freak with a bad temper and other character flaws but still not be a murderer. We don’t have to like him or his behavior towards Suzanne to be open to another possibility. Maybe someone else also doesn’t like BM and took Suzanne for a reason we don’t yet understand and made it look like BM did it since there have been so many highly publicized husband kills wife murders. Maybe BM was set up? The kidnapper or probably, unfortunately by now, killer accomplishes two goals - gets whatever the motive was for Suzanne disappearing and frames BM for it. The killer might have thought it would remain local and only be investigated by the CCSO. What if they know each other and the killer was hoping BM’s personality and behavior would contribute to making him look guilty?

Why? I was trying to think of what possible purpose there would be for killing a seemingly kind and beautiful soul inside & out, a mother, sister, daughter, Christian...a strong woman who has survived cancer twice? What did they want that they could only get if Suzanne disappeared? Does it go back to the root of all evil...greed & money? Maybe in some other currency or future form of profit...something valuable that could be used for financial gain? Like what then? What about land or property? SM’s rights to something? What could be gained by something formerly prevented by SM? Is there some roadblock cleared of SM is gone? Could it be revenge for something or a threat to BM made good on to scare BM into doing something or giving them something or keeping something secret? Could the M’s have moved to get away from something they wanted no part of?

These are all questions that would take a long time to investigate and obtain enough evidence for arrest and conviction. I don’t know if I am remembering this correctly and I have just spent way too much time searching Just now so maybe someone else remembers and reference it but I could have sworn someone from LE (don’t think it was Sheriff Spezze but might be wrong) said something to the effect of this case might turn out to be bigger or more than we expected?

It could still be as simple as BN killed his wife accidentally in a rage and had to come up with a poorly planned alibi and staged bike ride or this was his lame plan and he did it on purpose. I understand now that premeditation can only take a minute so even a crime of passion can be premeditated but I by on purpose I meant maybe he had been planning to kill her and was just waiting for the right opportunity. And like you said LE is taking all the time they need to prove it and hoping that her body will be found. He or Suzanne or both could have been checked out of their marriage for awhile and considering divorce. BM could have thought she was going to die from cancer and was already planning for a future without her with the expectation he would inherit her assets and receive a large life insurance benefit. Then she survived and he didn’t plan on sharing everything. Those are just my thoughts today as we wait...as always MOO.

An excellent summary of practically everything that might have gone on, IMO.

Right now, the only thing we can speculate on is whether BM did it or not, since LE is (rightfully, IMO) keeping a tight lid on things. We have so few known facts that we can barely speculate on anything, but frankly that's the intellectual exercise that we all admittedly enjoy. If a few more facts enter the conversation, we can run with them and maybe we'll be onto another scenario.

 

[DizzyB]

Or it could just be a coincidentally timed photo that means absolutely nothing. Trust me, I am not in BM's camp at all, but not everything means anything.

I agree. It’s an interesting photo that I am reading nothing into (kinda creepy and I never would have said “that’s a really good photo”). I just wonder if the media is holding the photo back-

If I were an editor, I would save that photo for a big story on the arrest. Make it front and center.

 

[Truecolors]

Just jumping off your post on how fascinating it is that different people look at a picture, one picture, taken in about 1/60 of a second, and see all kinds of things--viewers imbue the people in the photo with emotions and thoughts and meaning and craft stories about them based on what the viewer perceives, how the viewer feels, what they imagine, and it's all created by the individual looking at the photo with no info about what was actually happening in the photo, in reality.

It's an interesting psychological test, not too dissimilar to a Rorschach Ink Blot Test, but exactly like a Thematic Apperception Test. It actually tells a lot about the viewer and their thinking, as well as mental and emotional processes.

IMO

100% agree!

Still, this photo is qualitatively different from other photos posted. It’s fair to analyze how and why, IMO. And it could provide insight. It’s dramatic, if nothing else. Not everyone chooses to post such a dramatic photo, which, btw, would probably be a lot less dramatic if in color rather than b/w.

Maybe it was someone’s assignment for photography class?

MOO

 

[ethereal*22]

@Madeleine74 - I enjoy reading your posts. IMHO, you bring a fascinating dynamic here.

Have you shared your background? Psychology/Psychiatry...? Profiling...? I get strong vibes - good perspective and balance from your posts- enjoy the knowledge/ challenge you present without conflict. Well done, moo.

 

[al66pine]

From my earlier post: Evidence of Severe Injury or Death, but short of body recovery?
"... ??? What other evd/clues would support injury/death (at home?), caused by husband (or other?)--- that LE could have discovered so quickly?..."

Injury/death at another known person’s hand? Be it a relative, a relationship, an ex, a husband’s ex, someone in her orbit. Almost 30% chance.

@Charlot123 bbm Thx for your response, and yes, possible. And in my earlier post, I said "caused by husband (or other) --- that LE could have discovered so quickly?" bbm added now.

Sooooooo, if LE discovered a significant clue in their home or property, still could implicate someone other than husband. Or someone in addition to husband. IDK.

 

[Goldenseal]

Trying to follow but a bit confused as to the image in question given the spread of posts. Are we talking about the snap in this CrimeOnline article?

YouTuber who ‘secretly’ recorded video of Barry Morphew discussing wife’s disappearance says he believes Suzanne Morphew’s husband knew the camera was on

If so, then while I agree that this role of BM-as-gatekeeper may have been part of their relationship, as a longtime student of John Berger's Ways of Seeing, I find that my eye is drawn more to the background figure of SM, smiling and confident, looking straight at the camera, absolutely in command of her body and her responses -- whether or not the moment is one of welcome or unwelcome surprise, interruption of a private moment, etc. Actually, of the photos I've seen of her, she is generally looking highly self-possessed, always composed, unselfconscious, in control of the gaze of whomever the viewer may be. She dominates the frame, charismatically, like a veteran actor or performer, not a downtrodden spouse -- and, speaking as a veteran actor and performer, that isn't easy to fake.

BM, on the other hand, is frequently closer to the edge of the photo, looking relatively more self-conscious, certainly less easy in his skin. In photos of them together it is she who takes over the frame, IMO. This of course is purely IMO, and may have absolutely nothing to do with the case at hand. But I suspect that their relationship, like that of many longterm couples, is likely to have contained a complex power dynamic that ebbed and flowed, publicly and privately, without the static centres or silos we sometimes (myself included) project onto the likely victim of a crime.

One recent eye-opener for me in this respect was the Maddie Bell case. For those of you who've made it through her videos in which she tells her story, her self-representation is a pretty substantial counter to the MB portrait built up through the media/family narratives -- not judging in any way, just an interesting case in point, IMO, where the divergent views actually help to explain the particulars of the story.

I agree with your assessment of the photo, as far as you went. (I'm going to read Ways of Seeing, thx for the reference!!)

Sometimes in the sort of relationship BM and SM seem to have been in (conservative Christian, man heads the household, man is the protector), the woman is actually much stronger, intuitive, protective and resilient than the man. In fact, I suspect that internally weak men choose such spouses to shore up their lack and 'do the dirty work,' so to speak. When the s**t hits the fan, the man looks to her for cleanup and fixup. When her strength is applied to, for example, leaving a marriage after two bouts of cancer and an internal decision to divorce, the weaker man often does explode with fear and rage, because his only strength is leaving. Just MOO. Not saying it applies here, but BM has always seemed like a paper tiger to me.

 

[abstr]

Just jumping off your post on how fascinating it is that different people look at a picture, one picture, taken in about 1/60 of a second, and see all kinds of things--viewers imbue the people in the photo with emotions and thoughts and meaning and craft stories about them based on what the viewer perceives, how the viewer feels, what they imagine, and it's all created by the individual looking at the photo with no info about what was actually happening in the photo, in reality.

It's an interesting psychological test, not too dissimilar to a Rorschach Ink Blot Test, but exactly like a Thematic Apperception Test. It actually tells a lot about the viewer and their thinking, as well as the viewer's mental and emotional processes.

IMO

Great post & 100% agree with you!

 

[Madeleine74]

@Madeleine74 - I enjoy reading your posts. IMHO, you bring a fascinating dynamic here.

Have you shared your background? Psychology/Psychiatry...? Profiling...? I get strong vibes - good perspective and balance from your posts- enjoy the knowledge/ challenge you present without conflict. Well done, moo.

Ha, thanks. Biz corporate background, developing software products, worked with lots of different personality types. I did study psychology in college though it wasn't my major. I've been following true crime cases since '94, with some breaks in between.

 

[Minordetails]

IMO the motel room photo is irrelevant.

What is relevant is this statement, released July 9, 2020 by the Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office.

“This case remains very active, as more than a dozen investigators are aggressively working this case on a daily basis,” said Chaffee County Sheriff John Spezze. “And until we determine what happened to Suzanne, we can’t discount any scenario or formally eliminate anyone from suspicion.”

 

[Bethlamb16]

While we are waiting what other cases are you all following?

Kyron Horman is my top case and I wish we knew more about that. I feel like there is a lot we don't know on that one too I have followed it since the beginning.

 

[Goldenseal]

Just jumping off your post on how fascinating it is that different people look at a picture, one picture, taken in about 1/60 of a second, and see all kinds of things--viewers imbue the people in the photo with emotions and thoughts and meaning and craft stories about them based on what the viewer perceives, how the viewer feels, what they imagine, and it's all created by the individual looking at the photo with no info about what was actually happening in the photo, in reality.

It's an interesting psychological test, not too dissimilar to a Rorschach Ink Blot Test, but exactly like a Thematic Apperception Test. It actually tells a lot about the viewer and their thinking, as well as the viewer's mental and emotional processes.

IMO

Yes, it is very interesting! If I had never read about this case or knew these people, the picture would have gotten an entirely different assessment from me.

If I had known nothing: a man and a woman in a hotel room -- someone knocks on the door and takes a pic. Man is slightly irritated (the face) and confrontational (the arms), the woman is glad to see who it is. Guess? A good friend or one of their children is playing with them.

After I know a few facts: BM is easily irritated and even angry (work physical dispute; seems irritated at any ppl contact, even with LE and his customers; described as 'standoffish' and 'controlling' by relatives) and is not practiced at keeping a normal face in normal situations (that could have been the concierge knocking on the door, and he's got his back up already).

SM is reportedly a (universally positive person in her social interactions; open and unafraid with social interaction; a beloved friend and schoolteacher; a warrior who beat cancer twice) and so she has her usual 'social' face on to counteract BM's general confrontational stance.

 

[skyvoyager]

Chaffee County Sheriff John Spezze. “And until we determine what happened to Suzanne, we can’t discount any scenario or formally eliminate anyone from suspicion.”

yet he did formally eliminate the property owner of the construction site in Salida that they dug up for 3 days.....

 

[darring21]

Just jumping off your post on how fascinating it is that different people look at a picture, one picture, taken in about 1/60 of a second, and see all kinds of things--viewers imbue the people in the photo with emotions and thoughts and meaning and craft stories about them based on what the viewer perceives, how the viewer feels, what they imagine, and it's all created by the individual looking at the photo with no info about what was actually happening in the photo, in reality.

It's an interesting psychological test, not too dissimilar to a Rorschach Ink Blot Test, but exactly like a Thematic Apperception Test. It actually tells a lot about the viewer and their thinking, as well as the viewer's mental and emotional processes.

IMO

Exactly. Tells you more about the poster than anything.

 

[Fireflize]

yet he did formally eliminate the property owner of the construction site in Salida that they dug up for 3 days.....

Welcome to Websleuths , skyvoyager.

 

[Fireflize]

Exactly. Tells you more about the poster than anything.

You're right, ha.
Well I think giving our impressions of the photo has been an interesting way to pass the time, as we wait...

 

[RumorMonger]

Why would the husband of a missing woman turn possible media attention away?

Oh, that's right.

"Oh, that's right" = because LE supposedly told everyone to be quiet?
Why is it so honorable that her kids, her brother, her nephew, her friends ... basically everyone that ever knew SM are turning away media attention but its sinister that her husband is doing so? That judgment strikes me as an odd double standard. IMO

 

[Minordetails]

“This case remains very active, as more than a dozen investigators are aggressively working this case on a daily basis,” said Chaffee County Sheriff John Spezze. “And until we determine what happened to Suzanne, we can’t discount any scenario or formally eliminate anyone from suspicion.”

The Sheriff’s Department would do well to update this statement every 2 weeks.
MOO

 

[ethereal*22]

Exactly. Tells you more about the poster than anything.

Yes please! I would love my TAT score/ analysis of the SM/BM photo, STAT!! Lol! Although it’s now been deemed irrelevant...one minute you’re in, the next you’re out around here...C’est la vie!!!

 

[Dave F.]

Is this what you have been trying to get at @Dave F. ?

No