Found Deceased CO - Suzanne Morphew, 49, did not return from bike ride, Chaffee County, 10 May 2020 #22

[Barry]

I did some thinking on the family silence, with regards to the M's family in IN. I had a thought, but I think it's loose coupling and indeed might be too contrived. However, I'll share it.

We (at least me), know very little about the church that the M's were involved with in IN, and whether the entire family out there are members. It's an extreme example, but if they were Amish (say), would we be surprised by the silence? What I'm wondering is maybe this is a situation where "you don't talk outside the church".

All MOO. This opinion and a quarter might get you a cup of coffee.

 

[Fireflize]

RBBM
I wish it were his only option. LE have broad shoulders and care little about how BM perceives them. What really bothers me is how he manipulates others to cast a shadow on innocent people on SM. He may not be the sharpest “tool” in the shed, but he is most certainly cunning. JMHO

Cunning,yes. Well noted. He is not at all hesitant to use others without regard for the toll it takes. I feel badly for the nephew. I don't think he is the only one being used. Anyone close will be vulnerable too.

I feel this has been his modus operandi throughout life. Moo

 

[Cindizzi]

She’s never been on that list. We discussed this a while back. IIRC, the Sheriff is the one to add her to that list if he deems it necessary.

Yes, back on July 7, reporter with Denver 7 addressed it :

https://twitter.com/stephaniebutzer/status/1280651387785764865?s=21

Here’s what the FBI told me regarding this question: This is a local investigation, not a federal one, so #SuzanneMorphew is not listed on FBI's missing persons page (even though FBI is assisting). The FBI will only post a missing person if requested by local authorities. (1/3)

(2/3) As of now, local authorities have not requested to have #SuzanneMorphew put on the FBI’s missing persons list. That doesn’t mean it won’t happen in the future. The FBI says there’s no specific reasoning why or malicious intent behind this — it’s an administrative thing.

(3/3) According to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, #SuzanneMorphew remains a missing person in Colorado and other national databases.

 

[rainbowshummingbird]

Cunning,yes. Well noted. He is not at all hesitant to use others without regard for the toll it takes. I feel badly for the nephew. I don't think he is the only one being used. Anyone close will be vulnerable too.

I feel this has been his modus operandi throughout life. Moo

BM’s audacity to complain about LE’s treatment of the bike, when he himself likely planted it there in the first place, is pretty ridiculous.

IMO

 

[MsBetsy]

I can honestly say in all my years of following true crime cases, today is the first time I'm seeing this.
Anyone else ever hear of a detective declaring a case "cold" after a week?

I haven't. I've always understood a case might be considered cold when all leads have been exhausted. And even then they often start again from the beginning, sometimes with a new investigative team. That may be why they rarely close cases like this. You never know when there will be new evidence. Imo

 

[Madeleine74]

How often do LE officials need to reassure people that they are working the case, the case is not cold, and they are following up on all leads before that will be believed? Daily?

It appears almost no amount will assuage; if LE isn't constantly in touch with the community and the media, if they aren't disclosing details of their investigation, it must mean nothing is happening, there's no evidence, they don't know what they're doing, or they are having to start over again. "LE investigation is supposed to be like an episode of CSI!!11!"

 

[Fireflize]

RBBM
I wish it were his only option. LE have broad shoulders and care little about how BM perceives them. What really bothers me is how he manipulates others to cast a shadow on innocent people on SM. He may not be the sharpest “tool” in the shed, but he is most certainly cunning. JMHO

Cunning,yes. Well noted. He is not at all hesitant to use others without regard for the toll it takes. I feel badly for the nephew. I don't think he is the only one being used. Anyone close will be vulnerable too.

I feel this has been his modus operandi throughout life. Moo

BM’s audacity to complain about LE’s treatment of the bike when he himself likely planted it there in the first place is pretty ridiculous.

IMO

JMO. BM is spinning doubt about the investigation because he sees LE as his adversary. He aims to convince those close, and the public as well, that they can't trust the evidence against him.
However, a profiler will read him like a large print book. Moo

 

[10ofRods]

Just a note: A murder defense is 100-200k, doubt he would be assigned a public defender. They are provided for people that would not be able to afford a defense, making a conviction virtually meaningless. (Indiana still call them pauper defenders.)

Personally, and this is just a hunch, I don't think Barry has a lot of liquid assets. I think his money is largely on paper and is a juggling act. The foundation (Suzanne's project) turned out to have far less than originally reported.

If BM is upside down on any of those properties and can't work, I think he may qualify for a PD.

OTOH, I suppose he could try and use his Guardianship of Suzanne (in Indiana though) to try and sell the Colorado properties (one of which he's put money into, but is a long way from being livable and the other of which was recently purchased and way at the high end of the property market - he'd have to sell and cash out the equity, which...well...I do wonder how much that would be).

We have no idea how much BM owes or to whom. But my own theory is that this is a family very keen on having a certain lifestyle, without the visible means of acquiring it. IIRC, Suzanne quit teaching middle school years before the move, so apparently the landscaping businesses in Indiana were their livelihood and it's not clear how much landscaping work BM was finding in Salida.

I'll believe he had a big job in Denver when I see some evidence for it, but it has occurred to me that pretending to have said job (on his second alibi) would be a form of promotion for his own business and IME, it's not uncommon for contractors who are trying to get business to use every opportunity to get the word out that they're busy and employed, it becomes second nature to some.

 

[10ofRods]

It's been 76 days, far beyond world record sluggishness for LE checking of a very simple alibi. The result? Zip. Zilch, Nada. IMO

It would seem that the alibi didn't check out. If BM had either of his alibis check out and could prove he was in Denver at the time Suzanne went missing, he'd have been cleared.

Of course, it does seem that LE thinks even BM's information about when he last saw Suzanne may be suspect. Because either he did or didn't go to Denver to set up a job that day (doubtful there was any volunteer fireman related training, right?)

It would be very hard to clear someone if LE didn't know when the person went missing, exactly - but if LE has information that Suzanne was missing for any period of time longer than "since the morning of May 10), it would be hard to clear BM using the Denver alibi.

And that would put Barry at two strikes, in terms of timeline building (if he actually didn't have a job in Denver/didn't go to Denver and no one had been able to get in touch with Suzanne from, say, Saturday).

If that's the case, not surprising they haven't cleared him.

 

[Barry]

How often do LE officials need to reassure people that they are working the case, the case is not cold, and they are following up on all leads before that will be believed? Daily?

It appears almost no amount will assuage; if LE isn't constantly in touch with the community and the media, if they aren't disclosing details of their investigation, it must mean nothing is happening, there's no evidence, they don't know what they're doing, or they are having to start over again. "LE investigation is supposed to be like an episode of CSI!!11!"

IMO, I think LE is focused on working on the case. I don't think they're worried about what people think. We do not know where they are at, but there's no doubt in my mind they are working on it. I'd bet they are working on it today (Sunday). They won't quit until this is resolved.

 

[Barry]

Regardless of if BM's alibi in Denver checked out or not, it doesn't come anywhere close to clearing him. Without knowing the last time anyone had verifiable contact with SM, it only shows where he was at on Sunday. MOO.

 

[Dave F.]

How many others are you looking at, DaveF?

You ask a fair question, but I can't give you a fair answer. My guess is that LE has a very large investigation going, involving several local, state and federal investigative agencies and targeting several individuals for inclusion / exclusion. I have seen some information in social media and done some private checking which encourages me that all of the things we have been discussing in this thread (immediate and intense multiple searches, strict information clampdown, repeated returns to the presumed area of the crime, rapidly inclusion of state and federal resources, constant stressing of the need for tips and security video) can indicate a much larger investigation than is being discussed.
Of course, I have a theory of my own. If it turns out to be wrong, I'll be the first to admit it. At this point, I sincerely believe that some people in MSM have not reported everything they have uncovered so far, and have to assume there is a reason for that. Perhaps they do not wish to interfere in an investigation. In the meantime, I have my bowl of popcorn and cold beverage ready. The prelims have frankly been a little boring, but the teasers for the main event have me definitely interested.
IMO

 

[Madeleine74]

IMO, I think LE is focused on working on the case. I don't think they're worried about what people think. We do not know where they are at, but there's no doubt in my mind they are working on it. I'd bet they are working on it today (Sunday). They won't quit until this is resolved.

Exactly! They are working the case, and they said they are working it steadily. They're not going to give up.

 

[Error505]

Yes, back on July 7, reporter with Denver 7 addressed it :

https://twitter.com/stephaniebutzer/status/1280651387785764865?s=21

Here’s what the FBI told me regarding this question: This is a local investigation, not a federal one, so #SuzanneMorphew is not listed on FBI's missing persons page (even though FBI is assisting). The FBI will only post a missing person if requested by local authorities. (1/3)

(2/3) As of now, local authorities have not requested to have #SuzanneMorphew put on the FBI’s missing persons list. That doesn’t mean it won’t happen in the future. The FBI says there’s no specific reasoning why or malicious intent behind this — it’s an administrative thing.

(3/3) According to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, #SuzanneMorphew remains a missing person in Colorado and other national databases.

Thank you so very much @cindizzle Sincerely appreciate your detailed response!

 

[Minordetails]

If this case were going cold, I believed we’d be seeing a lot more public addresses from SM’s family in the media, begging for information from anyone who’s seen SM. I believe they have been reassured by LE that there is a POI and plenty of evidence.

MOO

There are interesting family dynamics involved with daughters their dad. I don’t believe the family has been reassured that there is a POI and plenty of evidence. JMO

I don’t think LE is showing any of their cards to anyone.
JMO

There is? Can you explain?

I was referring to the unverified rumour that the daughters are living with their dad. I find it difficult to believe that the daughters have been told by LE that LE knows who killed their mother and they have plenty of evidence.
JMO

 

[Minordetails]

It would seem that the alibi didn't check out. If BM had either of his alibis check out and could prove he was in Denver at the time Suzanne went missing, he'd have been cleared.

Of course, it does seem that LE thinks even BM's information about when he last saw Suzanne may be suspect. Because either he did or didn't go to Denver to set up a job that day (doubtful there was any volunteer fireman related training, right?)

It would be very hard to clear someone if LE didn't know when the person went missing, exactly - but if LE has information that Suzanne was missing for any period of time longer than "since the morning of May 10), it would be hard to clear BM using the Denver alibi.

And that would put Barry at two strikes, in terms of timeline building (if he actually didn't have a job in Denver/didn't go to Denver and no one had been able to get in touch with Suzanne from, say, Saturday).

If that's the case, not surprising they haven't cleared him.

BM can have an airtight alibi and still be guilty of murder.

 

[Boxer]

Cunning,yes. Well noted. He is not at all hesitant to use others without regard for the toll it takes. I feel badly for the nephew. I don't think he is the only one being used. Anyone close will be vulnerable too.

I feel this has been his modus operandi throughout life. Moo


JMO. BM is spinning doubt about the investigation because he sees LE as his adversary. He aims to convince those close, and the public as well, that they can't trust the evidence against him.
However, a profiler will read him like a large print book. Moo

Still, if there were a lot of sheriff and other cars parked along the side of the road at the bicycle point and barehanded recovery of the bike from under the bridge there is procedural error.

 

[KellyConQueso]

I have no idea whether BM is an introvert or extrovert but there is a lot of misunderstanding in this thread about what one is.

The easiest way to describe it for me (a classic introvert) is how my "social" battery gets charged. For an introvert, the social battery gets charged by spending time alone (perhaps reading Websleuths!). For an extrovert, the battery is charged by engaging with others. So, if I spend the weekend at the lake with a bunch of friends and strangers, by Sunday evening, my battery is pretty much depleted and I'm very ready to spend some time alone. But that's really the only difference. When my battery is charged, I consider myself fairly normal in a social sense.

 

[Truecolors]

There are interesting family dynamics involved with daughters their dad. I don’t believe the family has been reassured that there is a POI and plenty of evidence. JMO

I don’t think LE is showing any of their cards to anyone.
JMO

I was referring to the unverified rumour that the daughters are living with their dad. I find it difficult to believe that the daughters have been told by LE that LE knows who killed their mother and they have plenty of evidence.
JMO

By SM’s family, I meant her family in IN. There was a quote from them about appreciating LE’s efforts and thinking of SM every day. I made some inferences from that about their interactions with LE.

 

[Minordetails]

Which one is it?
1) LE has shared with SM’s family that they have evidence to suggest SM is deceased.
2) LE has shared with SM’s family that it is highly unlikely SM is still alive
3) SM’s family has arrived at their own conclusions and no longer believe SM to be alive