Found Deceased CO - Suzanne Morphew, 49, did not return from bike ride, Chaffee County, 10 May 2020 #24

[jakat]

I'd like to know if the cars belonged to the Morphews and if the Morphews normally parked inside the garage. The photos of the Morphew property show a 3-car garage, but people often park outside a garage if the garage is used for other purposes (workshop, art studio).

BM could have used the 3 car garage for his landscaping, excavating, earth moving equipment so might have not been any room for cars.

MOO

 

[oviedo]

I think because BM, as a landscaper, had access to a lot of machinery that a regular, (MOO theory), wife killer wouldn’t. He also had one of those diggie thingies at his disposal. Besides checking motive, LE needs to investigate all possible means.

By now they would have examined his equipment right ? I’m also considering this was planned ... whereas before I thought he lost his temper had it was a rage killing - too many things are lining up now - I can just see the Dateline/48 hours now
JMO

 

[DizzyB]

The walls are closing in. The PE guys have sources now. Although if I was the texting friend, I would be concerned that BM knows who I am. He might try to contact her to once again, explain what really happened according to him. I hope the whispers get louder and tips really roll in now.

 

[Lilypad13]

Maybe when the neighbor went to check and saw the cars, she reported to Barry that that it looked like she was home since there were cars in the driveway. He then suggested she check the garage for her bike, and when that was missing the story of her going on the bike ride began. The cars may have belonged to his workers and they all went in one car, but the neighbor may not have known that.

Has BM said he took workers with him on MD?!

 

[DearPrudence]

I think because BM, as a landscaper, had access to a lot of machinery that a regular, (MOO theory), wife killer wouldn’t. He also had one of those diggie thingies at his disposal. Besides checking motive, LE needs to investigate all possible means.

Speculation and IMO: Possibly used his diggie thing and other equipment to divert creek water while digging 4ft hole in creek bed and then releasing creek water after body is safely in the 4ft hole.

 

[MsBetsy]

Not completely convinced it wasn't pre planned. Not just yet. MOO.

Well, one thing we now know is that whatever happened to Suzanne must have begun mid-evening on Saturday. Her friend was texting her from mid- afternoon to mid-evening when it abruptly stopped. I'm thinking that would be around 9:00 pm? Do we know if Barry was working on Saturday? I wonder when he normally gets home from work.

It would be great if Barry accepted PE's invitation to go on the show to answer some of these questions. He just might be able to clear some things up.

 

[MassGuy]

By now they would have examined his equipment right ? I’m also considering this was planned ... whereas before I thought he lost his temper had it was a rage killing - too many things are lining up now - I can just see the Dateline/48 hours now
JMO

See, I’m actually more committed to my belief that this was not premeditated.

He left himself mere hours to work with. In that time he had to clean up, dump her body, stage the bike, and establish an alibi.

I think something happened during her text conversation with her friend, perhaps a major argument.

 

[Backstroke10]

Has BM said he took workers with him on MD?!

No. It was speculation in reference to the two cars parked at the residence. MOO

 

[Lilypad13]

I believe something happened to SM on Saturday evening and it was not planned to require a hired hitman.

I don't think BM had any plans to trek to Denver on Sunday or work on Sunday until his actions on Saturday evening forced him into it.

I was thinking the same thing...that he made up the story that he talked to Suzanne about going to Denver on Sunday. If it was planned and agreed upon by SM then wouldn’t either SM or BM tell their daughters dad wasn’t going to be home on MD? If the girls didn’t know he was going to Denver on Sunday until they called him after they couldn’t reach their mom - that’s another red flag.

 

[Hatfield]

Yes premeditation crossed my mind too. Girls away from a planned camping trip. A jobsite that was instructed to pour concrete 1 or 2 days after mothers day. It all feels to convenient. Jmo

Premeditation is a possibility with all those coincidences. And add in the prompt sale of the property in Indiana that required a Guardianship to be established before it could go through.

Even if the initial setup of the sale had her signature somewhere, she may have been having second thoughts and decided she did not want to sell it.

So many coincidences in this case and I dont like coincidences when they start to stack up.
JMO

 

[MsBetsy]

Has BM said he took workers with him on MD?!

No, he didn't say that. The cars probably belonged to Suzanne and one of the daughters, but we don't know for sure. As I said before, I think the cars were only brought up as part of the reason the bike story evolved. I don't think PE felt the cars alone were a red flag.

 

[Lilypad13]

See, I’m actually more committed to my belief that this was not premeditated.

He left himself mere hours to work with. In that time he had to clean up, dump her body, stage the bike, and establish an alibi.

I think something happened during her text conversation with her friend, perhaps a major argument.

And there may be much more that her bf told LE such as BM’s being a jerk or we’ve been fighting today over .... whatever it was. I think some husbands would be shocked at just how much women confide in their best friends.

 

[MassGuy]

For those of you who either have no attention span (like me), or missed last night’s “Profiling Evil” broadcast, here’s their 26 minute highlight version. This is not to be confused with Barry’s 26 second appeal.

@Warwick7 credit

 

[LietKynes]

I wonder if BM came up behind her and struck a devastating blow to her head while she sat, say in the living room. Maybe he did not realize she was texting at the time. After he hit her he saw the phone and realized she had been in a text conversation. He then tried to finish up the text. The friend realized right away something was off.
Wild guess on my part. I always try to plug in what we learn to a plausible scenario.

Speculation :
That sounds extremely plausible and along the lines of what I am suspecting might have happened.
Ugh.

 

[Synergizer Bunny]

I was kind of thinking the same thing. I had this picture in my mind of him coming up behind her as she sat in one of those big living room chairs texting with her friend. And then he .........

I still am somewhat inclined to think that the murder may have been planned. He caught her off guard while she was preoccupied with texting. I envision something similar to Janet Abaroa's murder where she was at the computer when attacked (by her husband).

Maybe, SM told BM that she was not happy in CO and was moving back home to IN with or without him. He didn't want to go and needed her finances to stay afloat.

He was losing control and wasn't happy about that. BM seems like the type of person who was used to being the one in control.

Just a thought.

 

[mickey2942]

I don't know much about this case, but I am hesitant to rush to judgement about the victim's family members. There are predators out there. And they do strike at random against women.

Which is a huge issue for me with hiking, trail riding, running alone. I hate that feeling. It lurks in the back of my mind, when I am out, trying to enjoy peace and quiet out with nature.

 

[Lilypad13]

Yes, the girls may have travelled in a friends car. If Suzanne's car was in the driveway that would explain why the neighbor thought she was home. I doubt it was she who suggested SM was on a bike ride.

Don’t they have a 3 car garage? I would think SM parked her car in the garage. Especially with that much woods around their home. Or do squirrels and critters not eat car wiring in Co? Maybe it’s a southern critter thing but my ForeRunner got $3,000 damage from squirrels getting under the hood at night and having a party apparently. I never leave it out in the driveway at night anymore. But IF she was still alive on Sunday morning and went to church (I think we’ve established church was online due to Covid) or ran an errand of some kind she may have just left her car out after that. Or what if someone used her own car to transport her body somewhere instead of his truck? I hope LE had cadaver dogs check inside all the vehicles that were there. I was guessing the two cars might also be the daughter’s and they rode with a group to camp or they took one of their cars and the other car might be a 2nd vehicle of BM’s? I don’t think a hit man would park at the house and it didn’t sound like BM took a worker(s) with him to Denver. I would really like to know if he did take a worker or someone with him to Denver because that means her body would not have been taken towards Denver and may be not be far from their home. Unless that other person or worker was helping him dispose of her body? My head is spinning with many possibilities but all involve BM now. IMO

 

[TIGER0822]

I summarized the first 45 minutes of PE live tonight and at the time, the cars in the driveway translating to the birth of the bike ride were unclear then, and still confusing the second time listened.

The host confirms that according to the family member, the two vehicles in the driveway were not BM's (or Morphew household). Surely the neighbor knows which vehicles belong, right?

I'm wondering if visiting vehicles was meant to be the birth of SM biking with visitors. I really don't know. I just think the host wanted to convey that the according to the family member, the vehicles present in the driveway did not belong to the Morphew's. MOO

That is some what interesting. My first thought was that Barrys crew was traveling together, but BM went down to the job site to prepare for the next day. Perhaps the daughters friends went on the camping trip with them and they car pooled? There could be a lot of innocent reasons. I think if they were possibly connected to the crime LE would have put out had a high alert out for the vehicles.

 

[Cindizzi]

I keep imagining BM seeing a text message he didn’t like. Maybe Suzanne wanted to attend the wedding in IN and that was a source of conflict.

I believe Chris said SM was definitely going to attend/and or participate in the wedding (dependent on Covid ). By Covid, I think he meant travel restrictions or if the wedding might have to be postponed. JMO
June is a very popular month for weddings, I wonder if it was coming up that quickly.

 

[Lilypad13]

Well, there's a legal difference between accomplice liability for assisting in an actual crime (principal) versus liability for aiding a person after the commission of a crime (accessory after the fact). If a person assists in planning & carrying out a crime, then -- yes -- one is equally culpable as the perpetrator. This is why a get-away driver is as culpable as the actual bank robber.

The punishment for an accessory after the fact varies from state to state. The feds can punish such an accessory with a sentence up to half of what a principal could receive. 18 U.S. Code § 3. Here in Indiana, the level of punishment that an accessory after the fact may receive varies depending on the level of crime of the principals, and -- interestingly -- provides that parents, children, and spouses cannot be charged with assisting a criminal. Ind. Code § 35-44.1-2-5.

If a person who helped confessed and told LE where her body is would there be any deal allowing for no jail time? Just curious. TIA