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

[lamlawindy]

Would you advise client not to speak to any other person at all - about anything? Or just to LE?

Because obviously, almost no client is going to do that. So what then?

If the client is living with family, do you ever ask them if they're still remaining silent? I am assuming you advise them to remain silent if detained by LE, and that most clients go right ahead and speak to others in their circle - and sometimes to total strangers. Or, even, reporters.

I've always wanted to know if defense attorneys give advice on these matters or leave it up to the client to figure it out on their own. I think almost everyone now knows not to talk to police - but...potential defendants in criminal matters probably ought not to talk to friends and family too, right?

Do defense attorneys ever ask what their clients are saying to various people - or does that just come up when the prosecution gets wind of it?

Always wanted to know - no worries if these are off-the-wall or questions that can't be answered.

Those are not off-the-wall questions at all!

My standard practice is to tell clients to not discuss the case with anybody except for me. I explain that anything -- no matter how trivial it seems at first -- told to another person can be used against them.

You're 100% correct that most clients talk to people anyway, but there's no method to prohibit them from doing so. We've done our duty by warning them.

I do, at times, ask clients if they've discussed the case with anybody else. Of course, I have no way to verify their answers, though.

 

[lamlawindy]

I don’t know of a single member of WS who is not glad that a defendant is presumed innocent in the eyes of the law.

Actually, my post was in reply to @rainbowshummingbird, who -- correctly -- pointed out that s/he doesn't have to presume Barry Morphew's innocence. I juxtaposed his/her view with that of the legal system & expressed gratitude that his/her presumptions are not part of our legal system.

 

[lamlawindy]

<modsnip - quoted post was removed>

<modsnip> I don't have a lot of innocent clients: I have not guilty clients. There's a huge difference

The practice of law is a craft, sure, but it's also a business. I can't constantly be checking up on a client to ensure that s/he hasn't spoken to another person about his/her case or -- unfortunately -- been arrested for a new offense that'll lead to his/her bond being revoked. At the end of the day, clients are adults, and our duty of care is that of treating clients as adults, not as children (unless a client is a juvenile).

 

[BeckyF]

^^bbm

It's difficult for me to even let my head go to the fact this was Mother's Day weekend. I don't know what occurred here but when I look back at the 26+ year history and raising two lovely young women, I'm inclined to believe this was most likely a crime of passion.

SM is a petite woman, and everything I see about BM is brutish. He walks heavily on his feet and just appears clumsy to me.

As with so many cases before, like it's not bad enough when a partner dies at the hands of their mate, I think the cover-up has to be the greatest injury to the survivors. The not knowing where SM is, the unrest, and worry, it's too much. And to knowingly put somebody through that, it's unforgivable. For what? To save yourself? I don't think so.

I'm reminded of another 40 yr old wife and mother that was killed by her husband in 2017 on an Alaskan Cruise ship. Blunt force trauma to her head in their stateroom-- with their children and extended family members including the victim's parents nearby. When he was apprehended, he told the authorities his wife laughed at him and she wouldn't stop. He's still waiting to be sentenced --another court schedule the casualty of COVID19.

MOO

My phone won’t let me bold segments but yeah, putting others through the fear and worry and the not knowing but suspecting has to be a terrible experience. I can’t imagine anything worse. It is such a selfish thing to do. How can you look at your children every day if you killed their Mom and made it appear as if she vanished into thin air? Those who really cared about her know she is dead. JMO

 

[Minordetails]

^^bbm

It's difficult for me to even let my head go to the fact this was Mother's Day weekend. I don't know what occurred here but when I look back at the 26+ year history and raising two lovely young women, I'm inclined to believe this was most likely a crime of passion.

SM is a petite woman, and everything I see about BM is brutish. He walks heavily on his feet and just appears clumsy to me.

MOO

BM might appear clumsy, but a long time ago he was drafted as a professional baseball player. I highly doubt his employees would describe him as clumsy.

MOO

 

[BeachSky]

BM allegedly left home for Denver at 5AM on Sunday, May 10;
SM sleeping;
BM did not wake her.

(Respectfully snipped BM)

Colorado woman woken from sleep by loud noises, sounds of ‘running’ at construction site that was focus of Suzanne Morphew search — the night before she went missing: Report
This. I want to know more about THIS ^^^^

 

[CocoChanel]

Thread has been reopened.
Dozens of posts have been removed for violating TOS.
Thread bans have been issued.
Please post in accordance with the Websleuths’ rules.
We are grateful for your efforts to be respectful and responsible members of Websleuths.

Faithfully,
CocoChanel
Moderator

 

[Stripehaven]

Apologies if I’ve missed this but is it verified that cell service is spotty where the Morphews live? If it is, I wonder why they don’t have a landline. I would feel very nervous and isolated to live where they do if I did not have reliable phone service in my home. I’m wondering if Suzanne felt the same way, given reports that she was apparently not totally happy in CO.

 

[AllGrace]

In light of the PE, I am curious on the reaction and feedback on the members here who have thought BM is innocent. (Not trying to start an argument, or criticize them for their beliefs, but I love to hear what others of all viewpoints are thinking).

 

[DizzyB]

Nope, I was wrong, my apologies! BM said his workers were expected Sunday night. I'm thinking that my thoughts were that it was ********, lol. So again, you were right.
Whether he was telling the truth is another story.

This Denver job has a lot of moving parts to work through. BM had to do a full day’s worth of work on Mother’s Day to prep for the job, and he made it sound like it was for his crew’s Monday start. Which means he prepped alone. He said that his workers were coming up Sunday night. So if his crew was Salida local, he was asking them to leave their mothers/wives on Mother’s Day, make a 3 hours drive, and stay overnight in Denver-at whose expense? Unless the job was going full force at 7 am, I might ask my workers to get on the road super early, spend Sunday with family, and start around 8. We have all discussed whether or not Mother’s Day is a thing that is celebrated across the board. It’s not-but now BM is expecting “his guys” to cut short their day to get up to Denver. Sure, there might be an explanation, but like everything in BM’s stories, they don’t quite make sense.

 

[PaulaDC]

Has PE ever brought up the fact that BM vehicle was "impounded" and if it was returned?

 

[Fireflize]

Oh, Barry........

OldCop, if BM had scratches on his arms, or neck, or face, and LE saw them, would they have photographed them that Sunday night when he returned home? Is that something that would have been done, or is that only done when someone is arrested? Also, is that something that can be refused, like a lie detector? TIA

 

[PaulaDC]

I've read a few thoughts on the body of SM and where it might have disapeared to. That conversation with TD mentioning a wet shirtless BM heading from the direction of the river. Equipment at the job site so close to the river. The fact BM was a hardscaper not landscaper. All those rocks around the house. I just get this creepy thought of using said equipment to put a pile of boulders into the river........I'll say no more. Too convenient. They need to find SM All my awful sad thoughts &opinion for clarification.

 

[Hatfield]

Trying to catch up on the thread and car info. IMO they must have been family cars. It wouldn't be wise to go into someone's garage or property if investigating a missing person. What if it were a robbery, anything could have been going on if strange vehicles were there. I wouldn't do it I would alert the police.

Re BBM and IMO

I agree and it is dangerous in this particular situation. I give tons of credit to the elderly neighbor that got pulled into this situation to help out.

If there was an active crime scene and the perp(s) still had SM at the house alive or dead then it can be very dangerous for anyone showing up and starting to look around. The neighbor could have ended up dead if the perps were still present and actively in the middle of their crime.

This is another reason why BM not calling LE himself seems odd to me. With him being part of the fire company he should have known the neighbor was going into a risky and potentially life threatening situation. Even something as innocent as carbon monoxide poisoning from a faulty furnace or water heater or something could have put the neighbor at risk if she entered part of the home.

I too suspect the neighbor was on her phone with BM while she was inspecting SM's home. The neighbor will be able to tell LE how the conversations went and who was telling her what. The conversations she had may have been another reason LE had concern about the whole bike ride story.

 

[kay74]

About HCG, I honestly don’t know. About steroids - they are major destabilizers of the mood, up to mania, so first, I won’t take polygraph on steroids, and second, won’t expect anything good from the results.

Among books written by Jane Pauley, there is one about her mania. She had hives and was put on steroids. They caused mania. Jane probably had some premorbid features (talent!), but steroids caused loss of functioning and hospitalization.

I've been on steroids for about 5 years for an immune system disorder and I don't have "mania". I never heard of anyone having mania from them. All they do is take down the inflammation and increase your appetite.

 

[kay74]

He also seems way to calm and matter of fact with very little emotion, He may be medicated, beta blockers or similar.

This video was taken 3 weeks after she disappeared. He also had his mother there by then for support and possibly his sister too. That alone, is calming. Besides that he seemed Very concerned.

 

[kay74]

I'm sure the job he did in Denver on MD was checked out and verified.

 

[Rural_PC]

Steroids definitely can have an effect on mood.

 

[Stripehaven]

I've been on steroids for about 5 years for an immune system disorder and I don't have "mania". I never heard of anyone having mania from them. All they do is take down the inflammation and increase your appetite.

If misused (for example, when body building), steroids can cause mania-like behavior. I’m sure you’ve heard of “roid rage.”

 

[Lilypad13]

RSBM

A few thousand on a $1.5 million dollar home? Located in an remote community, isolated day and night, with notoriously lousy cell service, and only cell phone communication, primarily occupied by females, a wife wrapping up her most recent chemo treatments...and no guard dog that we've ever heard of?

It' like having an $80,000K car with a broken radio.

[/QUOTE]
Exactly! Good analogy @Murphy1950