Found Deceased CO - Suzanne Morphew, 49, did not return from bike ride, Chaffee County, 10 May 2020 #25

[Fireflize]

Given the lies spread all over yt and fb (still 2 years later) about the Watts case, I am happy to find PE, with its calm, responsible approach, LE oriented. I don't think there is any 2 source rule when the info is coming straight from an impacted family.

I really like the PE guys as well. I feel they have a good solid background that helps them weight evidence. They also seem to have more information that for some reason they are holding back. I don't think they will provide us with anything that might hinder the investigation just to get 'likes'and that's great. Looking forward to their future episodes. I think Suzanne's family will continue to reach out to them and Lauren. Moo

 

[lamlawindy]

^^bbm

@lamlawindy -- to be clear, BM is somewhat of a WS gray area because it's obvious to management that LE has cleared no one, and although BM is not named a POI, he's clearly the focus of investigators. <modsnip>

Yes, I understand the reason for the exception: there would be very little discussion on the board if he was off-limits.

 

[OldCop]

Good point. The bike was not left beside the road, which would seem more likely if she had been abducted. But if it had been left beside the road, then it could have been found by someone driving by at daybreak. But it was probably in plain sight if someone was looking for it. Because the bike had to be found, because someone thought it would prove that Suzanne was still alive on Mother's Day. Moo of course.
Moo

Yes! ^^^^^

 

[lamlawindy]

Two thoughts:

1: I totally get where you are coming from, and much appreciate the legal input. You're someone I would want on my side, if I ever needed it. People need protection of their rights and due process.

2: I have recently come to the conclusion that this case is a "situation". I think there is a very good reason for people keeping quiet, and not wanting to be identified.

All MOO.

1. I'd be happy to help but -- considering I only do criminal defense -- I hope you never require my services!

Hmmm...can you explain #2 with specifics as to what that reason may be? I mean, if the person genuinely thinks, "Barry will kidnap me if I'm not anonymous," that would certainly be a valid reason to seek anonymity. If it's just, "I want to damage Barry but I don't want it traced back to me," then it wouldn't.

 

[Minordetails]

Yes, I understand the reason for the exception: there would be very little discussion on the board if he was off-limits.

If some day BM is arrested for the murder of his wife, will the fact that he appears to have done very little to ‘appeal for her’ be held against him? Will the prosecution go after him for this and try to tie BM’s behaviour into evidence of guilt? And as a defence attorney, in court, how would you defend BM’s actions or lack of?

 

[NuttMegg]

I really like the PE guys as well. I feel they have a good solid background that helps them weight evidence. They also seem to have more information that for some reason they are holding back. I don't think they will provide us with anything that might hinder the investigation
just to get 'likes'
and that's great

Credibility... With PE, so far, it's theirs to lose. Regarding myself I don't latch on to anything until I've done quite a bit of research to the extent the facts are researchable. I don't think any of us have forgotten the "fake autopsy report". re Watts case, breathlessly and gruesomely read online by what was at that time the only podcast even allowed to be discussed here. All credibility instantly erased when proved to be lies.

 

[lamlawindy]

If some day BM is arrested for the murder of his wife, will the fact that he appears to have done very little to ‘appeal for her’ be held against him? Will the prosecution go after him for this and try to tie BM’s behaviour into evidence of guilt? And as a defence attorney, in court, how would you defend BM’s actions or lack of?

1. Assuming that Barry was arrested and charged & that I was prosecuting Barry, I'd definitely try use his non-actions with respect to Suzanne as a part of an attempt to conceal the crime. Now, one would have to be careful because of 5th Amendment concerns: Barry has no obligation to speak to authorities, and any insinuation that he does could be fodder for a mistrial.

2. If I was defending Barry, I'd have witnesses testify about his demeanor: depression, sleeplessness, hopelessness. I'd do everything to portray him as a husband grieving privately but being ruthlessly hammered by the media, bloggers, YouTubers. In essence, I'd want to show that (a) Barry was in no shape to make public appearances and (b) the media piled onto my client while he was in a fragile state.

 

[Fireflize]

Credibility... With PE, so far, it's theirs to lose. Regarding myself I don't latch on to anything until I've done quite a bit of research to the extent the facts are researchable. I don't think any of us have forgotten the "fake autopsy report". re Watts case, breathlessly and gruesomely read online by what was at that time the only podcast even allowed to be discussed here. All credibility instantly erased when proved to be lies.

I wasn't here for the Watts case. What podcast did that??

 

[Hatfield]

I think she said it sounded like machinery running. I don’t remember hearing about a person running. She said she looked out her door and it stopped. MRO (my recollection only)

Thanks for the correction and I went back to check because I could have sworn I read an article that talked about a person running too, and I found the article and now I agree with you that she was likely talking only about the equipment running even though this article added a part about a person too. I bolded that part below. I agree with you that I think she was only referring to the equipment. JMO

" "At the very first I thought it was a truck or something maybe parked in my driveway or something, but no, it kept running and coming from the same direction over there, and I had been hearing all of this noise for quite a while,” Mary Branson told the news station.

The interview suggests that Branson also believes she may have heard a person.

“I thought it sounded like one of them running and I sat up in bed and said, ‘it is one of them, what’s going on, this time of night? That’s ridiculous.’ And I thought maybe they had orders to move it or something, so I laid there listening and it kept going and going and going for about a half an hour.”

When Branson eventually decided investigate the noise, she stopped hearing it. "

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

 

[oviedo]

Where is Suzanne???

 

[Charlot123]

I've never heard the Spanish pronunciation (salida means "exit" or "gateway") used in reference to the town, only the "lie" version.

How to Pronounce Salida

1. The first pronunciation (Sa-LEE-Duh) is proper Spanish.
2. The second pronunciation (Sa-LIE-Duh) is correct locally.

https://www.salidawalkingtours.com/how-to-pronounce-salida

I’d pronounce it only the first way. Everything else would be like using a fork in Chinese restaurant. Comfortable, but not interesting.

 

[OldCop]

Interesting thought...you mean say someone saw him doing something down by the river?? Before he made the video.

That’s possible, @Lilypad13, but I was actually thinking of Mother’s Day weekend when she disappeared. BM was never mentioned by name for days following her disappearance nor showed his face for a whole week. What is the explanation for that?

 

[NuttMegg]

I understand the reason for the Barry Morphew exception; there would be very little discussion without it. I also understand why there are rules for protecting family members.

That being said -- as an attorney* -- the insistence of anonymity is troublesome when a serious accusation occurs: there is no penalty if the person is untruthful. As I've stated in previous posts, the lack of anonymity -- and the willingness to risk possible civil or criminal liability -- is one factor (though courts have held that it is an important one) in determining how much weight to give a statement. While there may be valid reasons for the Moorman family member to want anonymity, that very anonymity also can affect the weight to give the statement.

As to Profiling Evil and Lauren Scharf having no obligation to the public regarding vetting of sources: you are correct. While they have the right to not inform the public about their methods of vetting sources, the public also has no obligation to simply take a media organization at its word without questioning certain aspects of the reporting.

* I would ask any poster (this is not directed at you, @sillybilly) who is intending to respond with the trite "This is a message board, not a court," to please refrain from doing so: I'm posting from a criminal law perspective because that's what I do for a living. I understand that not everyone is considering this case from a legal viewpoint. If you do not want to hear a legal viewpoint, kindly keep scrolling .

I don't think you'd find a crime message board with members who are more skeptical and analytical. I really appreciate the legal perspective from our handful of verified attorneys, re their interpretations of the law. Same with verified physicians, etc. Many of us practice or are retired from various professions which require advanced degrees and training. Many international contributors. Some of us have been foot loose explorers with a lifetime of self employment. Everyone contributes from a different vantage, and we're always ready to assess "facts" presented on the internet, keeping those "facts" at arms length until more proof surfaces.

 

[Fireflize]

That’s possible, @Lilypad13, but I was actually thinking of Mother’s Day weekend when she disappeared. BM was never mentioned by name for days following her disappearance nor showed his face for a whole week. What is the explanation for that?

Exactly! I'd expect him to immediately beg for help from anyone and everyone to find Suzanne. Instead it's like he went and hid under a rock. Moo

 

[RumorMonger]

Do you believe that the bike was planted but the unnamed article was not planted?

Believe is too strong a word given what little we know. I'll say that I think the bike was thrown down the hill. I don't believe any bike crash or mountain lion theory. I'm leaning toward the idea that the personal item was NOT planted, meaning it was not put in a specific place with the intention to be quickly discovered. Perhaps it was just accidentally dropped or perhaps it was discarded and not meant to be found at all.

The reason I'm leaning that way is simply because I don't understand what story it should tell in combination with the bike. If one is selling the bike ride story, I think it would make more sense to have the personal item on the bike path rather than the highway. If one is selling a bike ride + abduction story, then the highway makes more sense but why would this item be there? If the idea is that SM was trying to leave a trail there should be more items.

Of course, having no idea what the personal item is is an impediment to having a good theory.

All IMO

 

[NuttMegg]

I’d pronounce it only the first way. Everything else would be like using a fork in Chinese restaurant. Comfortable, but not interesting.

I'd advise ppl in Latin America not to go up and ask someone where the Sa LIE da is, unless you want to receive a quizzical look. But there are zillions of examples, like don't go to Valdez Alaska and pronounce it like the coffee company. Up there it would be Val DEEZ.

 

[al66pine]

A Work-Around for Some of Us?

...
eta: I never wear any jewelry (much less good jewelry) while I exercise.

@Synergizer Bunny bbm sbm
Well, avoiding this potential peril to good jewelry is easy--- don't have any.
Either that, or don't exercise.

Or better yet, both. j/k

 

[Fireflize]

Believe is too strong a word given what little we know. I'll say that I think the bike was thrown down the hill. I don't believe any bike crash or mountain lion theory. I'm leaning toward the idea that the personal item was NOT planted, meaning it was not put in a specific place with the intention to be quickly discovered. Perhaps it was just accidentally dropped or perhaps it was discarded and not meant to be found at all.

The reason I'm leaning that way is simply because I don't understand what story it should tell in combination with the bike. If one is selling the bike ride story, I think it would make more sense to have the personal item on the bike path rather than the highway. If one is selling a bike ride + abduction story, then the highway makes more sense but why would this item be there? If the idea is that SM was trying to leave a trail there should be more items.

Of course, having no idea what the personal item is is an impediment to having a good theory.

All IMO

These questions that you ask are problematic. LE asks the same questions, imo. I feel that both the bike and personal item were planted. The bike to indicate that Suzanne was still alive on Mother's Day and was abducted while riding her bike. The personal item was planted to make LE believe that she was taken that way by her abductor.
I think that the person that planned this narrative was not thinking as rationally as you, LE, or I am. He did not at all see how incongruent the planted items seem in regards to an abduction narrative. Moo of course

 

[RumorMonger]

Please don't say the anonymous person risks nothing and therefore lacks credibility. We are talking about a father, brothers, and sisters, a grieving family that today may feel as if they've lost everything. They are also victims and WS acknowledges them as victims worthy of respect and compassion. The same can be said of SM's in-laws.

ETA: If you are talking about an anonymous friend from little league days, your point is well taken.

IMO the anonymous person risks little and therefore his credibility is undeterminable to us, at least in any direct way. If that person was named then one could make a determination of his/her credibility. (By the way, fathers, brothers, sisters, etc. aren't necessarily credible, even if they are victims.) If that person is anonymous, well, he might as well be a friend from little league days.

Undeterminable is really a word. Merriam-Webster says so.
Definition of UNDETERMINABLE

 

[oviedo]

I am really hoping to hear something from LE before 9/1/20.....