Found Deceased CO - Suzanne Morphew, 49, did not return from bike ride, Chaffee County, 10 May 2020 #52

[TIGER0822]

Price includes planting up to two pieces of contradictory evidence!

..Have not figured how to navigate the dark web!

 

[steeltowngirl]

He was able to use his knowledge to hide her very well, but fumbled the alibi because of the sudden rage. A combination. Just MOO.

^RSBM

Or perhaps someone else was adept at hiding bodies. Leaving BM just one job to do - work the alibi.
And it didn’t go smoothly.

jmo

 

[GoJacks]

Starts around 2:20 in the video.

I hadn't seen that video yet, Lauren really is a blessing to this case. Constantly bringing it back up and focusing attention back on it.

I bet ehm whoever done it, gets really annoyed by her. And that I love.

 

[jakat]

I haven’t listened to CM’s show yet but the info on two bikes is so bizarre. I’ve mountain biked for 25+ years.

-You’d never buy a cheaper ‘parts’ bike and then put the cheaper parts on a more expensive bike. Why? Because you’d be downgrading the performance of your more expensive bike and making it heavier.

-Even in April or May of last year, the latest a ‘parts bike’ could have been purchased, there was not a parts shortage like we started to see in July/August (from the pandemic and increased interest in biking). So if an expensive bike needed a part, it could have been purchased.

-SM’s baby blue bike was a full suspension Santa Cruz from ~2016. I posted a link to it in previous thread. But parts for a bike like that aren’t interchangeable. You have all sorts of variance in length, size, materials. You couldn’t just buy a different, cheaper bike, and slap those parts in her bike. They most likely wouldn’t fit properly.

-It would also make no sense to have a long term bike repair guy like SM had but then buy a cheap parts bike. Mainly because by having that repair guy, it’s telling us that SM and BM did not have the skill set or tools to work on the bike themselves. BecUse if they did, why would they have a need for a repair guy?

The only thing I can think of is that SM’s Santa Cruz bike needed some work done and that is why she was visiting her repair guy before she disappeared. BM knew the Santa Cruz bike wasn’t able to be ridden, so he bought a cheaper bike because he needed something that SM could theoretically ride in order for his plan to work. If BM did indeed buy the ‘parts bike’ a few weeks before she went missing, it really points to premeditation.

BAM!! As Warwick7 would say.

 

[LietKynes]

I haven’t listened to CM’s show yet but the info on two bikes is so bizarre. I’ve mountain biked for 25+ years.

-You’d never buy a cheaper ‘parts’ bike and then put the cheaper parts on a more expensive bike. Why? Because you’d be downgrading the performance of your more expensive bike and making it heavier.

-Even in April or May of last year, the latest a ‘parts bike’ could have been purchased, there was not a parts shortage like we started to see in July/August (from the pandemic and increased interest in biking). So if an expensive bike needed a part, it could have been purchased.

-SM’s baby blue bike was a full suspension Santa Cruz from ~2016. I posted a link to it in previous thread. But parts for a bike like that aren’t interchangeable. You have all sorts of variance in length, size, materials. You couldn’t just buy a different, cheaper bike, and slap those parts in her bike. They most likely wouldn’t fit properly.

-It would also make no sense to have a long term bike repair guy like SM had but then buy a cheap parts bike. Mainly because by having that repair guy, it’s telling us that SM and BM did not have the skill set or tools to work on the bike themselves. BecUse if they did, why would they have a need for a repair guy?

The only thing I can think of is that SM’s Santa Cruz bike needed some work done and that is why she was visiting her repair guy before she disappeared. BM knew the Santa Cruz bike wasn’t able to be ridden, so he bought a cheaper bike because he needed something that SM could theoretically ride in order for his plan to work. If BM did indeed buy the ‘parts bike’ a few weeks before she went missing, it really points to premeditation.

"Bam" is right.
I'll bet LE know.

 

[Force Ten]

I do remember Chris mentioning the additional bike way back when, he may have said something about a pink bike. We twisted back and forth, wondering about whether BM bought Suzanne a new bike, or he bought a bike for someone else, whether there was a fight about the bike he bought, went down the rabbithole with the bike repair guy and Suzanne. Little pieces of stuff are all we’ve got.

There was a lot of speculation about a second bike, specifically that the one found BM bought AND placed it where it was. Now it is that it was a “parts” bike. In the end there are probably logical explanations for this said bike, whatever condition it was in before and after it was found. I also don’t see anything peculiar about another bike, that might be in better condition or newer. Maybe it was one of the daughters bike. Or Barry’s, or a replacement. They had more than two vehicles as well. These people had money after all.

 

[EggSalad]

There was a lot of speculation about a second bike, specifically that the one found BM bought AND placed it where it was. Now it is that it was a “parts” bike. In the end there are probably logical explanations for this said bike, whatever condition it was in before and after it was found. I also don’t see anything peculiar about another bike, that might be in better condition or newer. Maybe it was one of the daughters bike. Or Barry’s, or a replacement. They had more than two vehicles as well. These people had money after all.

Yeah, I think the adjective ‘cheaper’ is important because if it wasn’t a cheaper bike but instead a more expensive bike, it seems much less nefarious. And given their other vehicles and lifestyle, a more expensive bike would fit their profile better.

 

[PaulaDC]

If Suzanne's own bike was still in the garage, the neighbor would have seen it. Unless someone asked her to look for a certain, different bike....

Maybe Suzanne's bike was still in the shop....

I wonder if important parts had been removed from the cheaper bike in anticipation of repairing the other.

My guess, we haven't heard the last of the bike.

I'm okay not knowing right now because I'm confident LE knows A LOT. Starting with that first discovery.

JMO

Maybe hers was one of the two blue bikes on the back of the vehicle in the photos in the beginning of the case? Who's vehicle was that that held those bikes?

 

[PaulaDC]

Anyone want to place a bet that the wedding ring was "left behind" when she went on that "bike ride"? moo

 

[Seni]

Anyone want to place a bet that the wedding ring was "left behind" when she went on that "bike ride"? moo

Quite likely IMO.

I reckon most people would not wear a ring because you get blisters when riding your bike.

 

[OldCop]

But then what do we do with the friend back in Indiana that was chatting online with Suzanne on Saturday, and then their chat abruptly ended? I know some suspect BM might have been impersonating Suzanne but I don't think that's what happened.

I think whatever did happen to her, happened Saturday afternoon or evening.
This explains why he never mentioned a word about the Broomfield job set to start for the very next day with a crew, when he was working with MG earlier that day.
It was never planned to start the next day with a crew.
Not until suddenly it was the perfect alibi. <-- 100% speculation of course, but it makes the most sense to me.

jmo

I still think Friday is in the running, @Ontario Mom. MG said BM worked at the “beach” at the Salida job site Friday night. He was really anxious Saturday Morning. He called off work early. He was seen in town alone. He met JP on Saturday afternoon in town and asked him if he would be available to work on the Broomfield job. Any of this could also be a marker for premeditation but:
I think BM might have killed his wife Friday night in some type of rage. He panicked. He may have temporarily concealed her body that night. He needed to come up with an alibi. He couldn’t report her missing then, because he was there. So he went to the job site with MG Saturday morning trying to act as if everything was normal. His nerves couldn’t take it and he needed to get things done. He told MG he had to go home and make SM happy by taking her hiking or biking. This means SM was not happy. I think the hiking or biking line was a slip. I think he was planning the alibi. Could he shove her off a cliff somewhere? Or could she disappear on a bike ride? I think by the time he went into town and met JP he had settled on the bike ride and his Broomfield job alibi.
SM may have texted with her BFF on Friday night. The BFF texts on Saturday morning but SM either doesn’t answer or BM answers and says something generic like, “Can’t talk right now”. Later BFF tries to reach her again, but receives no response.

 

[OldCop]

I still think Friday is in the running, @Ontario Mom. MG said BM worked at the “beach” at the Salida job site Friday night. He was really anxious Saturday Morning. He called off work early. He was seen in town alone. He met JP on Saturday afternoon in town and asked him if he would be available to work on the Broomfield job. Any of this could also be a marker for premeditation but:
I think BM might have killed his wife Friday night in some type of rage. He panicked. He may have temporarily concealed her body that night. He needed to come up with an alibi. He couldn’t report her missing then, because he was there. So he went to the job site with MG Saturday morning trying to act as if everything was normal. His nerves couldn’t take it and he needed to get things done. He told MG he had to go home and make SM happy by taking her hiking or biking. This means SM was not happy. I think the hiking or biking line was a slip. I think he was planning the alibi. Could he shove her off a cliff somewhere? Or could she disappear on a bike ride? I think by the time he went into town and met JP he had settled on the bike ride and his Broomfield job alibi.
SM may have texted with her BFF on Friday night. The BFF texts on Saturday morning but SM either doesn’t answer or BM answers and says something generic like, “Can’t talk right now”. Later BFF tries to reach her again, but receives no response.

Talking about my own post. As I read it over a thought occurred to me. Going back to MG saying that BM said he was going to take his wife hiking or biking on Saturday afternoon: Did he take her out on a trail somewhere and push her off? Did he then plant the bike that night as a red herring as he put his alibi into play? Hmmm........

 

[Auntie Cipation]

Thinking about whether BM could have texted as SM and fooled the BFF for longer than initially thought -- it seems likely that BM and SM would have texted back and forth enough between themselves over the years that he might have a pretty good idea of her writing style, whether/how she used emojis, punctuation, etc.

I feel pretty strongly that we all, including the BFF, can be fooled more easily than we think, because with the slightest hint we will tend to see the patterns we expect to see and I think it would take multiple "off" replies before the BFF would start to take notice, especially if the BFF had no pre-existing reason to suspect anything was wrong in SM's world.

In this situation with the wedding, the focus would be on the BFF and the wedding event, and SM's share of the conversation would not be expected to be going into detail about her own life worries on that day, but would more be about making supportive comments toward the BFF and the wedding party. I think if BM was at all attuned to that (which frankly some men just aren't, but we don't really know that about him), he could 'pass' for SM relatively easily, by demurring on any personal comments (like if BFF asked how things were going in SM's relationship, or anything beyond basics of her cancer fight) until after the wedding stress was over, saying "oh, let's save that for another time, today is about you and your kid's wedding" etc.

I sure wish we could hear details from the BFF.

IMO

 

[kkdj]

.

 

[OldCop]

Thinking about whether BM could have texted as SM and fooled the BFF for longer than initially thought -- it seems likely that BM and SM would have texted back and forth enough between themselves over the years that he might have a pretty good idea of her writing style, whether/how she used emojis, punctuation, etc.

I feel pretty strongly that we all, including the BFF, can be fooled more easily than we think, because with the slightest hint we will tend to see the patterns we expect to see and I think it would take multiple "off" replies before the BFF would start to take notice, especially if the BFF had no pre-existing reason to suspect anything was wrong in SM's world.

In this situation with the wedding, the focus would be on the BFF and the wedding event, and SM's share of the conversation would not be expected to be going into detail about her own life worries on that day, but would more be about making supportive comments toward the BFF and the wedding party. I think if BM was at all attuned to that (which frankly some men just aren't, but we don't really know that about him), he could 'pass' for SM relatively easily, by demurring on any personal comments (like if BFF asked how things were going in SM's relationship, or anything beyond basics of her cancer fight) until after the wedding stress was over, saying "oh, let's save that for another time, today is about you and your kid's wedding" etc.

I sure wish we could hear details from the BFF.

IMO

I watched a Dateline the other night where a wife killed her husband who owned a small business. She told his employees that he was sick and wouldn’t be in for a few days. An employee texted the victim a few times and he said he could tell almost immediately that it didn’t seem like it was his boss that was texting him back. This surprised me a bit.
BM seems to neither speak nor write the Queen’s English from what little we’ve seen. SM was a teacher and probably had better writing skills. It may have been spelling or punctuation that raised the BFF’s hinky meter.

 

[Hair of the Dog]

Thank you for transcribing the show @swedeheart, much appreciated.

Now the the picture of all those bikes piled up that was posted on PE's site makes sense to me; IMO it was their way of rattling BM; letting him know that they know about the bike, maybe implying they found the needle in the haystack?

I want to know when, where and how the "parts bike" was acquired.

Was Suzanne's bike mechanic aware that she had acquired another bike for "parts"?

Was the bike purchased because someone just couldn't bring themselves to throw Suzanne's expensive bike down the ravine when a less costly bike would suffice?

MOPO (My opinions and ponderings only)

 

[Itsapuzzle]

Wonder if there is a big oops moment by grabbing the wrong bike to toss.... by whoever it was...

Hey, that's an interesting theory, hadn't thought of that, a mystery bike chucking accomplice who picked the wrong bike, now that's quite possible.

 

[swedeheart]

Talking about my own post. As I read it over a thought occurred to me. Going back to MG saying that BM said he was going to take his wife hiking or biking on Saturday afternoon: Did he take her out on a trail somewhere and push her off? Did he then plant the bike that night as a red herring as he put his alibi into play? Hmmm........

And if it was something along these lines, maybe whatever happened to Suzanne happened to her while they were both out on a bike ride, and that's why Suzanne was riding the "cheaper" bike. BM could have been on the "more expensive" one. Hmmm, indeed.

 

[swedeheart]

Lauren Scharf interview with BM:

"She's not here, her car is here, but her bike is missing."

Barry is giving us a recount of what the he told the neighbor on the phone. LE ears perk up on the word "missing." The neighbor wouldn't say the bike is "missing" bc that implies she would know that the bike is supposed to be there in the first place.

The bike that was "missing" had been purchases in recent weeks. (Chris says's that is a possibility, so it's not confirmed. He admits that info is out there, but he doesn't know the totality of it). The "much more expensive" bike was the one Suzanne typically used. If she's an "avid bike rider," one would expect her to use the better bike. It was Barry's explanation that the other bike was used for bike parts. Why would she go out on the cheaper bike that she never used?

In an arson investigation, you would look for what valuable items were damaged. You also look to see what valuable items were taken out just prior to the fire. This is the same kind of scenario as that. That adds an interesting dynamic to the story, especially with what he says next:

"She went on a bike ride every day. She was an avid biker. If she wasn't biking around the subdivision, she was biking on trails."

What he's doing here is really convincing LS that Suzanne was a biker, especially when combined with BM saying the bike is "missing."

Then, BM says he doesn't remember exactly how the conversation went with the neighbor, but he "probably said something like, is her bike there, bc her car was there and she's gone."

"Gone" becomes interesting because it's a word of finality. It's a very definitive statement to say "she's gone." For one of the experts, this is key.

"I rushed home." He's just been told her bike was found, and she was missing. That's positive, and everything he says after that should correspond with that statement. If someone calls you and says "hey, your wife is in the hospital" you would most likely drop everything and head home.

Instead, we see BM drop the pronoun "I" and he says "left all my tools at the hotel, called my workers and said, 'I've got a family emergency, you're gonna have to figure this out on your own. Went directly to the site." What is the purpose of that info? Why is he trying to convince the listener with that extra info that he rushed home? All he needed to say for anyone to understand is just that he rushed home. That makes you wonder, did he rush home? Or was he doing something else? Why did he use extra convincing statements to show his commitment to "rushing home?"

Why did he drop the personal pronoun here? He ejected himself psychologically from the situation. "I" is a pronoun we have been using since we learned how to speak. You don't even have to think about using "I" because you use it 1000's of times a day. So why was he omitting the use of "I"? It takes more cognitive effort to drop the "I". This shows distancing from his statement, and therefore is a red flag.

When we make statements that are believable, we back them up with actions. It is implied here that Barry found out that Suzanne was missing early in the day, so why did it take so long for him to get home if he was rushing home?

The sequence of his statements is also out of chronological order. First he says "I rushed home." Then, he goes back in time and says "left all my tools...etc." After seeing 1000's of statements by criminals, truthful people give truthful statements in chronological order. Recounting the event should be very simple. If truthful, it should take no thought and should be in an orderly timeline.

This is also a statement that should prompt some sort of emotion (BM's retelling of when he got the phone call about his missing wife). Instead, we get a convincing statement about his actions. It's void of emotion for his wife. Not a good sign.



*Part 4 coming up a little later.

 

[kittythehare]

Talking about my own post. As I read it over a thought occurred to me. Going back to MG saying that BM said he was going to take his wife hiking or biking on Saturday afternoon: Did he take her out on a trail somewhere and push her off? Did he then plant the bike that night as a red herring as he put his alibi into play? Hmmm........

That crossed my mind too.
Also, if neighbor checked for bike, she would have seen Suzanne's new bike and would not have reported it was not there.