Found Deceased CO - Suzanne Morphew, 49, did not return from bike ride, Chaffee County, 10 May 2020 #9

[ChuckMaureen]

bbm

Correct. And the fact that LE didn't release any info describing what she may have been wearing when last seen IS significant. It suggests that they're not looking at this as a stranger abduction.

imo it’s indicative no one was able to inform le what sm was wearing because no one had seen her on the day or maybe even previous day or days leading up to mother’s day.

maybe bm was unable to provide that info or for whatever reason refused to tell le

..or..

sm’s clothing (what she may have been wearing) were the personal items that were discovered near the 225/50 intersection

MOO

 

[WildOrchid]

I’ve been following relatively closely. What are your opinions on what makes this case and, say, the Broussard case so much different as far as suspicion goes to the projected outcome among WSers as opposed to, say, the Papini case or the Powell case? Because I’m hoping against hope for a better outcome than it looks like will happen here. Are there similarities between the cases that had a “found” outcome and this one?

 

[scdiv]

I agree with the weirdness of the silence of friends and family (and that if it were me, I would be shouting from the rooftops and every media outlet that will take me that my friend/loved one was a wonderful human and everyone needs to be looking for her!), and like you, I find it concerning that we don't know know of any close personal girlfriends of Suzanne's. As a DV researcher and longtime true crime follower, I look for patterns--sometimes they mean something, sometimes they don't--but the appearance of few or none close confidants is concerning. I am also concerned that family silence, with the exception of one "sanctioned" spokesperson, could be motivated by fear of a person perceived as a family authority whom no one wants to cross or upset.

However, count me in with @Knox and @insearchoflight, I am deeply hopeful that this case is not going cold, because I believe LE would be begging for leads and getting as much publicity for the case as possible as we saw with Abby & Libby if that were the case. No, I think @insearchoflight may just be right when they said:

Regarding friends, I remember many of us felt similar in the Kelsey Berreth case - that it felt unusual that we weren't hearing about Kelsey, learning more about her, that it seemed like she didn't have close friends speaking out, telling us about her and her personality, etc. But then when the Dateline or 48 Hours or one of those type of shows on her case came out, there were all these close friends who were sharing their insights. The silence in both cases made me feel like friends and family know who they suspect, don't feel it's an urgent missing person case where public help is needed, and more a situation where LE is focused on gathering evidence not just to make an arrest - but one that will result in a conviction. And until then - radio silence.

 

[Tate123]

I have an odd question. Say LE found a copious amount of blood somewhere ( the house, a trail) enough where they would know someone couldn't survive. Do they need a body to say the person is dead?

 

[Bailey38]

Exactly.
I'm trying to explain why LE might have been so focused from the get go that it didn't even release a current photo of SM. We actually have no idea what she looks like. Could be very different from the photos that keep getting published, because those aren't current. People can change physically ALOT in a few months.
And yes, I'm proposing what you say: there was a dossier of investigatory material BEFORE SM went missing. The investigatory material may or may not have been an exactly related topic, but LE knew a bunch of stuff in advance. IMO.

That is what I have also been looking for, recent photos. Curious. IMO

 

[?mysterian?]

I don't quite understand the significance of knowing precisely what she was wearing when she went missing is. What she was was wearing would be of no consequence if she committed suicide, left voluntarily (which she can do as an adult), had an accident or even if she was abducted, for that matter. About the only time I can think of that knowing what she was wearing would help would be if she had some sort of incident and was wandering the streets confused or dazed or if cameras at bus/train stations were being looked at. Or, if it was known she had been abducted and was in a vehicle that was caught on camera. But even that would only need to be know by LE. MOO MOO MOO MOO

Information from this website
Missing Persons Primer - e107 Powered Website helps explain the importance of knowing what the missing person was wearing at the time of their disappearance.

<snip>"Clothing and jewelry can be used to help identify. Clothing and jewelry can also be used to solve crime. Some of the latest DNA technology involves "touch" DNA. This means that if the victim or suspect touched something that fact can be proved through the presence of DNA. Where that DNA is located is also an indicator of the relationship of the clothing to the victim or suspect. An article of clothing worn by someone will often have that individual's DNA on the inside of the garment that is closest to the body, necks and cuffs for example. A stretched or disfigured area on the outside of the clothing might indicate that that area was grabbed or held with force by a suspect.

Blood, incise/knife cuts, holes/bullet holes, gunshot residue, on the clothing, can all provide probative evidence to bring resolution to your missing person investigation. Too often the decomposed state of the victim means that the corresponding wounds to the body are no longer available. That makes the clothing all the more valuable as evidence.

If the body can be examined and matched to the clothing, these facts provide significant evidence to document manner and cause of death. Manner and cause is where the Forensic Pathologist lives. The Forensic Pathologist will conduct a forensic examination of the victim's body, when found. Their job is to determine only two things: manner and cause, just to describe their function in the simplest of terms."<snip>

 

[Hatfield]

I have an odd question. Say LE found a copious amount of blood somewhere ( the house, a trail) enough where they would know someone couldn't survive. Do they need a body to say the person is dead?

No. A body is not needed to have a successful conviction for murder. Patrick Frazee case not long ago is an example in Colorado.

For the blood example you describe, what normally happens is the prosecution will get a blood analysis expert to testify that the amount of blood seen deposited was not surviveable.

Other ways too besides blood can be testified about. I seem to remember one case where brain matter was found in the home. That was enough from the expert testifying because of course brain matter should not be outside the head.

 

[Tate123]

No. A body is not needed to have a successful conviction for murder. Patrick Frazee case not long ago is an example in Colorado.

For the blood example you describe, what normally happens is the prosecution will get a blood analysis expert to testify that the amount of blood seen deposited was not surviveable.

Other ways too besides blood can be testified about. I seem to remember one case where brain matter was found in the home. That was enough from the expert testifying because of course brain matter should not be outside the head.

Wow.. thank you!

 

[TristanP]

[QUOTE="LietKynes, post: 16106138, member: 76581]

It's also telling, imo, that there's no description of the clothing she was wearing .
By the time she was reported missing, the husband had plenty of time to look through her clothing and shoes and see what was gone.

Imo.[/QUOTE]
There’s not one person in my life who could tell you what clothes and shoes are missing from my closet, and I see my sister and 3 kids every day.

I wouldn’t be able to say what things are missing that belong to my kids or sister, either.

I spent most of yesterday afternoon with my sister and I can’t tell you what she had on. I can barely remember what I wore yesterday!

I actually can’t even tell what things are missing from my OWN closet. My daughter recently cleaned up the laundry room and found at least 5 of my shirts that I had forgotten I even had.

So my point is, a husband not knowing what his wife is wearing or what is missing is not any kind of indicator. I’d seriously be more suspicious if he was specific.

On top of that, however...I thought the home had been held by police since the day she was reported missing. So he wouldn’t have been allowed in.

 

[Rosiebones]

Has LE even declared this to be anything more than a missing person's case yet? Isn't that really strange in view of how they are investigating?

 

[Tate123]

And why is she not listed in NAMUS?

That's pretty unusual, isn't it?

I sent them an E-mail asking if they needed the information to have her listed and if not, why wasn't she on the list. I'll let you know if they respond.

 

[MassGuy]

I have an odd question. Say LE found a copious amount of blood somewhere ( the house, a trail) enough where they would know someone couldn't survive. Do they need a body to say the person is dead?

They don’t even need blood evidence to say someone is dead. What they need is enough proof in that regard, whether that be one big thing, or a combination of smaller things.

It certainly makes things a hell of a lot harder though if you don’t have the forensics that juries expect.

If you don’t have a body, then the prosecution’s job is twice as hard. They not only have to prove that a particular person committed a murder, but they have to prove that the victim is dead in the first place.

Amazingly, no-body cases actually carry a higher conviction rate than cases with a body (88% to 70% in one study). The reason for that is DA’s only take the strongest cases to trial.

Frazee Trial: "No body" murder trials carry high conviction rates

 

[Jackielee09]

And why is she not listed in NAMUS?

That's pretty unusual, isn't it?

Anyone can start a NAMUS acct for someone. Police just have to approve and give case number. So I agree. Unusual.

 

[Melrose]

It's so weird that the Find Suzanne page was only active for 5 days? I would be posting constantly...

I don't know what has happened to Suzanne, but have so much compassion for the people who love her. Having never been in such a dire and terrifying situation I think it would be impossible to predict how I would behave or react if I ever (God forbid) found myself in their shoes. The pressure must be absolutely off the scale, and it must be difficult to function?

Suddenly world famous with total strangers delving into your life (including all your finances; habits; mistakes; and faults past and present) and that's before you even consider the nightmare scenarios going on in their heads about what might have, or is happening to the person they love. *Shudder*.

I don't think I would get a wink of sleep for starters, or be doing anything normally or efficiently except maybe still breathing and/or blinking.

(JMO. Moo. and the other one that I forget at the moment).

 

[MassGuy]

Has LE even declared this to be anything more than a missing person's case yet? Isn't that really strange in view of how they are investigating?

In the Gannon Stauch case, we saw the same thing. It was clear that a criminal investigation was being conducted, yet law enforcement maintained that the case was still being handled as a missing persons investigation.

This continued up until the arrest of Gannon’s stepmother.

 

[sunflowerchick]

I have an odd question. Say LE found a copious amount of blood somewhere ( the house, a trail) enough where they would know someone couldn't survive. Do they need a body to say the person is dead?

I don't think so as evidenced in other cases. For example, in the Gannon case, they arrested Leticia for murder before the body was found. Also in the Kelsey Berreth case, still no body...

 

[LietKynes]

The unnamed relative of Suzanne who says they think the girls are "under protection" paints a very sobering portrait. Why do the girls need protection?

Snipped for focus
Bbm
Agreed. ^^^
I thought that was odd and unsettling.

If I was underage or even college age and living off campus -- I'd want to be with the remaining parent, if I thought she'd been kidnapped.
Speaks volumes about the thought processes going on.

And it's not 'protection from social media', either.
You can delete or erase content, and no one can harass you online.
They're afraid of something or someone else.

I'm positive Suzanne's daughters and family are both frightened and heartbroken.

Hoping for a break soon !

 

[Melrose]

Snipped for focus
Bbm
Agreed. ^^^
I thought that was odd and unsettling.

If I was underage or even college age and living off campus -- I'd want to be with the remaining parent.
If I thought she'd been kidnapped.
Speaks volumes about the thought processes going on.

And it's not 'protection from social media', either.
You can delete or erase content, and no one can harass you online.
They're afraid of something or someone else.

I'm positive Suzanne's daughters and family are both frightened and heartbroken.

Hoping for a break soon !

Protecting beautiful young girls who have suddenly become world famous (and motherless?) sounds like a sensible move IMO.

 

[10ofRods]

There's no proof she didn't go on a walk, or fishing or flew away but that doesn't mean those are viable theories. Proof is the LE has never mentioned it. There is a reason and it is not because they are trying to cover up a bike ride. They have known since shortly after she was reported missing if she was biking.

LE has been careful to say "reportedly" biking. Which is why some of us have doubts. LE has not confirmed. I believe they did confirm her bike was found but only the Fire Chief and the nephew have offered up what they've heard about its location or condition, AFAIK.

This case resembles a game of Clue, so far, but it is the saddest "game" that a perp can play. Someone knows exactly where Suzanne is.

 

[MntnHiker]

Well I think the bike is important to the extent that, even if she never went on a ride, if the bike was staged, I think that would limit the pool of those who did something to her. I mean a random stranger would have no way of knowing that she even was a cyclist and they would likely have no way of accessing her bike. How many people knew she regularly rode on Sundays and had access to even getting her bike in order to stage it? If LE has decided it was staged, I think that could help them narrow this down. MOO