Found Deceased CO - BARRY ARRESTED AGAIN - Suzanne Morphew, 49, Chaffee Co, 10 May 2020 *Case dismissed w/o prejudice* *found in 2023* #117

[Momofthreeboys]

This story previously aired on April 30, 2022. It was updated on July 1, 2023.]

This past week, a prosecutor working on the case of Suzanne Morphew, a missing mother of two, said in open court that investigators suspect they know the location of her body. "She is in a very difficult spot," said Deputy District Attorney Mark Hurlbert. "We actually have more than just a feeling … and the sheriff's office is continuing to look for Mrs. Morphew's body."

It was a major update in the Morphew case which began on Mother's Day 2020, when she disappeared from her Colorado home. Hurlbert said there was no timetable for bringing a murder case to trial. "That could be a long time. It could be quick, it could be long. It depends on a lot of our investigation," he said.

Authorities hint they know location of Suzanne Morphew's body: "She is in a very difficult spot," says prosecutor

With no shortage of bizarre clues, "nothing is what it seems" in the investigation into Suzanne Morphew's untimely disappearance.

www.cbsnews.com

Bringing this forward for discussion, as I feel it could be relevant to when and why he moved Suzanne’s body. LE had some sort of basis for this suspicion?

It probably came from the autopsy and investigation at the burial site. But prosecution in my opinion absolutely needs it to support the location of the body in Moffat because it eases up the timeline issues of when he could have killed her and how he got her to Moffat before he left for Broomfield. So if prosecution can go in with the theory that she was moved with expert testimony that the remains support that theory they can explain Moffat.

 

[Momofthreeboys]

It’s only my opinion, but having dealt with a narcicisst, I do not believe Barry will ever admit the truth. He can’t. A narcicisst always justifies what they do. They are always right. Everyone else is wrong. He will spend his last penny, that of his mother, sister, daughters and friends to fight this and he will believe he can win.

Agree dont think that’s going to happen and there will be many things that will never be known in my opinion. This trial in my opinion will be concise and devoid of any unnecessary “back stories” or non essential “explanation”.

 

[Megnut]

.

I too think he saw her on his trail /spy cams and that fuelled his rage. I think it is highly likely he raped her.

He did say so, said they had sex. But we know what Barry didn't want anyone to know. She was done with him. Done, done. Iirc she even told JL that, post divorce, she was going to be on her own for a while. IMO she was done having Barry/men decide her happiness.

So if HE had sex that night, she did not. It was against her will, and likely aided by animal tranquilizers, to insure her compliance.

And isn't that his own practice? Tranquilize deer and harvest their antlers? Incapacitate and do as he pleases.

JMO

 

[Knox]

It probably came from the autopsy and investigation at the burial site. But prosecution in my opinion absolutely needs it to support the location of the body in Moffat because it eases up the timeline issues of when he could have killed her and how he got her to Moffat before he left for Broomfield. So if prosecution can go in with the theory that she was moved with expert testimony that the remains support that theory they can explain Moffat.

The prosecution team made that statement in April 2022, well before Suzanne’s body was found. So they suspected through some sort of evidence where he had taken her body - and it wasn’t Moffat.

My point is, there has to be something pointing to the suspected location or he wouldn’t have made that statement in public. Is it going to be brought out at trial to prove he later moved her?

 

[Diddian]

Since the forensics on the remains and the burial site indicate that it is not the location where the body decomposed, so the remains were moved to a secondary burial location, I assume LE was able to gain a warrant to search BM's cellphone and vehicle including telematics on the basis that they were likely involved in transferring the remains. It will be interesting to learn if investigators turned up anything regarding any trips south of Salida to the Moffat area and whether there are any timeframes for which the telematics are missing or whether BM used other means to conceal the trip.

I wonder whether BM moved the remains BEFORE he moved to Cave Creek, or whether Moffat was a brief side trip ALONG THE WAY in that move - perhaps with the contained remains being temporarily transported in a cargo or landscape trailer with whatever else he was moving. Maybe he rented a UHaul cargo trailer for that trip.

I wish we knew when he made the move and whether at least the first couple hours were at night.

ETA: Regarding when BM made the move to Cave Creek, it was likely sometime AFTER SM's remains had been discovered, so his move to Cave Creek did not correspond to the moving of SM's remains.

ETA: According to this Denver Gazette article, BM made the move to Arizona sometime before the "celebration of life" for Suzanne was held in Indiana (to which SM's side of the family was not invited):

New Colorado prosecutor to decide potential charges in Suzanne Morphew murder

New charges in Suzanne Morphew investigation are on the desk of a new district attorney. New evidence found in autopsy report.

denvergazette.com

And according to the Daily Mail, the Indiana "celebration of life" was Saturday, May 4, 2024:

Barry Morphew sneaks into memorial service for wife Suzanne

Friends and family of Suzanne Morphew gathered at an Indiana church for a celebration of life ceremony over the weekend.

www.dailymail.co.uk

Autopsy of SM's remains was finished on Sept 27, 2023 and results took 7 months to be released. As next of kin, BM received the results but by then had moved out of the area:

Morphew murder case saw major developments | 2024: A LOOK BACK

Suzanne Morphew’s family hopes that 2025 would bring an arrest in the murder case, which seemed doomed when it was dismissed in April 2023.

denvergazette.com

And this Denver Gazette article has BM living in Indiana at the end of April 2024, shortly before the "celebration of life" planned for SM on May 4, 2024. So there is some confusion between the first Denver Gazette article I've included and this one about when exactly BM moved to Arizona:

Long-awaited Suzanne Morphew toxicology report raises new questions in homicide case

Will a long-awaited toxicology report on Suzanne Morphew’s remains upend the nearly four-year-old case, which many believe would never be solved?

denvergazette.com

 

[girlhasnoname]

O.M.G.

I did say, maybe he did it that way because he wanted to. Dominance.

What you say makes perfect sense.

She was done with him, but he wasn't done with her.

A way to roofie her, in effect. Take back what was rightfully his. Dominate her over JL. THAT'S where the RAGE came from. (I think he witnessed/heard her/them on his trail cams/mini spy cam that morning and he was irate. Suzanne WAS HIS.)

It also accounts for the gouges.

And ended in DHV.

JMO

Way back in the first PTH with Judge Murphy the State began by saying it was a case of Domestic Violence Homicide. I agree it was always about that.

I bet Lauren S, the great local reporter at the time that covered the case is thrilled. You know she has enough info. to write a real tell all book.

JMO

 

[girlhasnoname]

It’s only my opinion, but having dealt with a narcicisst, I do not believe Barry will ever admit the truth. He can’t. A narcicisst always justifies what they do. They are always right. Everyone else is wrong. He will spend his last penny, that of his mother, sister, daughters and friends to fight this and he will believe he can win.

Agreed @Love Never Fails. BM will die proclaiming his innocence, but I'm okay with that as long as it's behind the bars of a 10 x 10 cell. Now who is the caged animal??

JMO

 

[Megnut]

This story previously aired on April 30, 2022. It was updated on July 1, 2023.]

This past week, a prosecutor working on the case of Suzanne Morphew, a missing mother of two, said in open court that investigators suspect they know the location of her body. "She is in a very difficult spot," said Deputy District Attorney Mark Hurlbert. "We actually have more than just a feeling … and the sheriff's office is continuing to look for Mrs. Morphew's body."

It was a major update in the Morphew case which began on Mother's Day 2020, when she disappeared from her Colorado home. Hurlbert said there was no timetable for bringing a murder case to trial. "That could be a long time. It could be quick, it could be long. It depends on a lot of our investigation," he said.

Authorities hint they know location of Suzanne Morphew's body: "She is in a very difficult spot," says prosecutor

With no shortage of bizarre clues, "nothing is what it seems" in the investigation into Suzanne Morphew's untimely disappearance.

www.cbsnews.com

Bringing this forward for discussion, as I feel it could be relevant to when and why he moved Suzanne’s body. LE had some sort of basis for this suspicion?

Now that we know she was moved, it's reasonable to ask how many times.

Many of us were like pitbulls over the beach site, tenacious over PP, that he likely pitched her into a mine in the mountain area behind PP.

Thing is, investigations don't unfold in real time. First, there's investigating but the suspect has the headstart. Once the public gets a hold of it, we're waaaaaay behind the timeline.

I think LE was looking for SM in places she'd already been moved from.

No random kidnapper is going to bother moving remains. Barry just can't stop telling on himself. Outdumbs himself at every turn.

LE has ways to track suspects but they're rarely in real time. There's data that needs to be collected and analyzed.

He's likely been paranoid he's being followed but IMO not hard for him to appear to be one place, while backdooring it to a car rental place, renting a car, traveling from anywhere back to Colorado to move her again. Before he was done 3x, 4x...

Her remains may have been in Moffat for three years.... but I think he had her in one more spot we never knew about, until he moved her to Moffat. Barely barried. Perhaps he thought that finding her body on a route out of Dodge, in a crime dumping ground, it would support his ridiculous abduction story and, decomposed, look like she'd been there all along.

Supposedly he followed true crime -- he most certainly didn't take notes -- but he forgot to study anthropology. So much he didn't know.

IMO at first he didn't want her found but later must have decided that, if he could now stage her remains, $15 million would line his filthy pockets nicely. False arrest if a bushy haired rando killed her after all.

Except.... no hair, little tissue, no bugs, no decomp, bleached bones, BAM, metabolized BAM.

And there's only one explanation for that.

Her body wasn't there the whole time, her body decomposed elsewhere.

A kidnapper isn't going to come back to town to do that.

But a man who thought he might be able to control the narrative and capitalize on it would. Because he's been doing that the whole time.

JMO

 

[twall]

LE statement was that the arrest was made without incident.

Thank you, I was way behind and hadn't read that yet. Was hoping for some bodycam action footage but BM did not resist.

 

[Chimera]

It’s only my opinion, but having dealt with a narcicisst, I do not believe Barry will ever admit the truth. He can’t. A narcicisst always justifies what they do. They are always right. Everyone else is wrong. He will spend his last penny, that of his mother, sister, daughters and friends to fight this and he will believe he can win.

Bbm.
Ita.
I'm a 'lil curious if his mom and rest of his family are even now gathering money or selling a house or whatever to come up with his bail money ??
Omo.

 

[Momofthreeboys]

The prosecution team made that statement in April 2022, well before Suzanne’s body was found. So they suspected through some sort of evidence where he had taken her body - and it wasn’t Moffat.

My point is, there has to be something pointing to the suspected location or he wouldn’t have made that statement in public. Is it going to be brought out at trial to prove he later moved her?

I think prosecution has to.

 

[Momofthreeboys]

Bbm.
Ita.
I'm a 'lil curious if his mom and rest of his family are even now gathering money or selling a house or whatever to come up with his bail money ??
Omo.

Or he will wait it out and stick to speedy trial. From all the anecdotal posts here and there he has transferred most of his assets out of his name anyway. So theoretically his family has access to whatever he had. If the Colorado bond stays 3 mil cash I think he will wait it out. If he comes up with it then we know he had much in assets after the bond which he would have received back.

 

[MrsWatson]

Does CO bond out first degree homicide charges?

ETA: No, they don't, so not an issue for Barry.

Amendment I: No bail for first degree murder in Colorado, explained

This amendment would allow judges to order defendants in first-degree murder cases to be held without bail until their trial.

www.cpr.org

 

[Momofthreeboys]

Now that we know she was moved, it's reasonable to ask how many times.

Many of us were like pitbulls over the beach site, tenacious over PP, that he likely pitched her into a mine in the mountain area behind PP.

Thing is, investigations don't unfold in real time. First, there's investigating but the suspect has the headstart. Once the public gets a hold of it, we're waaaaaay behind the timeline.

I think LE was looking for SM in places she'd already been moved from.

No random kidnapper is going to bother moving remains. Barry just can't stop telling on himself. Outdumbs himself at every turn.

LE has ways to track suspects but they're rarely in real time. There's data that needs to be collected and analyzed.

He's likely been paranoid he's being followed but IMO not hard for him to appear to be one place, while backdooring it to a car rental place, renting a car, traveling from anywhere back to Colorado to move her again. Before he was done 3x, 4x...

Her remains may have been in Moffat for three years.... but I think he had her in one more spot we never knew about, until he moved her to Moffat. Barely barried. Perhaps he thought that finding her body on a route out of Dodge, in a crime dumping ground, it would support his ridiculous abduction story and, decomposed, look like she'd been there all along.

Supposedly he followed true crime -- he most certainly didn't take notes -- but he forgot to study anthropology. So much he didn't know.

IMO at first he didn't want her found but later must have decided that, if he could now stage her remains, $15 million would line his filthy pockets nicely. False arrest if a bushy haired rando killed her after all.

Except.... no hair, little tissue, no bugs, no decomp, bleached bones, BAM, metabolized BAM.

And there's only one explanation for that.

Her body wasn't there the whole time, her body decomposed elsewhere.

A kidnapper isn't going to come back to town to do that.

But a man who thought he might be able to control the narrative and capitalize on it would. Because he's been doing that the whole time.

JMO

I do not think it matters how many times. Prosecution only needs prove one time to get out from under the dates of the 9th and 10th trying to figure out on those 2 days when he made the trip to Moffat. prisecution technically don’t need motive but they have one very quickly and easily and already in fact: Suzanne wanted out of the marriage and was having an affair and Barry did not want it. Done and done. prosecution does not need anything else about the past at all. They do not need a windy trail into any of that. Get it out there move on in my opinion. Prosecution has had years to craft their case and Defense has a ton also except anything new that might come out in disclosure.

 

[FromGermany1]

This story previously aired on April 30, 2022. It was updated on July 1, 2023.]

This past week, a prosecutor working on the case of Suzanne Morphew, a missing mother of two, said in open court that investigators suspect they know the location of her body. "She is in a very difficult spot," said Deputy District Attorney Mark Hurlbert. "We actually have more than just a feeling … and the sheriff's office is continuing to look for Mrs. Morphew's body."

It was a major update in the Morphew case which began on Mother's Day 2020, when she disappeared from her Colorado home. Hurlbert said there was no timetable for bringing a murder case to trial. "That could be a long time. It could be quick, it could be long. It depends on a lot of our investigation," he said.

Authorities hint they know location of Suzanne Morphew's body: "She is in a very difficult spot," says prosecutor

With no shortage of bizarre clues, "nothing is what it seems" in the investigation into Suzanne Morphew's untimely disappearance.

www.cbsnews.com

Bringing this forward for discussion, as I feel it could be relevant to when and why he moved Suzanne’s body. LE had some sort of basis for this suspicion?

So it was the location before SM ended up at Moffat? As Moffat wasn't "a very difficult spot", but amazingly visible.
Does the relocation have anything to do with the fact, that perhaps any money could only be paid out after the "missing" person was found?
-.-.-
<modsnip: Facebook is NOT an approved source.>

 

[MassGuy]

How we got here, from the first post ever made about this case, to Barry’s initial arrest, Suzanne being found, the autopsy results, and Friday’s second arrest.

 

[ar3593]

It’s only my opinion, but having dealt with a narcicisst, I do not believe Barry will ever admit the truth. He can’t. A narcicisst always justifies what they do. They are always right. Everyone else is wrong. He will spend his last penny, that of his mother, sister, daughters and friends to fight this and he will believe he can win.

ITA ! And narcissists always portray the part of a victim...

 

[Love Never Fails]

O.M.G.

I did say, maybe he did it that way because he wanted to. Dominance.

What you say makes perfect sense.

She was done with him, but he wasn't done with her.

A way to roofie her, in effect. Take back what was rightfully his. Dominate her over JL. THAT'S where the RAGE came from. (I think he witnessed/heard her/them on his trail cams/mini spy cam that morning and he was irate. Suzanne WAS HIS.)

It also accounts for the gouges.

And ended in DHV.

JMO

So he raped her before using the BAM?

I ask because if she fought him and gave him those gauges, why wouldn’t he have just strangled her in his anger? Why use the BAM after?

And if he had used it before, she would have been unable to fight him or leave any gauges.

 

[GOBliaison]

Legally, this could be a fascinating case with rare and even unique issues. It is rare to have a defendant who was previously charged, with issues as extensively litigated as Morphew's prior case. Add the civil complaint with its many accusations, and the procedural complexity of challenging a grand jury indictment, and you'll have the makings of a legal donnybrook. Eytan may be out of the picture as defense counsel, but David Beller is more than capable of exploiting every legal angle for Morphew's benefit.

I believe Kelly's decision to have appellate counsel on the case from the beginning will be of critical importance, as there will be many appealable issues.

The first question is, will Morphew exercise his right to inquire* as to how the grand jury reached its decision? Second, will there be a "proof evident/presumption great" hearing? * What will be Kelly's strategic decisions at the beginning?

As grateful as I am to see the case filed, I will keep my expectations modest. This case will not be a walkover.

All that said, Morphew is not facing the fiasco of a district prosecutor's office led by an attorney with no felony trial experience: Kelly and Johnson are definitely up to this task.

G/N/U {generally/normally/usually} :
* "Rights", per se, arise in tandem with "correlative/ corresponding obligations".

"Granted counselor:
Do ask.
Please.
"So we may elect to respond,
if at all,
in such fashion as we are satisfied is required by law."

* * *​

* NEGATRONSKY!
Of late, IIRC, a PE/PG hearing is no longer compulsory in "capital" cases, so...

..."Bailiff, kindly introduce the accused to our attending sheriff
that he may escorted to our confinement facility
for fittings of (perhaps) freshly laundered
ORANGIES.
​

This hearing stands adjourned.

​

 

[Knox]

Now that we know she was moved, it's reasonable to ask how many times.

Many of us were like pitbulls over the beach site, tenacious over PP, that he likely pitched her into a mine in the mountain area behind PP.

Thing is, investigations don't unfold in real time. First, there's investigating but the suspect has the headstart. Once the public gets a hold of it, we're waaaaaay behind the timeline.

I think LE was looking for SM in places she'd already been moved from.

No random kidnapper is going to bother moving remains. Barry just can't stop telling on himself. Outdumbs himself at every turn.

LE has ways to track suspects but they're rarely in real time. There's data that needs to be collected and analyzed.

He's likely been paranoid he's being followed but IMO not hard for him to appear to be one place, while backdooring it to a car rental place, renting a car, traveling from anywhere back to Colorado to move her again. Before he was done 3x, 4x...

Her remains may have been in Moffat for three years.... but I think he had her in one more spot we never knew about, until he moved her to Moffat. Barely barried. Perhaps he thought that finding her body on a route out of Dodge, in a crime dumping ground, it would support his ridiculous abduction story and, decomposed, look like she'd been there all along.

Supposedly he followed true crime -- he most certainly didn't take notes -- but he forgot to study anthropology. So much he didn't know.

IMO at first he didn't want her found but later must have decided that, if he could now stage her remains, $15 million would line his filthy pockets nicely. False arrest if a bushy haired rando killed her after all.

Except.... no hair, little tissue, no bugs, no decomp, bleached bones, BAM, metabolized BAM.

And there's only one explanation for that.

Her body wasn't there the whole time, her body decomposed elsewhere.

A kidnapper isn't going to come back to town to do that.

But a man who thought he might be able to control the narrative and capitalize on it would. Because he's been doing that the whole time.

JMO

I’m on board with what you’re suggesting. Do we have any historical stuff from MSM as to what Morgan stated regarding that river job she worked with Barry on? I do believe he may have initially intended to deposit her there and Morgan had some interesting comments on same. Add the older lady who was interviewed regarding the noises she heard that night. How does that fit in with the telematics in the new AA, or does it?

Barry was a hunter who likely was secretive about his hunting ground. You know the type I mean. It’s completely believable to me that he put her somewhere then later relocated her because he’s a greedy man. He was running out of money, IE cost him a pretty penny. $15m on the line was irresistible, he needed her to be found to win that case. He was cocky and hedged his bets, lucky for the state.

I feel Kelly has a lot more than the BAM to prove her case to a jury. Hope I’m not being overly optimistic