Found Deceased CO - Suzanne Morphew, 49, Chaffee Co, 10 May 2020 #100 *Case dismissed w/o Prejudice*

[Skigh]

Yes - better for them to have the lame duck trial

Now the narrative will be the body

We had better add the lame duck to the zoo. I am sure it can be nursed back to full health and strength.

 

[susiQ]

The way she spoke to Lauren,who has behaved totally professionally , was absolutely disgraceful . She should be called out for that and made to give a public apology.

Agreed! For a high priced attorney, I found IE to be completely without class. JMHO.

 

[susiQ]

Agree.
She gave her closing argument to the media anyway.

And what a LAME closing argument that was. Sorry, but I think she gets paid way too much for all that hot air

 

[Skigh]

Agreed! For a high priced attorney, I found IE to be completely without class. JMHO.

I think her performance yesterday has been very detrimental to her reputation. I think she could live to sorely regret that speech .

She cannot even claim she kissed Barry like that because she was drunk!

 

[rainbowshummingbird]

I think MG is terrified of something being known, such as a relationship of some kind with Barry or someone, i.e., Barry. Or she could have used some controlled drugs that she was fearful of LE finding out.

I don’t think MG had anything to do with Suzanne’s disappearance but she might know more about Barry cheating on Suzanne with others or about some criminal element.
In any case, I think she is terrified right now and may open up to LE more in the future.

Like you, I don’t believe MG had anything to do with Suzanne’s disappearance. I consider MG to be a victim of Barry.

I also wonder if she held back some information from LE thinking that she might be safer if she kept some things secret. Or if perhaps she was apprehensive because of drug usage? I try to place myself in her position, if I was a witness in a criminal matter, would I take a polygraph?

 

[Boxer]

I have immense respect for Dan May, so I am discouraged to hear his suggestion that the DA had a good chance of overturning Judge L's devastating sanctions through a Rule 21 petition to the Supreme Court. That was not my assessment.

He does not say on screen, but the reporter's concluding remarks say that if the case is re-filed the sanctions excluding key evidence will remain in place. I can only assume this came from May. Again, that is not my impression of the applicable law. If true, discovery of SM's remains will not substantially increase the prosecution's chance of conviction.

MOO to me this mean that the DA did not consult the premiere Colorado DA, Dan May, on what to do about Judge Lama ruling to eliminate the expert witnesses needed to present digital evidence.

Whether or not to appeal aside, MOO just failing to consult a successful local DA who managed and win a high profile no body case is another big unforced error.

 

[Love Never Fails]

It's actually worse when you remember it came out that the deputy director and director of the CBI personally called the sheriff and relayed various agents' opinion that the case was not ready for an arrest. I think it was the dep. director that testified at the prelim he couldn't remember ever doing that before. Yet, they brought charges anyway. For glory, arrogance, whatever....I'd feel peeved as a county resident and state taxpayer before even getting to justice for the victim.

I think the DA thought he would run and so she presented to the judge an AA that was hastily thrown together and then had to face two prominent attorneys who dissected the AA in a way that made the prosecutors look inept. They are not inept but IE made them look that way. I really don’t think the DA had a thought that BM would hire such a good team. She knows it now. Hard lesson. Let’s see what she does now.

 

[DizzyB]

I think MG knows that people like Barry have the money and power, and she would end up on the wrong side at the end of the day. Barry is home grilling steaks, and she had to move out of town.
I think the prosecution was overmatched. EN did what they had to do to get Barry off, and did it well. It’s not the defense’s fault that the prosecution couldn’t follow the rules. It is the defense’s job to use those errors to win/dismiss their case. I had no problem with the DA pulling the trigger to arrest Barry-it was in their handling of the case in bringing it to trial where they fell short. They needed their A game and they brought C- at best.

 

[CGray123]

I think her performance yesterday has been very detrimental to her reputation. I think she could live to sorely regret that speech .

She cannot even claim she kissed Barry like that because she was drunk!

Her reputation among abusive men - to whom she markets her services - has gone way up. She cares very little about her reputation
among the hoi polloi. MOO

 

[HongKongPhooey]

I agree making the claim they were close to finding the body was yet one more DA error in a case riddled with mistakes by prosecution. Even if they have reason to believe they know where she is they should have not made that claim in my opinion.

I think they needed it for the without prejudice dismissal though, if I’m understanding our more knowledgable posters correctly?

 

[EggSalad]

The article I read said that they believe her body is at the Garfield Mine, and that the area is under 5 feet of snow. They have to wait for the snow to clear, and they don't know when that will be. Therefore, a continuance could have been problematic. That is, ... not a lawyer here ... , a continuance has a specific end date and the judge could decide that the prosecution had to go forward with a trial at the end of the continuance. This way, the prosecution has as much time as it takes for snow to melt and to look for the body. The ball is in the prosecution's court.

Its been a while since I read the AA, but the Garfield area would make sense. IIRC, there was activity with BM’s truck around 3am ish (perhaps getting tools, flashlights or something to that effect) and SM’s phone had its last activity around 4am in Poncha Springs area, right? Heading west from Salida to Garfield at that time to dispose of the body would fit.

 

[CGray123]

I agree making the claim they were close to finding the body was yet one more DA error in a case riddled with mistakes by prosecution. Even if they have reason to believe they know where she is they should have not made that claim in my opinion.

With due respect, I don't know what else they could have said. For legal reasons, they needed a plausible, good faith reason for their request to dismiss without prejudice, stated in their motion.

But I agree with you to this extent: heaven help the DA if the claim wasn't made in good faith. The defense will certainly revisit the issue if the case is re-filed without a body.

 

[Love Never Fails]

Her reputation among abusive men - to whom she markets her services - has gone way up. She cares very little about her reputation
among the hoi polloi. MOO

True. She represents men accused of murder and rape. They love her.

 

[CGray123]

Hugging and kissing your credibly accused murder client seems ill advised when there is a body out there somewhere. I am posting this screencap in the hope that it does so haunt her and police at long last find the victim.

IMO.

View attachment 340499

This is theater, all part of the service for which BM has paid a hefty price. "I want all women to know this guy's OK, if you get to know him."

 

[Skigh]

This is theater, all part of the service for which BM has paid a hefty price. "I want all women to know this guy's OK, if you get to know him."

I actually think it made both of them look extremely tacky.

 

[Diddian]

Its been a while since I read the AA, but the Garfield area would make sense. IIRC, there was activity with BM’s truck around 3am ish (perhaps getting tools, flashlights or something to that effect) and SM’s phone had its last activity around 4am in Poncha Springs area, right? Heading west from Salida to Garfield at that time to dispose of the body would fit.

SM’s phone last pinged off a Poncha Springs cell tower and it pinged in the area about 11.5 miles west of that, which is near Garfield. Linking to a post I made earlier, which quotes the AA:
Still Missing - CO - Suzanne Morphew, 49, Chaffee Co, 10 May 2020 *arrest* #95

So, if SM’s remains are near Garfield, they may be close to where her phone last pinged.

However, I do not know what basis there may be for assuming the remains are near Garfield, other than the Daily Mail’s reporting. Did they explain how they determined this information? Or, have they simply combined the information about a last phone ping with others’ speculation the remains were dumped in an abandoned mine and come up with that conclusion?

 

[Kingsley]

https://www.fox21news.com/wp-conten...for-Arrest-Warrant.pdf?ipid=promo-link-block1

BM has 2 charges and I’m not sure about one of them but The forgery is a class 5 Felony .
Under CRS 18-5-102, this carries a penalty of

• 1 to 3 years in Colorado State Prison, and/or
• A fine of $1,000 to $100,000

So I am also wondering if there is some significant CYA going on.
Barry has been jailed for almost a year. He has been jailed under multiple charges.
The sentencing for the forgery could be a year.
My question is: If Barry were to file a civil case wrt being falsely accused BUT was also convicted of forgery and sentenced pretty much to time served, is there any basis for a civil case?
Is it possible that with conviction looking less certain, the DA decided that now would be a good time to drop the current murder charges without penalty?
I am ignorant about the laws regarding this so any enlightenment is definitely welcome. But this has been churning a bit in the back of my head.

 

[O.Incandenza]

I have immense respect for Dan May, so I am discouraged to hear his suggestion that the DA had a good chance of overturning Judge L's devastating sanctions through a Rule 21 petition to the Supreme Court. That was not my assessment.

He does not say on screen, but the reporter's concluding remarks say that if the case is re-filed the sanctions excluding key evidence will remain in place. I can only assume this came from May. Again, that is not my impression of the applicable law. If true, discovery of SM's remains will not substantially increase the prosecution's chance of conviction.

Yeah, that jumped out to me as well. I'm hoping that was just a reporter's misstatement, but it's a pretty random thing to say, so it may have come directly from May. I don't know the rule myself.

If that's true, then it's another monumental mistake by the DA to dismiss instead of trying an appeal first. They could always have dismissed if the appeal was rejected.

 

[crhedBngr]

Hugging and kissing your credibly accused murder client seems ill advised when there is a body out there somewhere. I am posting this screencap in the hope that it does so haunt her and police at long last find the victim.

IMO.

View attachment 340499

I'm glad I eat bland breakfast food - this makes me ill.

Unbelievable.

JMVHO.

 

[Kingsley]

Iris knows the real facts and LIED about them.

On the other hand, Lauren is only a reporter and Iris might sue her.

My hope is a great DA prosecutes BM and he goes to jail for life. Sick of games courts play.

The guy is a murderer.

Is suing and interviews the way that charged but not convicted people recoup their legal costs? Makes me wonder if we'll see a lot of both coming up soon.