Found Deceased CO - Suzanne Morphew, 49, Chaffee Co, 10 May 2020 #80 *arrest*

[DizzyB]

Beyond ODD, IMO . He didn't write her name, hair color hair (hair length), height, weight, or age because he wasn't looking for Suzanne. He wanted the helmet found. It's been discussed before...baby blue bike or baby blue bike helmet?? Has to be helmet...he was right there and told not to touch the bike which was recovered two days before.

It wouldn't surprise me if they found another item of Suzanne's such as biking gloves etc., further west.

I recall that the bike found was dark blue (someone please correct me if I am wrong), therefore, Barry was referring only to the helmet in his hastily scribbled note.

 

[Tiff23fr]

What is the date for the next hearing?
Thanks Much

 

[OldCop]

If you're asking from the perspective of the sleuthers, we (some of us at a minimum) would say the bike and helmet were probably last together at the time of SM's last actual bike ride.

We don't know whether they were stored together at home but that seems reasonable. In which case they were together after her last ride, separated only during the staging portion of the crime.

If you're asking from the ostensible perspective of BM, it appears he was trying to claim that someone snatched her off her bike at the general 50/225/South Arkansas intersection, tossing her bike down the bank, and then drove off to the west with SM, where either the kidnapper [or SM attempting to leave a bread crumb trail] removed her helmet and tossed it as they drove off. Or else the mountain lion did it. He's not sure. MOO

RBBM I think BM made a big mistake here. If the mysterious “abductor” dumped her bike and then drove up to Hwy 50 and turned left, west, he, (or SM), would have had to throw the helmet clear across the highway with such great force that it would have landed 10 feet off the road on the east side of US50. This also in the morning or early afternoon on Mother’s Day on both 225 and 50 which by all accounts were very busy that day. Highly unlikely IMO.

 

[Scootie98]

I think it was odd he didn't say her height or color of her hair, but at that point in time the only known factors were the color of her helmet and bike. Barry technically wouldn't have known what she was wearing as he left her "sleeping in bed" . If he described what she was wearing it would have been a giant flag.

In an actual abduction scenario...conventional wisdom would be for Barry to have gone home and inventoried the biking clothing..narrowing down to that which was missing; then reporting to LE that the bike clothing that she likely was wearing is______since that was the missing bike clothing. Also...physical description, etc... But, since this isn't an actual abduction or "missing person"...no need for Barry to have put himself out with those details.

 

[oviedo]

What is the date for the next hearing?
Thanks Much

https://www.koaa.com/preliminary-he...udge-set-to-rule-on-advancing-case-on-sept-17
snipped
CHAFFEE COUNTY, Colo. – A decision to determine whether there’s enough evidence to proceed with the criminal case against Barry Morphew, who is suspected of murdering his wife Suzanne, will be decided by a judge in mid-September.

After 20 hours of testimony in a preliminary hearing that spanned four days, 11th Judicial District Chief Judge Patrick Murphy told the court he would rather make the decision correctly rather than too quickly.

An in-person hearing where attorneys will make further arguments for their case will take place on Sept. 17 at 1:30 p.m. Judge Murphy will make this ruling whether to proceed to a trial thereafter, or whether to let Morphew get out on bond. The arrest affidavit in the case, which has remained sealed, will also be addressed.

 

[OldCop]

Hi all. I’m trying to tie down the timeline after reviewing @NoSI’s great notes from days 3 and 4 of the prelim and some of the journalists’ tweets. Can anyone confirm what time BM tried to call SM 11 times on May 9th?
I have both 9:49 am and 2:36 pm.
I think this is really important.
From our timeline:
2:26 pm BM calls SM 11 times***

2:31 pm BM to SM: Did you leave?

2:35 pm BM texts SM that he’s on the way home

2:43:59 pm BM returned home

If this is the true timeline, I believe BM arrived home in a rage. SM wouldn’t answer his calls. He even thought she might have left him.
More importantly at 2:35 he texts her and tells her he’s on the way home.
Why is this so important? It means he didn’t sneak up on her.
I think SM was out sunbathing and sending texts and pics to JL. She ignored BM’s calls. She was caught up in her time with JL. Then BM says he’s on the way.
I imagine an “Oh sh****” moment. She runs inside, locks the br door, changes out of her bathing suit, throwing it on the floor with the brown towel.
BM arrives home. He is so mad. He goes to the BR, finds the door locked, and breaks it in. What happens next? Did he try to use the brown towel to strangle her? Did she manage to break away? Was that when the chase began?

 

[Charlot123]

Hi all. I’m trying to tie down the timeline after reviewing @NoSI’s great notes from days 3 and 4 of the prelim and some of the journalists’ tweets. Can anyone confirm what time BM tried to call SM 11 times on May 9th?
I have both 9:49 am and 2:36 pm.
I think this is really important.
From our timeline:
2:26 pm BM calls SM 11 times***

2:31 pm BM to SM: Did you leave?

2:35 pm BM texts SM that he’s on the way home

2:43:59 pm BM returned home

If this is the true timeline, I believe BM arrived home in a rage. SM wouldn’t answer his calls. He even thought she might have left him.
More importantly at 2:35 he texts her and tells her he’s on the way home.
Why is this so important? It means he didn’t sneak up on her.
I think SM was out sunbathing and sending texts and pics to JL. She ignored BM’s calls. She was caught up in her time with JL. Then BM says he’s on the way.
I imagine an “Oh sh****” moment. She runs inside, locks the br door, changes out of her bathing suit, throwing it on the floor with the brown towel.
BM arrives home. He is so mad. He goes to the BR, finds the door locked, and breaks it in. What happens next? Did he try to use the brown towel to strangle her? Did she manage to break away? Was that when the chase began?

When people are mad, they are mad. A Shakespearian hero would pronounce a monologue before strangling the wife, and we’d listen when in tears, but it is high drama. IRL, a guy might get mad when suddenly seeing his wife dressed, in his view, provocatively, and sending a photo of herself to someone.

But - putting his phone on a “flight” mode is not a spontaneous thing. It is premeditation. Stealthily creeping, following her is not a spontaneous thing.

I think he could have gotten mad, because, honestly, he comes across as sadistic, however, the real madness is in the sheer decision to kill her, and the execution looks totally premeditated.

 

[OutWest]

Hi all. I’m trying to tie down the timeline after reviewing @NoSI’s great notes from days 3 and 4 of the prelim and some of the journalists’ tweets. Can anyone confirm what time BM tried to call SM 11 times on May 9th?
I have both 9:49 am and 2:36 pm.
I think this is really important.
From our timeline:
2:26 pm BM calls SM 11 times***

2:31 pm BM to SM: Did you leave?

2:35 pm BM texts SM that he’s on the way home

2:43:59 pm BM returned home

If this is the true timeline, I believe BM arrived home in a rage. SM wouldn’t answer his calls. He even thought she might have left him.
More importantly at 2:35 he texts her and tells her he’s on the way home.
Why is this so important? It means he didn’t sneak up on her.
I think SM was out sunbathing and sending texts and pics to JL. She ignored BM’s calls. She was caught up in her time with JL. Then BM says he’s on the way.
I imagine an “Oh sh****” moment. She runs inside, locks the br door, changes out of her bathing suit, throwing it on the floor with the brown towel.
BM arrives home. He is so mad. He goes to the BR, finds the door locked, and breaks it in. What happens next? Did he try to use the brown towel to strangle her? Did she manage to break away? Was that when the chase began?

@OldCop, your scenario makes perfectly logical sense. Then, at that point, he is in an emotional panic mode while trying to think how to hide his crime. IMO, as he is trying to think clearly, his initial tendency would be to try to hide the body as quickly as possible until such time that he was able to come up with a plan. Initially, off the PP property but close by. Later, move the body to a more remote location by a means that would not leave a GPS trail, such as ATV. In any case, within a few miles of the PP property.

 

[10ofRods]

What is the date for the next hearing?
Thanks Much

Did anyone answer? It's Sept 17, at 1:30 pm, I believe.

 

[oviedo]

Hi all. I’m trying to tie down the timeline after reviewing @NoSI’s great notes from days 3 and 4 of the prelim and some of the journalists’ tweets. Can anyone confirm what time BM tried to call SM 11 times on May 9th?
I have both 9:49 am and 2:36 pm.
I think this is really important.
From our timeline:
2:26 pm BM calls SM 11 times***

2:31 pm BM to SM: Did you leave?

2:35 pm BM texts SM that he’s on the way home

2:43:59 pm BM returned home

If this is the true timeline, I believe BM arrived home in a rage. SM wouldn’t answer his calls. He even thought she might have left him.
More importantly at 2:35 he texts her and tells her he’s on the way home.
Why is this so important? It means he didn’t sneak up on her.
I think SM was out sunbathing and sending texts and pics to JL. She ignored BM’s calls. She was caught up in her time with JL. Then BM says he’s on the way.
I imagine an “Oh sh****” moment. She runs inside, locks the br door, changes out of her bathing suit, throwing it on the floor with the brown towel.
BM arrives home. He is so mad. He goes to the BR, finds the door locked, and breaks it in. What happens next? Did he try to use the brown towel to strangle her? Did she manage to break away? Was that when the chase began?

found this
@justtrish posted this:
I watched Lauren's video from day 3 and the timeline and noted some interesting things.

May 9th
2:04 photo to JL
2:06: JL texts about getting naked (this makes me wonder if they were going to do something and therefore she went inside at this point)
2:11 SM last communication with JL saying she was getting on WOAH (Lauren says maybe this is what's app, but I don't know that WOAH is an abbreviation for that?? Is there another app that people can maybe video call on called WOAH?

2:26 Barry calls Suzanne 11 times

2:44 Barry home (so at this point I now believe Suzanne is inside and not outside sunbathing)

CO - CO - Suzanne Morphew, 49, Chaffee County, 10 May 2020 #79 *ARREST*

so I think @OldCop it was from Lauren's recap and not in a published tweet? the transcript will prove this out.

 

[OldCop]

found this
@justtrish posted this:
I watched Lauren's video from day 3 and the timeline and noted some interesting things.

May 9th
2:04 photo to JL
2:06: JL texts about getting naked (this makes me wonder if they were going to do something and therefore she went inside at this point)
2:11 SM last communication with JL saying she was getting on WOAH (Lauren says maybe this is what's app, but I don't know that WOAH is an abbreviation for that?? Is there another app that people can maybe video call on called WOAH?

2:26 Barry calls Suzanne 11 times

2:44 Barry home (so at this point I now believe Suzanne is inside and not outside sunbathing)

CO - CO - Suzanne Morphew, 49, Chaffee County, 10 May 2020 #79 *ARREST*

so I think @OldCop it was from Lauren's recap and not in a published tweet? the transcript will prove this out.

Thanks, @oviedo. We still have some conflicts in a few spots, but the timeline is getting tighter.

 

[Bluebythec]

In an actual abduction scenario...conventional wisdom would be for Barry to have gone home and inventoried the biking clothing..narrowing down to that which was missing; then reporting to LE that the bike clothing that she likely was wearing is______since that was the missing bike clothing. Also...physical description, etc... But, since this isn't an actual abduction or "missing person"...no need for Barry to have put himself out with those details.[/QUOTE

There is so much don’t know! IIRC the girls talked to LE also. Maybe they asked MM2, as she lived with SM, “What clothing is missing that she would have worn biking?’ Maybe she said ‘Nothing, all her biking clothes are here.’

 

[10ofRods]

It is frightening that Garrison coukd be out and about in 2024....only in his 70's. The victim's three daughters must be petrified at that thought.

With the rocky terrain in Colorado....is it possible there is soil 6 feet deep at PP that BM may have dug through ....easily depositing SM........with a giant rock plopped on top?
Before purchase of PP photos compared to May 10, 11,12 etc. PP photos would sure help figure out which rocks (or trees) are new.

MOO

10 more days.........

The river and its immediate flood plain does have soil - don't know how deep it is, but often, when there's a stand of aspens or birch, there's often more topsoil around them. There are fields near the PP home that would have some diggable dirt and it's clear that some trees have been planted here and there (so at least 3 feet of diggable soil?) I'm guessing that in some lower lying places, it's deeper - but a lot of it is out in the open, not really conducive to hiding a body.

I doubt PP has any place where a six foot hole could be easily dug - I'm thinking about the augur attachment (did he even have ready access to one?) and why the Bobcat has been ruled out as aiding in this crime. A couple of augur holes right next to each other...I guess it could work but how does he hide the fact that he's doing this? It would be a big ole operation - where does the dirt go? You can't just dig a huge hole and not have a pile of dirt (some of which needs to be available to refill the hole once the body is inside - otherwise the big rock is going to sink into the hole unless it's like 15 feet in diameter - or bigger.)

I still think he left her south of PP in a place that, as @sk716 mentioned, might provide more cover for mountain lions. His hope lay in rapid decomp and disarticulation of her body (IMO). Animal scavenging/mountain lion would be consistent with his "lion took her from a bike," a thing which has actually happened within the last 50 years here in California; or "abductor tossed her from a car," (abductor would obviously have had to U turn or turn back toward Salida at some point, but why not?) or "she wandered off in a daze after her accident and collapsed."

@sk716 is correct about that area having more "cover," (tons more aspens, dense enough to make it hard to walk through them - but no problem for a hunter who is used to such terrain). Take a look at the pictures on the Green Creek Hiking trail sometime (on maps.google.com).

Not that I think Barry actually used a trail - he knew better, but the trail does give a glimpse of the wildly varying terrain right there, very difficult if not impossible to grid search. Suzanne would not have walked to her final resting place - Barry would have though, so the scent dogs needed to be looking for Barry's scent on all that land, not Suzanne's...

 

[NoSocks]

found this
@justtrish posted this:
I watched Lauren's video from day 3 and the timeline and noted some interesting things.

May 9th
2:04 photo to JL
2:06: JL texts about getting naked (this makes me wonder if they were going to do something and therefore she went inside at this point)
2:11 SM last communication with JL saying she was getting on WOAH (Lauren says maybe this is what's app, but I don't know that WOAH is an abbreviation for that?? Is there another app that people can maybe video call on called WOAH?

2:26 Barry calls Suzanne 11 times

2:44 Barry home (so at this point I now believe Suzanne is inside and not outside sunbathing)

CO - CO - Suzanne Morphew, 49, Chaffee County, 10 May 2020 #79 *ARREST*

so I think @OldCop it was from Lauren's recap and not in a published tweet? the transcript will prove this out.

Per the WOAH quote 2:11 in above . Just looked up WOAH on internet, (as it may pertain to getting naked as stated in their conversational direction)....found a ladies lipstick vibrator named WOAH.

 

[sk716]

It is frightening that Garrison coukd be out and about in 2024....only in his 70's. The victim's three daughters must be petrified at that thought.

With the rocky terrain in Colorado....is it possible there is soil 6 feet deep at PP that BM may have dug through ....easily depositing SM........with a giant rock plopped on top?
Before purchase of PP photos compared to May 10, 11,12 etc. PP photos would sure help figure out which rocks (or trees) are new.

MOO

10 more days.........

This is the property in October 2015:

 

[10ofRods]

There's this WOAH app:

Woah | Trippy Videos

(Open at your own risk - it's trippy). But if that's what the reference means, then JL and Suzanne had found activities/music/apps to enjoy as a couple. She probably believed she had found her "Fred."

 

[Cindizzi]

There is so much don’t know! IIRC the girls talked to LE also. Maybe they asked MM2, as she lived with SM, “What clothing is missing that she would have worn biking?’ Maybe she said ‘Nothing, all her biking clothes are here.’

I don’t think the daughters were allowed into the home until LE released it on May 20. JMO
BM was only allowed in, escorted to retrieve something of Suzannes for the tracking dogs to use.


https://twitter.com/laurenscharftv/status/1429851479226073090?s=21
We are about to watch exhibit 94 which is body cam video of #BarryMorphew entering the home identifying the clothes of #SuzanneMorphew. This is the one and only time he was allowed into the home after Suzanne was reported missing.

The video starts on May 10 at 9:37 p.m. he starts in the driveway and walks down to the home with a deputy.

#BarryMorphew is wearing a long sleeve red and blue flannel. This is the first time we are watching video of inside the Morphew home. He heads into the home and takes a left into a closet and points to clothing then Barry is seen going to the kitchen to get a plastic ziploc bag.

https://twitter.com/laurenscharftv/status/1429852954715201542?s=21
#BarryMorphew had pointed to black bicycle shorts which they put in a ziploc bag. The undersheriff also said there were riding gloves wadded up on the floor. Morphew is escorted out of the home. He was in the home from 9:37 p.m. until 9:40 p.m.

The undersheriff said this was the first time #BarryMorphew was able to go into the home. He is not asking any questions or looking around in the home. He isn't trying to call #SuzanneMorphew phone. The last place he saw her alive and isn't asking questions or looking at the bed.
https://twitter.com/laurenscharftv/status/1429853477199613953?s=21

 

[OldCop]

Per the WOAH quote 2:11 in above . Just looked up WOAH on internet, (as it may pertain to getting naked as stated in their conversational direction)....found a ladies lipstick vibrator named WOAH.

Whoa for WOAH!

 

[sk716]

The river and its immediate flood plain does have soil - don't know how deep it is, but often, when there's a stand of aspens or birch, there's often more topsoil around them. There are fields near the PP home that would have some diggable dirt and it's clear that some trees have been planted here and there (so at least 3 feet of diggable soil?) I'm guessing that in some lower lying places, it's deeper - but a lot of it is out in the open, not really conducive to hiding a body.

I doubt PP has any place where a six foot hole could be easily dug - I'm thinking about the augur attachment (did he even have ready access to one?) and why the Bobcat has been ruled out as aiding in this crime. A couple of augur holes right next to each other...I guess it could work but how does he hide the fact that he's doing this? It would be a big ole operation - where does the dirt go? You can't just dig a huge hole and not have a pile of dirt (some of which needs to be available to refill the hole once the body is inside - otherwise the big rock is going to sink into the hole unless it's like 15 feet in diameter - or bigger.)

I still think he left her south of PP in a place that, as @sk716 mentioned, might provide more cover for mountain lions. His hope lay in rapid decomp and disarticulation of her body (IMO). Animal scavenging/mountain lion would be consistent with his "lion took her from a bike," a thing which has actually happened within the last 50 years here in California; or "abductor tossed her from a car," (abductor would obviously have had to U turn or turn back toward Salida at some point, but why not?) or "she wandered off in a daze after her accident and collapsed."

@sk716 is correct about that area having more "cover," (tons more aspens, dense enough to make it hard to walk through them - but no problem for a hunter who is used to such terrain). Take a look at the pictures on the Green Creek Hiking trail sometime (on maps.google.com).

Not that I think Barry actually used a trail - he knew better, but the trail does give a glimpse of the wildly varying terrain right there, very difficult if not impossible to grid search. Suzanne would not have walked to her final resting place - Barry would have though, so the scent dogs needed to be looking for Barry's scent on all that land, not Suzanne's...

I checked the geology, it's all granite, limestone, and sandstone. If you look at a topo of the PP house, it's on a rise with the (I guess technically front yard, facing Pahlone) rising to a hilltop so he might have been able to find softer Earth in the backyard on the South Ark, but she flows fast and would be prone to topping the banks and ripping up the soil in heavy rain. Also, the neighbors homes are a little too close to the river for me to consider it a "safe" place to bury a body.

 

[DizzyB]

https://twitter.com/laurenscharftv/status/1429852954715201542?s=21
#BarryMorphew had pointed to black bicycle shorts which they put in a ziploc bag. The undersheriff also said there were riding gloves wadded up on the floor. Morphew is escorted out of the home. He was in the home from 9:37 p.m. until 9:40 p.m.

The undersheriff said this was the first time #BarryMorphew was able to go into the home. He is not asking any questions or looking around in the home. He isn't trying to call #SuzanneMorphew phone. The last place he saw her alive and isn't asking questions or looking at the bed.
https://twitter.com/laurenscharftv/status/1429853477199613953?s=21

Did Suzanne own more than one pair of riding gloves? I am guessing that her teal riding jacket is missing (possibly the teal article in the footage of Barry at the HIE), but her gloves were left behind, wadded on the closet floor. If you wanted to make it seem like someone went on a bike ride, you would probably take the gloves too-if you paid attention to small details.