Still Missing CO - Suzanne Morphew, 49, Chaffee Co, 10 May 2020 *arrest* #85

[MassGuy]

It's Judge Bull for SD's hearing

Great catch.

Colorado Judicial Branch

 

[al66pine]

Entrapment Argument, Win Yardage for BM?

More importantly GPS did not show him turning left. LE implied they had data that showed him turning left and he answered that he was chasing Elk. So how does prosecution prove that he turned left? Because he said he did? He said alot of things people don't believe....just saying. Defense will scream entrapment IMO....

@Momofthreeboys sbm bbm ibm Yes, defense may scream entrapment, but would it help BM's case?
Entrapment = "a practice in which a law enforcement agent or agent of the state induces a person to commit a "crime" that the person would have otherwise been unlikely or unwilling to commit." *

Based on BM's left turn stmt, could defense offer evd. showing that LE's actions induced BM to commit the crime of making false stmts to LE (whatever CO's specific language) that he would otherwise have been unwilling to make?

What about the other dozens of BM's false stmts (assumed or presumed false ATM, but imo can be proven false at trial) to LE, made prior to his left turn stmt?

Not delving into specifics of CO law entrapment but addressing this single left turn stmt as one of BM's many extensive stmts. Months ago, didn't BM say "3 -30 hours" w LE?

If def argues that LE implying their data showed a "left turn" constituted entrapment, I doubt it would be accepted as an affirmative defense to any of the crim charges.

Also doubting that argument would serve as a basis for judge ruling to exclude that one stmt. or BM's other stmts to LE. my2ct
__________________________
* Entrapment - Wikipedia.

 

[al66pine]

dbm

 

[waldojabba]

But that all assumes that the purchase that he debated about was intended for nefarious use. There's really nothing that indicates that and LE cleared the bobcat in the affidavit.

IMO To use the AA as the be all and end all seems a tad disingenuous and even perhaps a strategic error -we all know that this is an ongoing investigation .., it did not stop when the AA was submitted. At the time the AA was submitted it appeared there was no connection to the bob cat. Who knows what has been uncovered since then ? IMO

 

[Megnut]

I'm re-reading the AA again.

The day of (approx p. 70ff of the AA)

Barry confirms that Suzanne was sunning in her bikini when he arrived home the first time (for veggie soup allegedly). Curiously he couldn't recall if she was sunbathing or in her bikini when he returned the second time, after the hard-to-remember mechanical thing.

Barry texted Suzanne that he was on his way home and his phone was in normal mode for his approach. He made no attempt to hide that from Suzanne, had she been tracking him in real time.

Barry per LL pulled all the way into the garage, leaving the truck door open. And didn't put his phone into airplane mode for 3 minutes, IM0 that's how long it took him to determine that she was no longer outside.

I think Barry was aware that Suzanne planned to bike that afternoon, hence his text about her leaving. He wanted to catch her at home IMO.

So.... if Suzanne and JL finished communicating early in to'clock hour, what did Suzanne do next, that prevented her ostensibly from seeing Barry's texts or hearing calls and hearing his truck and the garage door? I submit she took a shower. I further submit that Barry barreled through
the door and what happened next, happened fast and caught Suzanne entirely unaware.

JMO

 

[Derph]

OK so here’s my question… Has anyone besides me wondered if Barry has an accomplice?

There are two incidents that have led me to think that he may have had help. The first is the truck movement in the driveway where it appears that he sat in the truck for about 20 minutes early Sunday morning. ( It's been a couple of month since I've read the timeline so I don't remember the exact time) I thought that he may have been meeting with someone outside the house then. Who else was in the neighborhood at that time???

The other incident I have questions about is the time he sat outside of the men's Warehouse. He was there for awhile. Could he have met or been talking to someone then? What was he doing by himself there for all that time? These aren't just a minute or two time-outs where he sat in his truck catching his breath. These were extended periods of time over 15 minutes. Barry is a fidgety guy and is always in motion, yet these two incidents have him sitting in his truck. He was doing something and it's not a stretch to think he may have been talking to someone.

Where was bM's new lady friend during those times?

 

[Megnut]

Just caught this on p. 84 of the AA.

Not only did Barry turn left, not right, and go the distance which accounts for 14 of the 18-mile differential between his trip TO Broomfield and his trip home, Barry had 30 MINUTES in that direction. From 4:32am until 5:14 when he was picked up near 50 and 285... what was he doing for all that time?????

 

[Lyanna]

There is a sentence from BM, page 25 in the 6th paragraph of the AA, Barry talks about the garage - he's often in there, tinkering 'killing time' - gives me a shiver each time I read it.

imo

 

[sk716]

Yes, but he went to Tailwinds prior to the beach site. And stayed for, well, more than 11 minutes. Presumably with his Bobcat, arguably not yet with MG.

JMO

We're missing chunks of her timeline with Barry on Saturday but we have lots of her description of his behaviors on Saturday. In the AA she says he picked her up and dropped her back off at the Anytime Fitness on Friday morning to go work. Did he pick her up on Saturday as well? Before or after that ten minute pause at Tailwinds. He was already setting up alibis and finalizing his plans.

 

[CGray123]

It may be that Jeff L. was just not a good fit with the new DA. He was fired in January by Michael Allen in the 4th District.

One of Allen’s first moves as DA was to fire longtime prosecutor Jeff Lindsey, who in 2017 received the Colorado District Attorney’s Council with the Outstanding Faculty Award and was named Trainer of the Year. “When I’m evaluating who’s going to be really good for a leadership position in my administration,” says Allen, “especially a high-level leadership position like a chief deputy district attorney — which is what Jeff had — it’s going to be somebody that I know I can trust, is going to be doing the right things for the community, and have their eyes firmly affixed on what our mission is in the office. They’ve got to have merit, they’ve got to have the right experience, they’ve got to have leadership qualities, and they’ve got to want to do what is required of leadership.”

Michael Allen takes the reins in the 4th Judicial District

I guess we could get into the weeds with El Paso County politics and Michael Allen's decisions, but I prefer to say this:

1. You don't get to be a Chief Deputy District Attorney without a lot of experience and success at trial.

2. Jeff Lindsey was Dan May's chief deputy; good enough for May is good enough for anyone.

His departure is a very significant loss for the prosecution, as the DA admitted.

 

[sk716]

Barry contacted Tim K. out of the blue on 5/9 at 1:46 pm about buying the backhoe attachment for a skid steer that they discussed 8+/- months prior (Page 53 of AA). Leads me to believe he was mulling his options for disposing of Suzanne and hadn't done any prior site prep. If he needed the backhoe for a legit job, how come he never contacted Tim again after that?

If he prepared a remote site in the mountains, how did he get his equipment there without leaving a trail and without being noticed? And then how did he get back there with Suzanne and whatever equipment was needed to finish the job without leaving a trace or making a lot of noise with gas powered equipment or an ATV?

If he used a gas powered auger it would take a lot of work to dig a deep, wide hole in hard, rocky, potentially frozen terrain. Auger, remove rocks, auger some more, remove more rocks, etc.

Searches on public lands are one thing, searches on private property would require permission from the owner and/or a warrant.

JMO

Most of your questions can be answered with this Google Earth case map. Probably won't open right in mobile. The path up the mountain is marked as are known mines. I suspect that she's in the one closest to the house.

Google Earth

 

[O.Incandenza]

^^bbm

Huh? As the Sr Deputy District DA, who was supposed to do Lindsey's job if not him? His last day is not until November 5.

And who's to say this was abrupt when I'm sure Lindsey most likely interviewed for the Pueblo County opening last August (if not earlier), and the public was only now informed that his last day is Nov 5. Unless Lindsey was terminated, I don't think the public announcement would have come any earlier, and it's not like he walked out!

Jeff did his job getting BM bound over for trial, attending to his job to his last day, and leaving at a good transition.

And if LS sounds like sour grapes -- she is tasked with the difficult job of replacing Lindsey which won't be easy. By all accounts, he was a gift to the 11th District for the 11 months he will have served. MOO

ETA: add link
Top Morphew prosecutor leaving the case

Whichever of the other 4 prosecutors in the office will be taking his role on the case going forward?

If it was a long expected departure, then I would have expected them to have already transitioned the case into the hands of one of the prosecutors who's still there. Ideally you would want both working together for a while to get the replacement up-to-speed. The fact that he was still handling the hearings 3 weeks before his departure and that his replacement was not named at the same time the departure was announced suggests to me that the DA's office did not have lots of advance notice that he was leaving, though it obviously doesn't prove it. That impression is strengthened by the DA more or less saying that they didn't even have an opportunity to address his issues. To me that sounds like he just gave them notice fairly recently and they're scrambling a bit to figure things out going forward.

Not a big deal in the long run though as long as they pick the right replacement.

 

[Seattle1]

I can't check right now, but see if this works.

Colorado Judicial Branch

As there is no recording/video of the WebEx court hearing, the following statements are my opinion only of today's hearing requested by a local, female (i.e., "victim G") requesting a permanent civil protection order against SD.

1) SD resided at the same 4-plex as victim G until December 2020.

2) At some time during her 2020 tenancy, SD was a party to a domestic violence incident at the complex. It was made clear during the hearing that the DV call did not involve victim G, and that victim G is not on any related civil or criminal witness list.

3) The landlord of the 4-plex testified that he received complaints about SD from the neighbors during her tenancy but it was not until Sept 2021 that he advised SD that she was not welcome at the 4-plex, and she should not be on the property or bother the tenants.

4) In denying victim G's request for a permanent restraining order, the Court stated that it appeared that SD has honored the landlord's request and has not been to the property since Sept 2021. (Victim G failed to prove to the court the requirements met for the civil protection order).

5) IMO, the following incident testified by victim G was the most relevant:

SD texted victim G that she was in possession of her FedEx package. In the same text, SD also offered victim G and her family packages of unopened hotdogs and sausages. It seemed victim G collected her package from SD without incident but when she later checked the tracking of her package, she found SD allegedly had the package for two days before notifying victim G. Given the latest incident at PP involving SD and FedEx package, not alleging SD a porch pirate but makes one wonder about her habit of collecting packages belonging to others!

IMO, SD sounds like a hothead and a bully -- and very well-suited for BM.

 

[sk716]

As there is no recording/video of the WebEx court hearing, the following statements are my opinion only of today's hearing requested by a local, female (i.e., "victim G") requesting a permanent civil protection order against SD.

1) SD resided at the same 4-plex as victim G until December 2020.

2) At some time during her 2020 tenancy, SD was a party to a domestic violence incident at the complex. It was made clear during the hearing that the DV call did not involve victim G, and that victim G is not on any related civil or criminal witness list.

3) The landlord of the 4-plex testified that he received complaints about SD from the neighbors during her tenancy but it was not until Sept 2021 that he advised SD that she was not welcome at the 4-plex, and she should not be on the property or bother the tenants.

4) In denying victim G's request for a permanent restraining order, the Court stated that it appeared that SD has honored the landlord's request and has not been to the property since Sept 2021. (Victim G failed to prove to the court the requirements met for the civil protection order).

5) IMO, the following incident testified by victim G was the most relevant:

SD texted victim G that she was in possession of her FedEx package. In the same text, SD also offered victim G and her family packages of unopened hotdogs and sausages. It seemed victim G collected her package from SD without incident but when she later checked the tracking of her package, she found SD allegedly had the package for two days before notifying victim G. Given the latest incident at PP involving SD and FedEx package, not alleging SD a porch pirate but makes one wonder about her habit of collecting packages belonging to others!

IMO, SD sounds like a hothead and a bully -- and very well-suited for BM.

She's just dumb enough to eventually need to turn States witness against him ...

 

[Hair of the Dog]

But that all assumes that the purchase that he debated about was intended for nefarious use. There's really nothing that indicates that and LE cleared the bobcat in the affidavit.

Actually that was my point about acquiring the backhoe. The seller told Barry he wasn't available to meet with him on 5/9 and never heard from Barry again. If Barry needed it for a job, how come he never contacted the seller again?

 

[Momofthreeboys]

Actually that was my point about acquiring the backhoe. The seller told Barry he wasn't available to meet with him on 5/9 and never heard from Barry again. If Barry needed it for a job, how come he never contacted the seller again?

He probably just was thinking of acquiring and it was not needed for a specific job. Then he thought about it again and decided to purchase it. I don't recall in the AA that he said it was needed for a specific job.

 

[Megnut]

Actually that was my point about acquiring the backhoe. The seller told Barry he wasn't available to meet with him on 5/9 and never heard from Barry again. If Barry needed it for a job, how come he never contacted the seller again?

Perhaps Barry wasn't interested in BUYING it that day, or ever, but hoped to determine where it was located. Fancy that, the cameras at that location were not working, per the AA.

Did Barry "borrow" that backhoe attachment to barry something?

And just what did the beach neighbor hear that night?

Will the trial pull all these disparate dots together?

JMO

 

[gamma gal]

Most of your questions can be answered with this Google Earth case map. Probably won't open right in mobile. The path up the mountain is marked as are known mines. I suspect that she's in the one closest to the house.

Google Earth

I feel like all of those rather nearby mines should be scrutinized

 

[Hair of the Dog]

Most of your questions can be answered with this Google Earth case map. Probably won't open right in mobile. The path up the mountain is marked as are known mines. I suspect that she's in the one closest to the house.

Google Earth

Thank you @sk716, I appreciate your excellent visual aids. I am not averse to the mine(s) as a disposal site. What do you think was his mode of transport?

 

[gamma gal]

posted twice