Still Missing CO - Suzanne Morphew, 49, Chaffee Co, 10 May 2020 *arrest* #87

[Megnut]

So what is BM up to lately? Preparing for the holidays with his new lady friend? Busy meeting with his legal team? Snow plowing to make money?

I must admit, I'm a little surprised the Daily Mail or another tabloid hasn't had any pics of him recently. (at least not that I've seen)

I don't know what he's doing, but I do not have a positive association with Bobcats, and I see them everywhere.

I see deer everywhere too. I hope they're safe from predators like him. Antler poacher.

Not nice maybe but I hope it's killing him not to be able to tranquilize, shoot, mutilate or kill anything right now.

He's done enough damage.

JMO

 

[sk716]

I also think SM was thinking about the IN residence pay-off escrow taking place in early June and she was anxious to commit the monies to her own property before BM could invest the money in his own interest and/or project as he was known to do. In this case, I believe BM wanted to use the IN sale proceeds for new construction in Longhorn Ranch which SM was probably opposed to. And after SM was out of the picture, we know that's exactly what BM did -- he purchased building lot 8 at Longhorn Ranch on June 25, 2020 -- only weeks after SM was missing.

Why would Barry want to move into town? He's got a mountain out his front and back door, seven acres around his house to keep people out, and he's got free hunting land right there so he doesn't even have to pack a lunch to go shoot something.

Moving into town never made sense to me. I think he knew once Suzanne wasn't there to manage the books anymore he was going to have to downsize.

 

[HongKongPhooey]

[QUOTE Discussion tends to focus on why because most people gravitate toward wanting to understand the why, but with this case it is more about whether Barry committed the crime and the underlying proof of that.[/QUOTE]

RSBM

I'm not sure why this case is different from any other in this respect. Human nature being what it is, people want to make sense of why a murder happened, and this includes jury members. Whether they technically have to or not. Fortunately, it doesnt take a rocket scientist to piece it all together.

JMO

 

[Seattle1]

Why would Barry want to move into town? He's got a mountain out his front and back door, seven acres around his house to keep people out, and he's got free hunting land right there so he doesn't even have to pack a lunch to go shoot something.

Moving into town never made sense to me. I think he knew once Suzanne wasn't there to manage the books anymore he was going to have to downsize.

IMO, there was no plan for BM to move to town. He wasn't invited to move with SM. I think SM was seeking a residence in town for herself and her daughter where they'd be closer to civilization and their daughter could complete her last year of high school.

I believe SM expected BM would stay at PP -- one of his trophies. Regardless of whether or not SM continued doing BM's books, I doubt SM cared if he kept that residence after buying out her share.

SM/BM had already had the "let's be civil" uncoupling conversation earlier in the week and I think BM was pretending he was on board with SM's househunting in Salida plan -- intentionally catching SM off guard on Saturday.

Also, I've always believed the timing to disappear SM was tied directly to the final payment from the IN installment sale where BM had to prevent SM from accessing this money (i.e., June escrow). BM knew that once SM had this money, she could walk out on him and begin the divorce proceedings. MOO

ETA: I think the future Longhorn Ranch residence was intended for a family member or resale.

 

[sk716]

IMO, there was no plan for BM to move to town. He wasn't invited to move with SM. I think SM was seeking a residence in town for herself and her daughter where they'd be closer to civilization and their daughter could complete her last year of high school.

I believe SM expected BM would stay at PP -- one of his trophies. Regardless of whether or not SM continued doing BM's books, I doubt SM cared if he kept that residence after buying out her share.

SM/BM had already had the "let's be civil" uncoupling conversation earlier in the week and I think BM was pretending he was on board with SM's househunting in Salida plan -- intentionally catching SM off guard on Saturday.

Also, I've always believed the timing to disappear SM was tied directly to the final payment from the IN installment sale where BM had to prevent SM from accessing this money (i.e., June escrow). BM knew that once SM had this money, she could walk out on him and begin the divorce proceedings. MOO

ETA: I think the future Longhorn Ranch residence was intended for a family member or resale.

I see where you're coming from, yeah, his mom. He'd want to move his mom closer and Suzanne was putting her foot down. Probably just one more thing to add to his grievance list.

 

[TIGER0822]

I'm not sure. It's puzzling that is was not discovered earlier. Even Andy mentioned on PE that they walked in that exact location and could have stepped on it and didn't see it. A blue helmet no less. The sequencing of Barry driving west to Garfield then turning around and heading back and tossing it "works" from a tracking function as I don't think it was heaved across 50 heading west...and in the Barry scenario that would have been Sunday morning, but I'm bothered that it wasn't found for so long....I guess for me it would depend on "how" the helmet was labeled inside if it was simply paper taped into the helmet then I would want to know if it was in pen or Sharpie, if it was fresh or had been exposed to moisture, if the helmet was inside up or inside facing down that sorta stuff. That is my whole dilemma with this case....there is often plausible alternative scenarios. The only facts so far are tracking data and telematics. Some of which are damning and some of which could have plausible alternative explanations.

yea, the story about the ‘baby blue bike helmet’ and the convenience store has always baffled me. The helmet was clearly on his mind.

 

[PaulaDC]

He had mere minutes but perhaps he saw the last photo she sent.... or the last missed message from JL! At 2:46 [P. 17, AA] as Barry was allegedly tearing through walls toward the bedroom door, JL sent a text. The timing is just so terribly harrowing....

He said, "hey, your weather looks great." (LE theorized what that could mean. It followed the photo she'd sent at 2:03 and her notice that she was on what's app -- which he didn't recall if they'd done that day. IMO his text could have been a compliment on the photo OR a comment on the actual weather -- for her to go on a bike ride which is what I believe Suzanne was planning to do.)

IF Suzanne left her phone, say in the kitchen, as Barry was looking for her, he may have heard it, it may have even appeared on a locked screen. He may have seen who sent it!

I think we're closing in on the last minutes.

He would've been raging.

He would've had OPPORTUNITY literally in passing to see that text. We have brilliant mapping and commentary upthread and in the AA [P. 129] showing the timestamps of his movements. IMO wherever Barry was at 2:46 is where Suzanne had left her phone. Seconds away from the bedroom door....

I think there's a really good chance that, at 2:46, Suzanne was not outside, was not with her phone, was with her brown towel.... on the other side of her locked bedroom door.

Barry told LE he showered that morning at home [P. 19 AA]. And also that he showered when he arrived at the hotel [P. 27, AA]. MG reported multiple towels on the floor [P. 50, AA]. If Barry was showering repeatedly to remove scent or sap evidence from his body, if Suzanne's brown towel was left hanging in the bathroom after her shower (my speculation), and Barry used it simply as course of habit or convenience, whatever he was trying to get off himself may have transfered to the towel, which may explain why it's now missing!!!! Sap. Cadaverine. Blood. Bobcat grease. Something smeary perhaps.

IMO Barry used the brown towel.

He didn't know or care that Suzanne had.

The towel isn't the clue, the showering is.

JMO

Colorado Judicial Branch - Chaffee - Cases of Interest - People of the State of Colorado v. Barry Lee Morphew

You know how easy it is to get bleach spots on a brown towel. Especially after pouring it down the bathroom shower drain. I can't tell you how many towels I've accidentally destroyed while being careful with bleach in my shower. moo

 

[DeDee]

I cannot seem to make things work out if the killing of Suzanne doesn't begin in the back yard area then, moves around during a chase with the tranquilizer dart. Otherwise, Barry traveling through the walls theory doesn't fit with his phone pings and the prosecutor's theory of the murder.

It's been in my mind that Barry pulled up in his vehicle without shutting his truck door on Saturday afternoon, with Suzanne outdoors in the back of the home sun tanning. Her gorgeous last selfie is her last proof of life then she tells JL that she was switching to WhatsUp App.

It allows users to send text messages and voice messages, make voice and video calls, and share images

Her last proof of life photo shows a possible brown towel under her. It has an attractive border seen on the left side. Is this nice towel missing from evidence, for sure? Did it wind up in one of the five trash drops? Who drops off trash all over town in normal everyday life + on Mother's Day?

‘Since January 2021, Barry has admitted to:

chasing a chipmunk with a gun around the house while Susan was outside sunbathing, shooting a deer with a tranquilizer dart to explain a dart and needle cap in the dryer, disposing of the tranquilizer solution during this trip to Broomfield, following a bull elk down Highway 50 in the 4:00 AM hour on the May 10th to explain why his truck would be headed west (where [a] helmet was discarded), and finally stating to the FBI on April 22, 2021 that he looks guilty from the evidence and God allowed these things to happen,’ according to the affidavit.

[*From the APR 22, 2020 meeting with the Investigative Team, BM is charged with trying to influence eight public servants, at least some of whom are law enforcement officers, “by means of deceit” from the time his wife disappeared until the day of his arrest.]

After discovering his wife’s LinkedIn-fueled affair, investigators said he ‘resorted to something he has done his entire life – hunt and control Suzanne like he had hunted and controlled animals.’

The explosive affidavit contains other shocking revelations, including text messages where Suzanne refers to her husband as ‘Jekyl [sic] and Hyde,’ referring to the fictional two-faced doctor.

Suzanne refers to her husband as ‘Jekyl and Hyde

Barry Morphew 'hunted and controlled' wife Suzanne and told cops he was 'chasing chipmunks' at home
by thewashingtontime

September 22, 2021

https://www.thewashingtontime.com/b...d-told-cops-he-was-chasing-chipmunks-at-home/

Prosecutors say Morphew tampered with her body around that time and tampered with other evidence in the case from last May through early March [2021], about two months before he was arrested.
And, he voted for Trump in Suzanne's name in the November election bc everyone cheats.

May 19, 2021
Husband charged with murder, tampering with body in Suzanne Morphew's death

If she's able to get to their bedroom door, that gives her a few xtra minutes. She does not use the time removing her swimsuit, right, and placing it in the basket or hanging it? But, Barry refers to her wearing a white top with strings so maybe she wore this top earlier when he arrived home under the pretense of dining on stew.

My apologies for IMOO, I do not think she was wearing biker's clothing at TOD nor when he disposed of her body. If there was a rape in their bed, as the scratches on his arm seem to indicate, then disposing of her swimsuit was easy once the tranquilizer began to work. Her biking clothes were part of the trash runs, I suppose.

IMO, Barry placed her inside a duffle bag, maybe the brown towel and biker's clothes, too, in order to secret her in case someone saw but he'd planned hiding her body for so long that he felt it was the perfect unsolvable crime and Suzanne became unfindable.
.

 

[Momofthreeboys]

As a reminder next up is a motions hearing continuation and a status conference covering both the murder trial and the voter fraud charge on December 14th at 1 PM Mountain Time. 4 hours is scheduled by the court.

 

[Seattle1]

Lauren Scharf
@LaurenScharfTV

Now talking about the 2:03 p.m. sunbathing photo #SuzanneMorphew sent to Jeff Libler on May 9. The bikini was found in the master closet with other bathing suits. There was no blood on the bikini or tears, according to the defense.

10:51 AM · Aug 23, 2021

Stephanie (Butzer) Rose
@stephaniebutzer

Suzanne and Jeff also messaged via LinkedIn, as we learned earlier in this hearing. The last LinkedIn message from Suzanne to him came at 2:07 p.m. May 9 [SM says switching to Whatsapp], Nielsen said. About 35 min later, Barry arrived home.

8:04 AM · Aug 23, 2021
____________________

Reportedly, SM's last communication ever was the DM she sent to JL via LinkedIn at 2:07 pm -- telling him she was logging off LinkedIn and moving to Whatsapp. SM never had another exchange with anybody again after 2:07 pm, and BM arrived at PP about 35 minutes later.

This fact seems to directly conflict with the idea that BM interrupted or caught SM communicating with JL. I think SM must have gone inside to change and shower and wasn't outside when BM pulled up - leaving the truck door open.

And if JL replied to SM anytime after 2:07 pm, we know that she never responded.

MOO

 

[Skigh]

As a reminder next up is a motions hearing continuation and a status conference covering both the murder trial and the voter fraud charge on December 14th at 1 PM Mountain Time. 4 hours is scheduled by the court.

Thank you . Will make sure the lasagne is made.

 

[DeDee]

Reportedly, SM's last communication ever was the DM she sent to JL via LinkedIn at 2:07 pm -- telling him she was logging off LinkedIn and moving to Whatsapp. SM never had another exchange with anybody again after 2:07 pm, and BM arrived at PP about 35 minutes later.

Thanks @Seattle1

I'd never viewed the time as Suzanne having 35m free, from the last selfie until Barry arrived home, without her accessing electronics again. That's a short time when having fun; otherwise, ...not so much.

For whatever reasons, reportedly, Suzanne had about 35 minutes+ to live after the proof of life selfie was sent to JL at 2:07 pm?

 

[Momofthreeboys]

Lauren Scharf
@LaurenScharfTV

Now talking about the 2:03 p.m. sunbathing photo #SuzanneMorphew sent to Jeff Libler on May 9. The bikini was found in the master closet with other bathing suits. There was no blood on the bikini or tears, according to the defense.

10:51 AM · Aug 23, 2021

Stephanie (Butzer) Rose
@stephaniebutzer

Suzanne and Jeff also messaged via LinkedIn, as we learned earlier in this hearing. The last LinkedIn message from Suzanne to him came at 2:07 p.m. May 9 [SM says switching to Whatsapp], Nielsen said. About 35 min later, Barry arrived home.

8:04 AM · Aug 23, 2021
____________________

Reportedly, SM's last communication ever was the DM she sent to JL via LinkedIn at 2:07 pm -- telling him she was logging off LinkedIn and moving to Whatsapp. SM never had another exchange with anybody again after 2:07 pm, and BM arrived at PP about 35 minutes later.

This fact seems to directly conflict with the idea that BM interrupted or caught SM communicating with JL. I think SM must have gone inside to change and shower and wasn't outside when BM pulled up - leaving the truck door open.

And if JL replied to SM anytime after 2:07 pm, we know that she never responded.

MOO

No I have never thought BM "caught" Suzanne communicating with JL or or friends. That pretty much falls into the highly speculative and so far unverified category if you are keeping a score sheet. Pretty much all we have for this case is the data points and they don't wrap it all up in a nice bow for the prosecution for sure. However, Barry says the last time he saw her was the morning....that is a conundrum that can't be ignored knowing Suzanne often communicated. through her phone and internet.

 

[Scootie98]

Thanks @Seattle1

I'd never viewed the time as Suzanne having 35m free, from the last selfie until Barry arrived home, without her accessing electronics again. That's a short time when having fun; otherwise, ...not so much.

For whatever reasons, reportedly, Suzanne had about 35 minutes+ to live after the proof of life selfie was sent to JL at 2:07 pm?

On the morning of May 9th, Suzanne texted JL "we need to be husband and wife". Imagine for a moment that during that 35 minutes...BM had access to her phone and saw that text.?

 

[Seattle1]

On the morning of May 9th, Suzanne texted JL "we need to be husband and wife". Imagine for a moment that during that 35 minutes...BM had access to her phone and saw that text.?

Huh? BM had not returned home yet between 2:07 pm - 2:42 pm. SM was home alone at PP for 35 minutes.

 

[sk716]

I cannot seem to make things work out if the killing of Suzanne doesn't begin in the back yard area then, moves around during a chase with the tranquilizer dart. Otherwise, Barry traveling through the walls theory doesn't fit with his phone pings and the prosecutor's theory of the murder.

It's been in my mind that Barry pulled up in his vehicle without shutting his truck door on Saturday afternoon, with Suzanne outdoors in the back of the home sun tanning. Her gorgeous last selfie is her last proof of life then she tells JL that she was switching to WhatsUp App.

View attachment 325612
Her last proof of life photo shows a possible brown towel under her. It has an attractive border seen on the left side. Is this nice towel missing from evidence, for sure? Did it wind up in one of the five trash drops? Who drops off trash all over town in normal everyday life + on Mother's Day?

‘Since January 2021, Barry has admitted to:

chasing a chipmunk with a gun around the house while Susan was outside sunbathing, shooting a deer with a tranquilizer dart to explain a dart and needle cap in the dryer, disposing of the tranquilizer solution during this trip to Broomfield, following a bull elk down Highway 50 in the 4:00 AM hour on the May 10th to explain why his truck would be headed west (where [a] helmet was discarded), and finally stating to the FBI on April 22, 2021 that he looks guilty from the evidence and God allowed these things to happen,’ according to the affidavit.

[*From the APR 22, 2020 meeting with the Investigative Team, BM is charged with trying to influence eight public servants, at least some of whom are law enforcement officers, “by means of deceit” from the time his wife disappeared until the day of his arrest.]

After discovering his wife’s LinkedIn-fueled affair, investigators said he ‘resorted to something he has done his entire life – hunt and control Suzanne like he had hunted and controlled animals.’

The explosive affidavit contains other shocking revelations, including text messages where Suzanne refers to her husband as ‘Jekyl [sic] and Hyde,’ referring to the fictional two-faced doctor.



Barry Morphew 'hunted and controlled' wife Suzanne and told cops he was 'chasing chipmunks' at home
by thewashingtontime

September 22, 2021

Barry Morphew 'hunted and controlled' wife Suzanne and told cops he was 'chasing chipmunks' at home - The Washington Time

Prosecutors say Morphew tampered with her body around that time and tampered with other evidence in the case from last May through early March [2021], about two months before he was arrested.
And, he voted for Trump in Suzanne's name in the November election bc everyone cheats.

May 19, 2021
Husband charged with murder, tampering with body in Suzanne Morphew's death

If she's able to get to their bedroom door, that gives her a few xtra minutes. She does not use the time removing her swimsuit, right, and placing it in the basket or hanging it? But, Barry refers to her wearing a white top with strings so maybe she wore this top earlier when he arrived home under the pretense of dining on stew.

My apologies for IMOO, I do not think she was wearing biker's clothing at TOD nor when he disposed of her body. If there was a rape in their bed, as the scratches on his arm seem to indicate, then disposing of her swimsuit was easy once the tranquilizer began to work. Her biking clothes were part of the trash runs, I suppose.

IMO, Barry placed her inside a duffle bag, maybe the brown towel and biker's clothes, too, in order to secret her in case someone saw but he'd planned hiding her body for so long that he felt it was the perfect unsolvable crime and Suzanne became unfindable.
.

Here's my version of events with visual aids.

http://www.[link removed]/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/BarrysChipmunkChasept3.jpg

I agree that he pulled up with the trailer and Bobcat still attached and that he left the truck door open, it closes at 4:44 pm. He had been calling and texting so he was going home with the intent to kill her. I believe that he kept that favorite .22 of his in the truck and it was loaded with the unfired round later located on the bedroom floor.

She probably told him she was going to lay out for a bit when he had been home earlier, so he went around back expecting to find her there (2). Had she been there I believe he would have put a bullet into her there and buried the blood later.

Not finding her in the back he cuts through the breezeway and out the front door (3). She's not there, he moves into the garage (to the area I believe we will learn was his workbench) and grabs a dart and prepped syringe (4). She's in the bedroom and he can't risk the blood. The master bedroom door is locked for whatever reason and as a volunteer firefighter he knows exactly how to kick it open (5).
http://www.[link removed]/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/PumaPath3.png
The unfired round was found to the right of the bed (red square), this tracks with ejecting a chambered round from the doorway to load a dart.

Based on Suzanne's swimsuit being in the closet, she was either changing into day wear or in the shower. The master bath is constructed in such a way that the sinks create a kind of chute. I believe the wall on the right is the master WIC.

https://photos.zillowstatic.com/fp/...ad8212-uncropped_scaled_within_1536_1152.webp

https://photos.zillowstatic.com/fp/...3abcf0-uncropped_scaled_within_1536_1152.webp

I'm not one for sunning, but if I remember the 80s correctly, one needs to wash off tanning lotions and the like so I think she was probably in the shower or doing her post shower skin care routine when Barry busted in the door. Either way, Suzanne was trapped and Barry had a gun blocking the only exit.

Based on available info and a little inference, he unhitches the trailer near the time of the truck door closing at 16:44 and pulls into the garage at 16:47. At 17:30 he disconnects the battery in an attempt to disable GPS and telematics.

The truck doesn't move again until 21:25 when he backs it out of the driveway. Lot's of door opening and closing.

At 22:17 Barry takes his phone out of airplane mode. I believe this is when he left the house with Suzanne's body. He left the phones at the house, probably the bedroom as an alibi.

I believe one of two scenarios took place. Either, he took her up Pahlone with the Bobcat, moved a boulder, and dropped her in. His skills with a Bobcat are reportedly pretty impressive so I don't doubt he could unseal a mine shaft and reseal it with minimal effort.

Or, he took her up on the ATV and put her in an animal den.

I don't think he put anything in with her or he wouldn't have had so many trash dumps. If I'm planning to frame a puma for taking my wife while on a bike ride, I'm gonna put those clothes with the body, it just makes sense. The cadaver dogs hit on the Bobcat and trailer. As of the AA, the data from the Bobcat SIM wasn't back. The Bobcat was parked in a position as though it was last used to take the trailer off of the truck. The Bobcat is still a conundrum.

At 03:26 Barry made it back to his truck and the door opened and closed. While in the garage he grabs Suzanne's bike and at 03:58 his cell moves from the house to near CR 225/US 50 where bike found. I think this is one of Barry's mistakes, he grabbed his phone when he got back to the house and forgot it wasn't still in airplane mode. He goes back to the house and gets Suzanne's phone. It made it's last ping off of the Poncha Springs tower as located near Puma Path at 04:23. At 4:31, Barry's phone goes back into airplane mode for his trip to toss the helmet towards Garfield.


Images Zillow, CBS Denver, AA, and Google Earth

 

[mrjitty]

@sk716 why do you think he changed the bucket on the bobcat?

 

[Scootie98]

Thanks @Seattle1

I'd never viewed the time as Suzanne having 35m free, from the last selfie until Barry arrived home, without her accessing electronics again. That's a short time when having fun; otherwise, ...not so much.

For whatever reasons, reportedly, Suzanne had about 35 minutes+ to live after the proof of life selfie was sent to JL at 2:07 pm?

On the morning of May 9th, Suzanne texted JL "we need to be husband and wife". Imagine for a moment that during that 35 minutes...BM had access to her phone and saw that text.?

@sk716 why do you think he changed the bucket on the bobcat?

If BM used the bobcat to dump the body....is it possible he made two trips to the mine or site? First trip to remove a stone...prepare the location...the second to dispose of SM? This could explain damage to the bucket.

 

[Momofthreeboys]

On the morning of May 9th, Suzanne texted JL "we need to be husband and wife". Imagine for a moment that during that 35 minutes...BM had access to her phone and saw that text.?

If BM used the bobcat to dump the body....is it possible he made two trips to the mine or site? First trip to remove a stone...prepare the location...the second to dispose of SM? This could explain damage to the bucket.

Do we know if it was damaged recently or was it an- over- time-usage-routine maintenance blade replacement and something coincidental to the timeline?

 

[mom2chloe]

On the morning of May 9th, Suzanne texted JL "we need to be husband and wife". Imagine for a moment that during that 35 minutes...BM had access to her phone and saw that text.?

If BM used the bobcat to dump the body....is it possible he made two trips to the mine or site? First trip to remove a stone...prepare the location...the second to dispose of SM? This could explain damage to the bucket.

I am on board with the two trips. One to prep and another to dump.