Found Deceased CO - Suzanne Morphew, 49, Chaffee Co, 10 May 2020 *Case dismissed w/o prejudice* #106

[Seattle1]

BIB. The morphew case went before an actual judge who found the charges strong enough to go to trial.

As the case collapsed for reasons of discovery in the lead up to trial, that would have presumably happened either way

I also didn't buy then or now that BM was charged too soon-- especially given a judge signed off on each search warrant (requiring probable cause) and bound the case over for trial. I really don't understand why anyone would take Cahill and/or his boss's word over the actual judge. This makes no sense to me. JMO

 

[Momofthreeboys]

No

BBM From the article 'They were all swimming in the same social circles,' the insider said of the couple, who have two daughters. 'That's why it took them so long to charge him in the first place.'

Several other locals in the tight-knight community a two hours' drive east from Colorado Springs agreed with the insiders' assessment that members of Spezze's department purposely mishandled their probe into Suzanne's disappearance to give their then-friend a break.

'It's the sheriff's office who should be investigated,' said one outraged local of the repeated flubs that saw a judge drop all charges against Morphew, without prejudice - meaning they can be refiled at any time.

'They're corrupt and they've been that way for years,' the citizen alleged.
//
I am going to jump in here and disagree with most posters here on this article. I am not so quick to dismiss the DM. We have relied on them in these threads across many cases. Do we have to be cautious- of course, but I never discount it out of hand.

Yes it’s a tabloid but honestly isn’t all media these days ? All media IMO is kind of a sliding scale of “tabloid”. Just depends on who owns it and what's their agenda? We have become accustomed to media being incredibly dumbed down and sensational - its a "tabloid" world IMO.

Was Barry cozy with certain LE ? It certainly adds food for thought. We know he was friendly with his fire fighter friend George and George certainly also may have had LE friends, In a small town and further out, in the ole boy world of Colorado, I believe it may be possible. Barry never lawyered up bc he felt comfortable that LE were treating him as an insider/family.

I have LE in my family and LE in my neighborhood. I have heard and witnessed preferential treatment for "friends of".
So it would not be unheard of.

For instance :
-I always wondered why Cahill was such a f/up thru out the process. Talks to Iris the night before his testimony( who does that ?), volunteers that he thought the arrest was premature, never followed up on dna before he went on leave, does not follow the script at all for his testimony at the Prelim, etc. If I think about it the guy was the source of quite a bit of not so good things happening in this case. He was not local LE but was he an acquaintance of BM or did they share a friend group etc? They were certainly similar types IMO. I always chalked the behavior up to ego and poor impulse control on Cahill’s part and perhaps a dislike for Linda. But maybe he was trying to throw a wrench in to things for BM because they were simpatico. Once Iris got a hold of him they certainly were an effective “team”.

-The expert reports that did not make it to the Defense on time – who in the office was responsible for turning those in ? An admin? IIRC, The reports were collected, they just did not get sent in. Another honest mistake on discovery during covid or subtle sabotage trying to throw the case in BM’s favor. Maybe someone who attended the same church as BM or had a same age daughter in the high school?

I obviously don't know and I am processing through writing - I just don't discount the possibility that there is some truth to the DM article. I saw no rush to judgement that BM was the killer -
What I saw was kid glove treatment for a good ole boy

If Jeff Puckett's wife went missing for instance do you think he would have been treated the same way? I don't.

ALL IMO

No Puckett would have not been treated that way, especially if he had a record of past criminal issues. Barry and Suzanne had no criminal backgrounds and on the surface lived their life pretty quietly in Salida. I remember in the beginning they weren't well known except amongst a fairly small group of people. They had integrated through the church, through Barry's volunteer firefighter activities but I assumed they lead a pretty quiet life. Did Le make some mistakes, perhaps, but they did secure the house ultimately and search and do the basics regardless and my guess they would have reacted the same if it was any community member with no prior criminal history. Right now we view everything with a 3 year history but in the early days and week I can understand. I am not a conspiracy theorist by any means nor do I think it was a "good ole boy" investigation. If it were a conspiracy or good 'ole' boy in Barry's favor - I highly doubt that would have charged murder and the silly dart gun, chasing around, alleged needle sheath in the dryer theory - they would have just charged him with a crime of passion charge and moved forward. Just my opinion.

Plus there is just so much stuff we don't know. How much investigating did LE do at the transient mobile home park, other tips that were called in, the guy who got deported. If they followed through on those they were doing their job - how well we don't know.

 

[I am not Sherlock H.]

I'm torn @Seattle1. If it went to a GJ and they didn't indict him they still could have charged him at a later date right? It might have shown the DA that the case wasn't strong enough YET to charge him.

There was so much debate about rushing to charge BM, and the super lengthy, conflated PCA. Although I know he's as guilty as any murderer ever was, I wonder if they could have gotten more out of BM?

Here's to hoping that he and EI screw themselves in this lawsuit and the State does get some usable information.

MOO
#Justice4Suzanne

I sure don’t understand legal procedures etc., but for some reason with this case I am again reminded of that sad unsolved case from Boulder, Colorado that occurred around Christmas 1996.

And from my recollection, that case was filled with dealings of the investigators and the District Attorney, etc. And reasons to charge or prosecute or not to prosecute.

I hope that this case can be fully and properly investigated, and dealt with as needed - to secure a proper and lasting conviction. Even if it takes time. And lots of it.
MOO

 

[GatorFL]

Several other locals in the tight-knight community a two hours' drive east from Colorado Springs agreed with the insiders' assessment that members of Spezze's department purposely mishandled their probe into Suzanne's disappearance to give their then-friend a break.

I am going to jump in here and disagree with most posters here on this article. I am not so quick to dismiss the DM. We have relied on them in these threads across many cases. Do we have to be cautious- of course, but I never discount it out of hand.

Yes it’s a tabloid but honestly isn’t all media these days ? All media IMO is kind of a sliding scale of “tabloid”. Just depends on who owns it and what's their agenda? We have become accustomed to media being incredibly dumbed down and sensational - its a "tabloid" world IMO.

SBM.

I agree, most media is a tabloid these days. But pretty bush league of the DM to claim that Salida is 2 hours east of Springs when it's 2 hours west.

 

[mrjitty]

I also didn't buy then or now that BM was charged too soon-- especially given a judge signed off on each search warrant (requiring probable cause) and bound the case over for trial. I really don't understand why anyone would take Cahill and/or his boss's word over the actual judge. This makes no sense to me. JMO

Agreed

Reading the prosecution response to the discovery violations together with IE's helpful filing which reveals quite a bit more detail has convinced me that all that talk is a red herring, largely promoted by IE herself.

The prosecution got outworked in the pre-trial phase and was bureaucratically hopeless. The response to the motions is what should have been presented to the court 2 months earlier - they just got their act together too late.

But none of that has anything to do with the actual evidence. The case against Barry was that already presented over one year earlier - just with the expert witnesses thrown in.

And thanks to IE, we now know that the prosecution response was correct that the reports etc were completed long ago - e.g. the CAST expert report.

 

[Megnut]

Agreed

Reading the prosecution response to the discovery violations together with IE's helpful filing which reveals quite a bit more detail has convinced me that all that talk is a red herring, largely promoted by IE herself.

The prosecution got outworked in the pre-trial phase and was bureaucratically hopeless. The response to the motions is the what should have been presented to the court 2 months earlier - they just got their act together too late.

But none of that has anything to do with the actual evidence. The case against Barry was that already presented over one year earlier - just with the expert witnesses thrown in.

And thanks to IE, we now know that the prosecution response was correct that the reports etc were completed long ago - e.g. the CAST expert report.

I am further convinced that IE created motion noise and trumped up violation discoveries for discovery that didn't exist. One of which was a report that didn't exist for a potential witness who, if called, would only have aided the Prosecution, as his search dog tracked no one and was so inconsequential by his own word he didn't make a report. IE pretended this was exculpatory when, if anything, it was incriminating. No evidence Suzanne was there.

I have yet to hear a single instance of actual discovery the Prosecution failed to turn over.

IMO IE whirls in negative space.

jmo

 

[mrjitty]

I am further convinced that IE created motion noise and trumped up violation discoveries for discovery that didn't exist. One of which was a report that didn't exist for a potential witness who, if called, would only have aided the Prosecution, as his search dog tracked no one and was so inconsequential by his own word he didn't make a report. IE pretended this was exculpatory when, if anything, it was incriminating. No evidence Suzanne was there.

I have yet to hear a single instance of actual discovery the Prosecution failed to turn over.

IMO IE whirls in negative space.

jmo

This is an ongoing theme that you can follow in the prosecution response and prayer for relief to the sanctions.

e.g They give a huge discovery dump, but then IE claims she should receive new and better discovery. We've been through this in detail before so I won't go back over it, but some of the stuff she moans about like cellular stuff, she had all the way back at the prelim.

There is stuff that was genuinely late for no good reason - e.g the RR data.

That is why I come down more on the side of bureaucratic failure. There was no advantage or conspiracy in not giving the RR data. For some reason they never got round to it.

 

[Momofthreeboys]

This is an ongoing theme that you can follow in the prosecution response and prayer for relief to the sanctions.

e.g They give a huge discovery dump, but then IE claims she should receive new and better discovery. We've been through this in detail before so I won't go back over it, but some of the stuff she moans about like cellular stuff, she had all the way back at the prelim.

There is stuff that was genuinely late for no good reason - e.g the RR data.

That is why I come down more on the side of bureaucratic failure. There was no advantage or conspiracy in not giving the RR data. For some reason they never got round to it.

Which is why I think one or two of the counts in the civil suit might have some validity. We shall see what transpires.

 

[mrjitty]

Which is why I think one or two of the counts in the civil suit might have some validity. We shall see what transpires.

The usual remedy for evidential violations is exclusion of the evidence

I don't see how the IE's conspiracy theory has any validity.

 

[Momofthreeboys]

The usual remedy for evidential violations is exclusion of the evidence

I don't see how the IE's conspiracy theory has any validity.

My only thought is there is alot we don't know about the early weeks. I think I mentioned that earlier - how much investigating did they do at the RV park, with tips that came in and other things that could potentially surface. If they were thorough in exploring these then the malicious prosecution charge holds less weigh...but I haven't given complete thought to all 13 points....I think there were 13 LOL I must go back and spend more time one of these day to cement in my memory.

 

[Seattle1]

Agreed

Reading the prosecution response to the discovery violations together with IE's helpful filing which reveals quite a bit more detail has convinced me that all that talk is a red herring, largely promoted by IE herself.

The prosecution got outworked in the pre-trial phase and was bureaucratically hopeless. The response to the motions is what should have been presented to the court 2 months earlier - they just got their act together too late.

But none of that has anything to do with the actual evidence. The case against Barry was that already presented over one year earlier - just with the expert witnesses thrown in.

And thanks to IE, we now know that the prosecution response was correct that the reports etc were completed long ago - e.g. the CAST expert report.

^^bbm -- Sums it up perfectly!

This wasn't my first trial by defense attorney IE and beginning with her very first appearance in court representing BM, it was immediately heavy on allegations of civil rights violations, claims of discovery violations, and sanctions request --her known SOP.

E&N also made certain to use each and every appearance to put the same on record where they used it to their advantage just as soon as they pushed Judge Murphy off the case.

It worked beautifully for the defense when Judge Lama proved lazy to read only the defense motions which even retold the Court's response to their motions!

To be clear, there's the truth and then there's IE's version of the truth. Of course, IE left out the numerous times the Court corrected IE's version,
and I've previously cited examples here. MOO

 

[Seattle1]

Suzanne Morphew Murder: Husband Barry Morphew Appears in Court

Barry Morphew, charged with the murder of his wife, Suzanne, who disappeared more than a year ago, appeared before a judge for the second time Thursday.

www.cbsnews.com

5/27/2021

[..]

Morphew, who is now represented by the Eytan Neilson firm, sat shackled, quietly in the court room. Unlike his initial appearance at the beginning of the month, there were no family members present in the courtroom. There were however, more than 1,000 people who attended the hearing virtually, including family members of Suzanne Morphew.


While Thursday's hearing was a simple status conference -- one thing was clear, the year-long investigation produced an enormous amount of documentation, or discovery -- something Morphew's defense team said they had yet to receive from prosecutors.

"Mr. Morphew has been sitting in a jail cell, a cage while this is going on," said attorney Iris Eytan.

While prosecutors were within the appropriate timeframe to deliver the discovery, the judge order the team make it available to the defense by the end of the day Wednesday. The discovery includes more than 10,000 pages of police reports, search warrants and other materials.

Judge Patrick Murphy was expected to decide on the arrest affidavit, which is still sealed -- but he opted to wait. He said the court will first decide if a hearing is necessary to make a decision.

"I can either set a hearing or make decision based upon the pleadings," said Judge Murphy.

[..]

A majority of the status conference was focused on ensuring the preservation of evidence, from biological evidence to text messages to witness interviews.

At one point, Eytan, wanting to ensure future witness interviews would be recorded, told the court that her office could provide a tape recorder if the sheriff's office didn't have the financial resources.

"We might be in the sticks out here…" the judge began, implying they could likely afford a tape recorder.

__________________________

I was one of the thousand logged in on Webex for the status conference noted above which was classic IE.

I recall that E&N hadn't notified the court of BM's new representation until minutes before the end of business on Weds, 5/26, and appeared in court on Thursday morning for the very first time -- immediately claiming discovery violations, and requesting BM's charges be reduced to 2nd-degree murder as a sanction for the violations.

During the hearing, I recall that the prosecution stated it provided the brand new defense team a thumb drive with the AA just before the hearing commenced (i.e., first opportunity).

I further recall Judge Murphy instructed IE that the prosecution was NOT in violation of discovery and IE's calendar count regarding sanctions was "off."

Rule 16 provides for the prosecution to turn over discovery 21 days after the defendant's arraignment-- whereas IE was trying to push BM's initial appearance, not his arraignment, as day 1.

Judge Murphy clearly wasn't bowled over by IE trying to direct the court and/or the courtroom -- unlike his predecessor (Judge Lama) who let IE rule and never questioned her lying accounts including IE was wrong when stating the defense received the AA after the 21-day rule and worthy of discovery sanctions!

 

[Hoss569]

My only thought is there is alot we don't know about the early weeks. I think I mentioned that earlier - how much investigating did they do at the RV park, with tips that came in and other things that could potentially surface. If they were thorough in exploring these then the malicious prosecution charge holds less weigh...but I haven't given complete thought to all 13 points....I think there were 13 LOL I must go back and spend more time one of these day to cement in my memory.

Seems like they were fairly thorough tho, they dug up some concrete at one point. Doen'st mean they didn't follow up on all the tips, but it seemed like they were actively investigating them. I don't recall much from the RV park tho, I believe there was discussion about if activity on the mountain behind there property was going on that the folks at the RV park would have noticed. Or maybe that was my thinking when discussion of the mine entered the talks behind the RV park and there property. Maybe there was a point after having to replace some concrete that they softened there aggressiveness towards incoming tips some.

 

[Seattle1]

Judge Murphy clearly wasn't bowled over by IE trying to direct the court and/or the courtroom -- unlike his predecessor successor (Judge Lama) who let IE rule and never questioned her lying accounts including IE was wrong when stating the defense received the AA after the 21-day rule and worthy of discovery sanctions!

^^ Edit by me.

 

[Seattle1]

Seems like they were fairly thorough tho, they dug up some concrete at one point. Doen'st mean they didn't follow up on all the tips, but it seemed like they were actively investigating them. I don't recall much from the RV park tho, I believe there was discussion about if activity on the mountain behind there property was going on that the folks at the RV park would have noticed. Or maybe that was my thinking when discussion of the mine entered the talks behind the RV park and there property. Maybe there was a point after having to replace some concrete that they softened there aggressiveness towards incoming tips some.

The concrete was dug up at the river house site where BM had access when SM was disappeared (by BM).

IMO, the quoted wants to conjure up non-existing evidence from the RV Park (Monarch Spur RV Park) but can't cite one statement from the PH, the defense, or the civil suit where this would even be relevant. After 106 threads, I find bringing up the RV Park is beyond a stretch.

And yes, residents would notice and did notice:

Nearby residents said they were heartened to hear that a tip line was being set up.

"It's just very concerning," said Jennifer Caskey, a resident of the Monarch Spur RV Park. "We do have a lot of wildlife in the area, so it's concerning that she's been gone for so long now, but we're praying."

Her husband, Lynn, said the mountain trails seem like they're pretty safe, so it just makes me wonder about the wildlife.

One new resident, Serena Bridge, said she'd been "a little freaked out about the COVID pandemic" and is even more concerned now that a local woman is missing.

Many residents in the RV park said they're willing to volunteer for a search, if needed.

Chaffee County Sheriff's Office, CBI, FBI now investigating disappearance of Maysville area woman

The CBI, FBI, 11th Judicial District, Salida Police Department and Fremont County Sheriff joined the Chaffee County Sheriff in launching an investigation into the disappearance of Suzanne Morphew.

www.denver7.com

 

[mrjitty]

I wonder if there is basis for a complaint about IE's media statements alleging corruption and bad faith on the part of fellow legal practitioners and public officials without evidence?

I am not a US attorney, but i know in my jurisdiction you cannot do this, and I expect US law society rules are similar.

The reason is it brings the profession into disrepute and erodes trust in the rule of law and public institutions. So fine if there is evidence of corruption or "fitting someone up". It happens. But lets face it, typically sheriffs and DAs don't fit up well resourced white guys.

Smearing law enforcement and the DA with a conspiracy theory that they simply decided to railroad Barry because 'reasons" strikes me as the kind of thing attorneys are not allowed to do.

 

[mrjitty]

Veterans of the Pistorius case will remember similar but more subtle plays on themes of public corruption. Corruption is a big issue in South Africa. But let's face it, the type of police corruption you see there isn't fitting up well resourced white guys in absurdly subtle ways.

The type of corruption you are likely to see is exactly what happened. A bumbling (or maybe worse?) officer allowed evidence to walk out of the crime scene in a way that highly favoured the defendant. Quelle surpise!

The highly questionable behaviour of one of the officers in this case hardly suggests efforts to fit up the accused. Quite the opposite I would suggest. Sheer incompetence let him off. I am not big on conspiracies but had he wanted to scupper the case, he could hardly have done better.

 

[mrjitty]

^^ Edit by me.

Interesting.

Again I wonder if IEs latest effort is really designed to go to trial because this kind of thing won't pass scrutiny in a contested civil hearing. It's one thing to pull a procedural fast one in a criminal trial with a judge who doesn't pay enough attention but quite another when the burden of proof will be on team barry to prove these allegations.

 

[Seattle1]

I wonder if there is basis for a complaint about IE's media statements alleging corruption and bad faith on the part of fellow legal practitioners and public officials without evidence?

I am not a US attorney, but i know in my jurisdiction you cannot do this, and I expect US law society rules are similar.

The reason is it brings the profession into disrepute and erodes trust in the rule of law and public institutions. So fine if there is evidence of corruption or "fitting someone up". It happens. But lets face it, typically sheriffs and DAs don't fit up well resourced white guys.

Smearing law enforcement and the DA with a conspiracy theory that they simply decided to railroad Barry because 'reasons" strikes me as the kind of thing attorneys are not allowed to do.

It's truly bad form but I believe IE is being fueled by the "Constitution" and climate in Colorado under the current Governor signing away qualified immunity for LE/Peace Officers, in the heat of the moment, and IE hoping to initiate a similar provision for prosecutors she personally deems unethical. The irony!

I'm still aghast IE publicly declared she seeks to have the attorneys on this case disbarred. Apparently, because she knows better than the Judges on this case. I've personally never seen anything like this from another practicing attorney.

ETA: The Fight to End Qualified Immunity Is Just Beginning in States Across the Country.

In June 2020, Colorado's governor signed into law the Enhance Law Enforcement Integrity Act, creating a new form of civil action (a way to file a lawsuit) that lets Colorado residents whose rights were violated sue officers in state court, and denies officers the ability to use any immunity as a defense in those cases. (Jan 6, 2022)

 

[Seattle1]

Interesting.

Again I wonder if IEs latest effort is really designed to go to trial because this kind of thing won't pass scrutiny in a contested civil hearing. It's one thing to pull a procedural fast one in a criminal trial with a judge who doesn't pay enough attention but quite another when the burden of proof will be on team barry to prove these allegations.

IMO, it's a money grab, and also testing the water on future claims pursuant to Colorado's Enhance Law Enforcement Integrity Act.

If the federal court does not dismiss the case, I don't see any of the defendants going to trial. JMO