Found Deceased CO - Suzanne Morphew, 49, Chaffee Co, 10 May 2020 *Case dismissed w/o prejudice* #109

[GoJacks]

Remember no work was allowed on Sundays per RTD policy

Yes I seem to remember a Broomfield city ordinance of no construction type work on Sunday? Something along those lines ?

 

[Jurisprudence]

Sure, he can plead the fifth. Good luck with that in front of Federal judge and jury.

A death that Barry is claiming didn't happen at all - therefore, they unreasonably prosecuted him for a crime that couldn't have been committed, since she was still alive and living in Ecuador or whatever). Now that it's clear the death did happen (and will certainly be classified as a homicide, even if there's no immediate CoD recorded), his case is a terrible one, very weakened and he looks stupid. His lawyers look stupid. I see why IE's partner went off to do her own thing.

[snipped by me]

Agree. As intimated, it's not a successful play, especially when claiming it can be introduced.

What was Eytan's plan? To send Barry to his extensive depositions by many sets of lawyers for the defense, with instructions, "Just take the Fifth?" Might work in a criminal case (where there are NO depositions sworn), but not in a civil case.

[snipped by me]

Or, worse... back in May the calculus was a bit different. She probably wasn't concerned this would have movement prior to trial. Now she's got to readjust. She may even withdraw the complaint. Time will tell.

IMO. (As you can tell, I'm all worked up over this aspect and shaking my head, as I cannot at all figure out IE's strategy in filing the civil rights case).

[snipped by me]

Moo - she was mouthing off, seeking her 15 minutes, and she intended to make a spectacle of this and to draw attention to her legal acumen. Her big mouth and grandstanding has now come back to bite her in it, imo.

On another note, what are your thoughts on the partial? This is probably their biggest hurdle. I'm sure you could slam it down. It's a partial. Aren't partials capable of matching many people?

jmo

 

[Jurisprudence]

All those places they found dna amounts to a bunch of nothing. Every house and car are going to have DNA that can't be tracked. Unless people wipe down every single item they get at the store, how would there not be random dna in places like car seats and in a house? We buy items that sit on shelves and get picked up and put back down by being stocked and by people looking at things and putting them back. WE put those items on a belt to be rung up by a stranger at the store.. then they sit on the car seats and on our counters, and in our cabinets. I just think when police walk into a home and it doesn't look like a struggle has happened, nothing missing, no blood, no messed up chairs or items, then why would they think dna from a glove box must be the person that killed Suzanne and staged the bike. At some point they have to use logic and say she wasn't abducted on a bike ride, that was staged. If a random person came into her home and then took her and staged the bike, why would that person be in her glove box or in her car at all and not take her purse or any of the expensive items in her house? Why would that random person touch her stairs, but not the doorknob of the house? I don't know it's just like they want to say the police were not doing their job, but they can't text every surface in the house just in case.. they would be on a wild goose chase.

They have got to test DNA in and around the scene. We're not talking about every surface in a home. I strongly disagree with you here. If they had the forethought to collect it - and they found DNA on it, they have to test it. Sorry. jmo

This case was dismissed precisely because they didn't test it and of that tested, they didn't turn it over - and I think they didn't turn it over bc after getting a horror hit, they wanted a see no evil, hear no evil, stance. But, that ship has sailed. They have been warned. Not sure if you practice but I don't think it's a good idea to go into court and arm a defendant with ammunition of 20 or so other unknown sources of DNA in or around the scene. Because this is what you will have to do. It's no different from the rule of "Don't ask a question you don't already know the answer to." They need to be prepared, to even draw the sting in their opening, if necessary. They need to have some sort of response.

This is slightly different than Idaho imo in that in Idaho, they've been openly battling about some (3) unknown sources of DNA (which were properly disclosed) for some time now with the court being fully read-in on it.

jmo

 

[10ofRods]

Ah, I have not been paying attention to the civil suit at all, so didn't know was first available time to file to dismiss!

Still funny the timing of it all though. Oops!

It is unusual! I'd say it's almost providential! And I wasn't following the civil case too closely either - am very grateful to others here for getting me up to speed this week.

 

[TMcgee]

No I think the planning was on the 7th, and she was killed on the 9th. So I was saying that was two days,at least, of premeditation and what he was planning to do. Even if he didn’t know how he would do it.
What day it was actually booked for I don’t know. I believe it would have been the 11th since there is no work allowed on the wall on Sundays.

I tend to think he had the job planned for an upcoming weekday, killed her on impulse, and just used those work plans to create an alibi.

 

[Charlot123]

I believe you are right. IIRC, SM's brother stated that she became sick, BM made himself available to her and her mother. When SM was too weak to walk, he would pick her up and carry her. Of course, he completely won over SM's family. They thought the world of him. BM built his business on her family's referrals. I think it would have been difficult to turn down his marriage proposal.

I think when a very young adult gets this diagnosis, their biggest fear is, dying. So people pray for convalescence. And then, if they get over, then yes, they hope to have kids...and SM really wanted to have kids.

I think Barry was in love with her then. I also wonder if there were some visible oddities in him and that most of all, he was afraid of not "being taken as a husband" by Suzanne, or anyone, for that matter. I see this insecurity in him, too. I believe that he was going to carry Suzanne everywhere, and that he was devoted to her. Only by nature, he was a cad. Maybe learned behavior (from dad), maybe inborn traits. So as they were having kids, and growing business, he couldn't play nicely for too long. She was already his, why bother?

Remember CW and SW? A very different couple, especially her, the same start, "lupus? I'll stand by you. No kids? We'll manage". Do you remember how CW was following SW everywhere? Hoping she'd marry him because he was so insecure that he was afraid that no one would?

Now, this is a totally different story, but imagine another ending. NK, having seen enough of CW, drops him (which I suspect she was on her way of doing, anyhow). But SW, instead of coming back from her parents, stays and sends him a text, "after your last visit, seeing how you treat your pregnant wife, I am over the relationship. Let's get a divorce".

What do you think CW would have done? Got on Tinder, or ran back to SW begging to take him back? I think, the latter. They didn't have a functional family. However JMO - in these guys, BM or CW, the swings from self-idealizing ("I am such a macho") to self-devaluing ("no one will ever love me") are pretty rapid. Unstable ego. Insecurity. To compensate, they have affairs. And here is a strange thing - being immature, they forget of own insecurities fast, too. It is as if there is no clear vision of themselves. Honestly, in these guys, BM and CW, I can expect lots of fluctuating self-identifications and identifying with different groups that don't even need them (and politically, too).

Let us take BM's voting for Suzanne. Personally, I feel that he is bright, but fake (can throw Bible verses at Suzanne, so, good memory, but is there anything moral in him?). Same with politics. I don't care what party he chooses, but is any worth losing your own freedom for? Or, does he need to define himself, to friends and neighbors, by his alliances? In Indiana, outpencing Pence, in well-off Salida, outtrumping Trump. In my own state, i wouldn't be surprised if BM would be probing which of the biggest and wealthiest groups would accept him.

Both CW and BM cases are about narcissism coupled with undeveloped, or maldeveloped, ego.

Sorry for a long post. I think that this combination, greed and weak ego, is what made BM kill Suzanne. Then, he "settled for" way less money and a woman who thought she resembled Suzanne...in her own head.

 

[DeDee]

No I think the planning was on the 7th, and she was killed on the 9th. So I was saying that was two days,at least, of premeditation and what he was planning to do. Even if he didn’t know how he would do it.
What day it was actually booked for I don’t know. I believe it would have been the 11th since there is no work allowed on the wall on Sundays.

Thank you. Dropping opinions here.

The wall redo has a long history that didn't end when Barry visited the site that fateful Sunday. His company didn't fix the aesthetics so the original Project Manager, a friend of Barry's, had to hire another company to complete the wall properly. There is no shame in BM.

It is a relief to have documented evidence suggesting premeditation. I've always held that Barry hoped the move to CO would kill Suzanne due to the sheer loneliness factor when coupled with her illness that flared just prior to the move. I don't mind being the only one who feels Barry wanted her dead for a while. Study the background of dates of her inheritance and their moves, how and when he sold homes and bought property, etal.

Barry and Suzanne were barely speaking for a year and a half before the week leading to her death. This is critical to understanding how distant the couple had become.

 

[citygirl]

I believe you are right. IIRC, SM's brother stated that she became sick, BM made himself available to her and her mother. When SM was too weak to walk, he would pick her up and carry her. Of course, he completely won over SM's family. They thought the world of him. BM built his business on her family's referrals. I think it would have been difficult to turn down his marriage proposal.

Who would have ever thought things could go so wrong?
MOO

 

[10ofRods]

[snipped by me]

Agree. As intimated, it's not a successful play, especially when claiming it can be introduced.

[snipped by me]

Or, worse... back in May the calculus was a bit different. She probably wasn't concerned this would have movement prior to trial. Now she's got to readjust. She may even withdraw the complaint. Time will tell.


[snipped by me]

Moo - she was mouthing off, seeking her 15 minutes, and she intended to make a spectacle of this and to draw attention to her legal acumen. Her big mouth and grandstanding has now come back to bite her in it, imo.

On another note, what are your thoughts on the partial? This is probably their biggest hurdle. I'm sure you could slam it down. It's a partial. Aren't partials capable of matching many people?

jmo

No. They are not. And now I have canned text and a link which states it very well:

Put simply, if a DNA profile is a complete description of a person’s appearance, a partial profile might describe only one of their traits—hair color, for instance.

Partial profiles will match up with many more people than a full profile. And even full profiles may match with a person other than the culprit.Further complicating matters, a single DNA profile might be mistakenly generated when samples from multiple people are accidentally combined.

That's from:

How Forensic DNA Evidence Can Lead to Wrongful Convictions - JSTOR Daily

Forensic DNA evidence has been a game-changer for law enforcement, but research shows it can contribute to miscarriages of justice.

daily.jstor.org

(an academic source)
And also:

A partial match occurs when a Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) search is conducted and the results clearly show that the offender profile is not the source of the crime scene profile (also referred to as a forensic profile), but the possibility does exist that a close biological relative of the offender might be the source of the crime scene profile.

From: Partial Matches • Overview
(a scientific work group aimed at trying to explain DNA to LE and lawyers)

So what was in the glovebox can never point directly to a person. And IGG would likely lead to thousands of hits, IMO and IME.

All italics, bolding, etc added by me. So, NO one in CODIS matched this partial sample (and it is unknown if that partial sample is from just one person or is degraded and comes from a set of people). There are clearcut ways for a lab to know whether the DNA itself is too degraded for identification (and that's what happened in this case - this DNA was not able to be run through CODIS from the sample; they had to manually enter what they thought the sample contained because, well, too many letters were missing from it).

If it could be reconstructed (if more of it were found), it still could point to thousands of (innocent) people. And waste hundreds of thousands in tracking all of them down through IGG - and we can all be waiting for knocks on our door if that happens - because next, we'll see people wanting DNA to be compared to any available DNA on the planet.

Partial DNA is like saying we have the person's name and it's either M Smith or J Smith or D Smith. Keep in mind that you and I both share most of our DNA - CODIS looks at the most variable parts of human DNA only (but only a few of them - Othram looks at many more).

 

[SortaSleuthy]

He cobbled together a last minute "job" on Sunday.
Calling in workers who would need a hotel for the night, and then didn't bring either needed equipment or materials for the job.
That was his Mothers' Day.

Actually, the job was scheduled at the customer’s insistence the prior mid-week to start on Monday. Barry moved the travel to Sunday (paraphrased) “so the team could get an early start on Monday and so I could take measurements and order materials Sunday.”

Of course, we all know the REAL reason he moved it to Monday.

 

[SleuthBee]

All those places they found dna amounts to a bunch of nothing. Every house and car are going to have DNA that can't be tracked. Unless people wipe down every single item they get at the store, how would there not be random dna in places like car seats and in a house? We buy items that sit on shelves and get picked up and put back down by being stocked and by people looking at things and putting them back. WE put those items on a belt to be rung up by a stranger at the store..

<snipped by me>

1. Would it be correct to say that every criminal defendant could potentially use "partial stranger DNA" as part of their defense?
2. Does the partial DNA in the SM case belong to the same person?

 

[Diddian]

His “big job in Denver was a wall. A one day job? And he lied about that as well. So many lies.

the fact that he planned the job on the 7th is just more evidence of premeditation so it was plannedand not just an instant rage.

That he had already communicated on the 7th that he planned to work on the wall the week of the 11th could mean either.

It could have been that he planned to use the absence of the daughters to get rid of Suzanne - who was increasingly making it clear she wanted out of the marriage - and so called about the job the day after the girls left to get his alibi lined up in advance of taking action. OR, he could have set up the job absent any intent relative to SM and then flew into a rage when SM was communicating with her lover and ignoring his calls and at that point decided the job would serve as his alibi.

IIRC, he didn't talk to his employee MG about the job when they were working together Saturday,May 9 which seems odd if he'd already arranged the work on May 7th. The first she heard of it being imminent was when he called her early Sunday morning, May 10 while he was on the way to Broomfield (AFTER he'd mentioned to JP - when he saw him at the garage/shop where he went to get his bobcat blade repaired on Saturday - that he wanted him to work for him the first time ever the next week).

Why get JP - who'd never worked for BM before - lined up before he made arrangements with MG who was RIGHT THERE working with him on Saturday? If he was lining up his alibi in advance, you'd think he could have mentioned it to MG rather than calling her (a mother) early on Mother's Day morning to tell her he needed her out of town that evening.

For some reason he didn't want MG to know too early. Was he afraid she'd share that info with someone before Sunday?
And he didn't bring the bobcat for a job that clearly needed one. Had he planned to bring the bobcat when discussing the job with the Indiana contractor on Thursday, May 7? MG was using the bobcat at the riverfront job site on Saturday, May 9. Was BM afraid MG would notice something different about it if she saw it on Sunday, May 10?

Lots of questions around oddities.

 

[Jurisprudence]

So what was in the glovebox can never point directly to a person. And IGG would likely lead to thousands of hits, IMO and IME.

[snipped by me]

B I N G O!

Which begs the question of why they screwed this up so badly by not producing it. Just test what you can from what you've retrieved, produce it, and attack it head-on. Had they done this, we wouldn't be here. I bet he would have been convicted.

But this is all jmo

 

[10ofRods]

Yes I seem to remember a Broomfield city ordinance of no construction type work on Sunday? Something along those lines ?

I think it's at least regional - the entire transit system bars construction work on Sundays.

I keep looking for the wall that Barry built. It's in a straight line, seems to be serving no retaining purpose, AND it is made out of unapproved material (cinder block). The one that was eventually after complete removal of Barry's is up to the newish standards of CO (had been in place well before Barry started - but Barry got the job through nepotism, IMO).

It was supposed to be made of artificial (poured concrete) "rock" and be decorative, because Denver passed new ordinances for its freeways and the results have been quite artistic. I can't find the picture of the wall that's now where Barry's was, but it has artistic elements to it and isn't even just joined stone - it's artful. This is something that many Western states are doing (and probably other states too).

The new one is sturdier than the below picture and more attractive. Barry's was just a bunch of cinder blocks in a line.

Obviously, that's residential use - but the new retaining wall looks more like that.

It is a bit more like this (in my memory) but a bit less decorative:

Barry's looked more like this:

Not only did it break the rules for the aesthetics of the wall (which many cities are adopting) but it didn't appear to be "retaining" anything and using this type of construction road side is now against code ( I think it's Denver Regional Transit Authority).

 

[rainbowshummingbird]

And, it was Mother's Day. But still he made sure he left for the job that morning and that he made an appearance at the job site to "look it over" even though there could be no work. Hotel reservations were supposedly made for more than just him but was there ever any evidence of him on camera with anyone else at any time at that hotel?

jmo

Morgan Gentile, one of Barry’s workers that he had asked to work the Broomfield job, said that Barry left behind an array of tools at the Holiday Inn Express for them to use for the job. Strangely, he did not leave tools necessary to do the job.

 

[Megnut]

That he had already communicated on the 7th that he planned to work on the wall the week of the 11th could mean either.

It could have been that he planned to use the absence of the daughters to get rid of Suzanne - who was increasingly making it clear she wanted out of the marriage - and so called about the job the day after the girls left to get his alibi lined up in advance of taking action. OR, he could have set up the job absent any intent relative to SM and then flew into a rage when SM was communicating with her lover and ignoring his calls and at that point decided the job would serve as his alibi.

IIRC, he didn't talk to his employee MG about the job when they were working together Saturday,May 9 which seems odd if he'd already arranged the work on May 7th. The first she heard of it being imminent was when he called her early Sunday morning, May 10 while he was on the way to Broomfield (AFTER he'd mentioned to JP - when he saw him at the garage/shop where he went to get his bobcat blade repaired on Saturday - that he wanted him to work for him the first time ever the next week).

Why get JP - who'd never worked for BM before - lined up before he made arrangements with MG who was RIGHT THERE working with him on Saturday? If he was lining up his alibi in advance, you'd think he could have mentioned it to MG rather than calling her (a mother) early on Mother's Day morning to tell her he needed her out of town that evening.

For some reason he didn't want MG to know too early. Was he afraid she'd share that info with someone before Sunday?
And he didn't bring the bobcat for a job that clearly needed one. Had he planned to bring the bobcat when discussing the job with the Indiana contractor on Thursday, May 7? MG was using the bobcat at the riverfront job site on Saturday, May 9. Was BM afraid MG would notice something different about it if she saw it on Sunday, May 10?

Lots of questions around oddities.

One quick point -- I think BM had a working relationship with MG, meaning he knew she'd do what he asked. I think he decided midday Saturday to make it look like a bigger job, lotta guys.

I can't for the life of me understand why he didn't bring the Bobcat to Denver and leave it there. I mean, I know -- binky. But it would've given better optics.

Jmo

 

[GoJacks]

I think it's at least regional - the entire transit system bars construction work on Sundays.

I keep looking for the wall that Barry built. It's in a straight line, seems to be serving no retaining purpose, AND it is made out of unapproved material (cinder block). The one that was eventually after complete removal of Barry's is up to the newish standards of CO (had been in place well before Barry started - but Barry got the job through nepotism, IMO).

It was supposed to be made of artificial (poured concrete) "rock" and be decorative, because Denver passed new ordinances for its freeways and the results have been quite artistic. I can't find the picture of the wall that's now where Barry's was, but it has artistic elements to it and isn't even just joined stone - it's artful. This is something that many Western states are doing (and probably other states too).

The new one is sturdier than the below picture and more attractive. Barry's was just a bunch of cinder blocks in a line.

View attachment 450858

Obviously, that's residential use - but the new retaining wall looks more like that.

It is a bit more like this (in my memory) but a bit less decorative:

View attachment 450859

Barry's looked more like this:

View attachment 450861

Not only did it break the rules for the aesthetics of the wall (which many cities are adopting) but it didn't appear to be "retaining" anything and using this type of construction road side is now against code ( I think it's Denver Regional Transit Authority).

Barry's tacky wall.

 

[Love Never Fails]

I tend to think he had the job planned for an upcoming weekday, killed her on impulse, and just used those work plans to create an alibi.

But his alibi didn’t work. No work could be done on Monday. He knew that. So why go there Sunday and ask for workers to come up Sunday spend the night for a job that couldn’t be done? Very poor planning. But it was indeed planned so he could kill Suzanne that day and bury her body. That’s premeditation.

 

[NCHydrangea]

Actually, the job was scheduled at the customer’s insistence the prior mid-week to start on Monday. Barry moved the travel to Sunday (paraphrased) “so the team could get an early start on Monday and so I could take measurements and order materials Sunday.”

Of course, we all know the REAL reason he moved it to Monday.

This was the early days at the beginning of Covid, but ordering materials on the weekend for delivery on Monday would have been a no go. Especially for a job as small as that wall. I also seem to recall Morgan saying that she and Jeff were there on Monday, but they had no materials.

I think it's at least regional - the entire transit system bars construction work on Sundays.

I keep looking for the wall that Barry built. It's in a straight line, seems to be serving no retaining purpose, AND it is made out of unapproved material (cinder block). The one that was eventually after complete removal of Barry's is up to the newish standards of CO (had been in place well before Barry started - but Barry got the job through nepotism, IMO).

It was supposed to be made of artificial (poured concrete) "rock" and be decorative, because Denver passed new ordinances for its freeways and the results have been quite artistic. I can't find the picture of the wall that's now where Barry's was, but it has artistic elements to it and isn't even just joined stone - it's artful. This is something that many Western states are doing (and probably other states too).

The new one is sturdier than the below picture and more attractive. Barry's was just a bunch of cinder blocks in a line.

View attachment 450858

Obviously, that's residential use - but the new retaining wall looks more like that.

It is a bit more like this (in my memory) but a bit less decorative:

View attachment 450859

Barry's looked more like this:

View attachment 450861

Not only did it break the rules for the aesthetics of the wall (which many cities are adopting) but it didn't appear to be "retaining" anything and using this type of construction road side is now against code ( I think it's Denver Regional Transit Authority).

Yes. The wall was meant to be a small retaining wall at the bottom of a slope IIRC. My Grandma could have built a better wall with old bricks found on the farm.

Apparently ole Ber Ber didn’t have a permit and I can tell you that the wall would have to be inspected during every phase of the construction. Subgrade, foundation, and anything else required in the Specs and Details. No inspection-no pay.

 

[Momofthreeboys]

[snipped by me]

B I N G O!

Which begs the question of why they screwed this up so badly by not producing it. Just test what you can from what you've retrieved, produce it, and attack it head-on. Had they done this, we wouldn't be here. I bet he would have been convicted.

But this is all jmo

I think prosecution had more issues than the dna and I thought that since the preliminary and release of the AA. All of which I imagine will be addressed as they rethink the case with some fresh eyes.