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

[10ofRods]

Not trying to quibble, but I don’t see Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office or the CBI saying that Kelly is a point of contact - just that she was notified of the discovery of remains in her District- the 12th Judicial District.

Chaffee County is in the 11th Judicial District.

jmo

I never said that Chaffee County said it, but you asked where I saw her name, so I told you.
I was referring to the CBI press release, which I linked above.

You assumed I meant just the one press release. I read both of the releases (both were linked to Facebook). The CBI release is, IMO, a bit more informative.

Which leaves me wondering if...the press release is mentioning the Saguache County DA instead. Does anyone know? Because that would be big news (at least to me).

Yep, just checked. The CBI is referring to Saguache County's DA. Anne Kelly is definitely their DA and definitely mentioned as the appropriate authority at this time (by CBI).

IMO.

 

[Boxer]

Believe his phone went into airplane mode @ 10:17pm -4:34am

But his truck recorded 80 ‘events’ @ 3:25am

Which is a little over 5 hours.

BM went into airplane mode at 2:47pm -10:17pm May 9, 2020.

7 1/2 hours.

 

[10ofRods]

I agree that the latest press release dated 10/5/23 by CCSO is specific to inquiries about the ongoing investigation and inquiries should be directed to CBI as neither the Sheriff nor Chaffee County Govt are issuing statements related to the investigation.

IMO, the prosecution may be by a special prosecutor, the 12th, a combination of both Judicial Districts, or other, yet to be determined.

It appears to me that there is now a new investigation centered, as is usual, around the victim's body. That grave is a bit part of the crime scene. It may be very hard to know which side of the line (11th or 12th Districts) to put the case on. It's possible the homicide occurred in Saguache County.

Indeed, I'm puzzling over the various charges. How will Barry explain away this new set of circumstances? He's likely going to claim that kidnappers took her over there (and IE is already posturing around "body fields" and whispering about possible serial killers). The Sheriff of Saguache County looks eager to prosecute this case and may well get the chance.

I agree that they might well have joint prosecution, if they cannot determine clearly how the crime occurred. Kidnapping someone from the 11th should not be severed from the murder (in the 12th, if that's what the Coroner determines - if they can determine that at all).

The Saguache County Sheriff has said a little, isn't totally silent. But I do wonder how this will all play out. The Coroner of Saguache County is Tom Perrin. He ran unopposed, and doesn't have an M.D. after his name. The Congressional Rep for Saguache County is Lauren Boebert.

Perrin's determination of manner and cause of death in past cases has been slowed by lack of resources/equipment:

Metal testing sought on mummified spiritual leader's body found in Saguache County - Sentinel Colorado

A coroner in southern Colorado has not yet been able to determine what caused the death of a spiritual leader whose mummified body was found decorated with Christmas lights and glitter in what appeared to be a shrine.

sentinelcolorado.com

Probably as a result of that, some autopsies have been outsourced to El Paso County:

Body discovered in Saguache County identified

Saguache County Coroner Tom Perrin confirmed the human remains found in early January are those of mountain bike pioneer and Mountain Bike Hall of Famer Mike Rust.

www.themountainmail.com

(Which explains why some commenters on FB and elsewhere are predicting that the autopsy will eventually be done in El Paso County). It will be certified by the Saguache County Coroner, I presume.

At any rate, it appears we have three Colorado counties potentially at play (with El Paso doing only the medical examiner part). I will admit to a bias. I want this to be tried in Chaffee County - but I fear it will go over to Saguache.

IMO.

 

[SteelCity91]

On

One puzzling thing about his traveling west, is why he went so far to turnaround. From where he saw the elk and coincidentally, the bike helmet was found, it is another 2 miles west to where he turned around in Garfield. There are 7 or 8 wide turnouts before Garfield, and at 4:30 in the morning you could do a three point turn anywhere.

I'm still thinking he threw more evidence away.. IMO

 

[10ofRods]

Especially if incapacitated via deer tranq serum, strangling or smothering SM would have been easy for BM.

I think smothering over strangulation (for obvious reasons). But, the tranq alone might have been enough to cause serious brain damage. Indeed, if BM's desire was to incapacitate her (to interrogate her over her journals, her affair) and perhaps to make her agree to his terms, he may have found himself with a plan gone wrong, but in a manner that was easily anticipated.

If she was strangled, my mind goes to phone charging cord (symbol of the terrible, newfangled social media that linked Suzanne to JL).

IMO.

 

[SleuthBee]

Replying to my own post.
Sorry Cindizzi. The notice from the CBI mentioned Anne Kelly, in that she had been notified. Why do that unless they (CBI) are bringing her in?

Perhaps she was notified in the event SM's death is ruled a homocide and then charges need to be filed. But, I'll take Anne Kelly over Linda Stanley.

Anne Kelly is a newly elected district attorney and established their innovative Domestic Violence Acute Response Team. While at the 18th District, she created a Domestic Violence Unit.

She is tough on crime though. Back in 2011, she was charged with a misdemeanor for slapping an uncooperative DUI arrestee across the face.

 

[k-mac]

The tossed bike and helmet are very incriminating for him cuz nobody else would have motive to stage that.

And he introduced it straight away.
Got the neighbour to go over and look for her bike in the shed.
Not her car....
not SM herself.....

THE BIKE.

 

[Boxer]

I'm still thinking he threw more evidence away.. IMO

Agree.
The last phone ping from Suzanne's phone was 4:23 am
May 10th, 11.5 miles west from Poncha Springs cell tower.

Their Puma Path home was approximately 8.5 miles west from Poncha Springs cell tower.
Her phone last pinged from two
miles further west.

In other words her phone last last pinged after Barry took the left on 50 and drove the couple of miles west toward Monarch in the 4am hour of May 10th.

 

[Boxer]

dBm duplicate

 

[SteelCity91]

I'm still thinking he threw more evidence away.. IMO

Agree.
The last phone ping from Suzanne's phone was 4:23 am
May 10th, 11.5 miles west from Poncha Springs cell tower.

Their Puma Path home was approximately 8.5 miles west from Poncha Springs cell tower.
Her phone last pinged from two
miles further west.

In other words her phone last last pinged after Barry took the left on 50 and drove the couple of miles west toward Monarch in the 4am hour of May 10th.

Yes! That would be one of the items I would have guessed he threw away. It would be easy to launch out the window.

Now I could be wrong but didn't Barry ask the LE if they found her phone. Also expecting them to find it. I'm going to search to see if I can find that..

 

[Boxer]

Yes! That would be one of the items I would have guessed he threw away. It would be easy to launch out the window.

Now I could be wrong but didn't Barry ask the LE if they found her phone. Also expecting them to find it. I'm going to search to see if I can find that..

Breadcrumbs west. Body south in an area commonly used by criminals for its isolation. MOO very good plan.

 

[Seattle1]

I never said that Chaffee County said it, but you asked where I saw her name, so I told you.
I was referring to the CBI press release, which I linked above.

You assumed I meant just the one press release. I read both of the releases (both were linked to Facebook). The CBI release is, IMO, a bit more informative.

Which leaves me wondering if...the press release is mentioning the Saguache County DA instead. Does anyone know? Because that would be big news (at least to me).

Yep, just checked. The CBI is referring to Saguache County's DA. Anne Kelly is definitely their DA and definitely mentioned as the appropriate authority at this time (by CBI).

IMO.

To be clear, we have two press releases issued on different dates by two separate agencies!

The first release by CBI from a week ago announced the recovered remains were positively identified as SM.

However, the second release dated 10/5/23 by the Chaffee County Sheriff's Office was issued to "reinforce" that CBI is the lead.

In context, it follows that the first press release by CBI to announce SM's remains recovered would be more thorough than today's press release by the CCSO, reinforcing CBI is the lead agency.

Remains positively identified as Suzanne Morphew | Colorado Bureau of Investigation

Remains positively identified as Suzanne Morphew​

Agents with the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) located human remains during the course of a search on September 22, 2023. Those remains were positively identified as Suzanne Morphew (49) of Chaffee County by the El Paso County Coroner on September 27, 2023.

Morphew was reported missing from her home in Chaffee County on May 10, 2020.
Investigators were searching in the area of Moffat in Saguache (SUH-watch) County on an investigation not related to the Morphew disappearance when the remains were discovered.
Specific information about the location and the state of the remains are being withheld at this time.

No arrests have been made since the remains were located. Updates will be provided as information becomes available during this ongoing investigation. Family notifications have been made following the formal identification of Suzanne Morphew.

“While this case has garnered attention from around the world, it has touched our community and the sheriff’s office deeply,” said Chaffee County Sheriff John Spezze. “We have never stopped our investigation and will continue to follow all leads in pursuit of justice for Suzanne.”

The remains were located in the 12th Judicial District, and District Attorney Anne Kelly has been notified.

Note: There will be no news conference or media interviews related to this development in this case.

“Although locating Suzanne’s remains is a critical component of this investigation, and for her family, we are left with many more questions than answers, and it would be a disservice to conduct a news conference at this time,” said Sheriff Spezze.

The public is asked to continue to report any information about this case by calling (719) 312-7530.

All media inquiries should be directed to the CBI.

CBI Serving as lead agency on Morphew discover | Chaffee Sheriff

MEDIA ADVISORY: 05 October 2023

Colorado Bureau of Investigation Serving as Lead Agency for Morphew Discovery and Addressing Media Inquiries

SALIDA, COLO – Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office is reinforcing that the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is the lead agency for investigations related to the discovery of Suzanne Morphew’s remains in Saguache County. Suzanne Morphew was reported missing from her home in Chaffee County on May 10, 2020.

CBI’s press release addressing this can be found at https://cbi.colorado.gov/…/remains-positively….

Any inquiries related to this topic should be directed to CBI; neither Chaffee County’s Sheriff’s Office nor the Chaffee County Government will issue statements or provide information related to this investigation.

The public is asked to continue to report any information about this case to the tip line at (719) 312-7530.

 

[Boxer]

To be clear, we have two press releases issued on different dates by two separate agencies!

The first release by CBI from a week ago announced the recovered remains were positively identified as SM.

However, the second release dated 10/5/23 by the Chaffee County Sheriff's Office was issued to "reinforce" that CBI is the lead.

In context, it follows that the first press release by CBI to announce SM's remains recovered would be more thorough than today's press release by the CCSO, reinforcing CBI is the lead agency.

Remains positively identified as Suzanne Morphew | Colorado Bureau of Investigation

Remains positively identified as Suzanne Morphew​

Agents with the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) located human remains during the course of a search on September 22, 2023. Those remains were positively identified as Suzanne Morphew (49) of Chaffee County by the El Paso County Coroner on September 27, 2023.

Morphew was reported missing from her home in Chaffee County on May 10, 2020.
Investigators were searching in the area of Moffat in Saguache (SUH-watch) County on an investigation not related to the Morphew disappearance when the remains were discovered.
Specific information about the location and the state of the remains are being withheld at this time.

No arrests have been made since the remains were located. Updates will be provided as information becomes available during this ongoing investigation. Family notifications have been made following the formal identification of Suzanne Morphew.

“While this case has garnered attention from around the world, it has touched our community and the sheriff’s office deeply,” said Chaffee County Sheriff John Spezze. “We have never stopped our investigation and will continue to follow all leads in pursuit of justice for Suzanne.”

The remains were located in the 12th Judicial District, and District Attorney Anne Kelly has been notified.

Note: There will be no news conference or media interviews related to this development in this case.

“Although locating Suzanne’s remains is a critical component of this investigation, and for her family, we are left with many more questions than answers, and it would be a disservice to conduct a news conference at this time,” said Sheriff Spezze.

The public is asked to continue to report any information about this case by calling (719) 312-7530.

All media inquiries should be directed to the CBI.

CBI Serving as lead agency on Morphew discover | Chaffee Sheriff

MEDIA ADVISORY: 05 October 2023

Colorado Bureau of Investigation Serving as Lead Agency for Morphew Discovery and Addressing Media Inquiries

SALIDA, COLO – Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office is reinforcing that the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is the lead agency for investigations related to the discovery of Suzanne Morphew’s remains in Saguache County. Suzanne Morphew was reported missing from her home in Chaffee County on May 10, 2020.

CBI’s press release addressing this can be found at https://cbi.colorado.gov/…/remains-positively….

Any inquiries related to this topic should be directed to CBI; neither Chaffee County’s Sheriff’s Office nor the Chaffee County Government will issue statements or provide information related to this investigation.

The public is asked to continue to report any information about this case to the tip line at (719) 312-7530.

Missing from her home. Good.

 

[kittythehare]

I never said that Chaffee County said it, but you asked where I saw her name, so I told you.
I was referring to the CBI press release, which I linked above.

You assumed I meant just the one press release. I read both of the releases (both were linked to Facebook). The CBI release is, IMO, a bit more informative.

Which leaves me wondering if...the press release is mentioning the Saguache County DA instead. Does anyone know? Because that would be big news (at least to me).

Yep, just checked. The CBI is referring to Saguache County's DA. Anne Kelly is definitely their DA and definitely mentioned as the appropriate authority at this time (by CBI).

IMO.

yeah, I know.
It's a political football, actually.

11th Judicial District Attorney's Office spent quarter of a million dollars on Morphew case

11th Judicial District Attorney's Office spent quarter of a million dollars on Morphew case

krdo.com

 

[SleuthBee]

In other words her phone last last pinged after Barry took the left on 50 and drove the couple of miles west toward Monarch in the 4am hour of May 10th.

I think that evidence alone is incriminating. He told Tyson Draper that the abductors took off headed west. That's the stage he was setting. Could he have taken it out of airplane mode so it would ping once before destroying the phone?

 

[Megnut]

Breadcrumbs west. Body south in an area commonly used by criminals for its isolation. MOO very good plan.

It was a very effective plan. Until it wasn't.

BM was a nemesis to the animal kingdom.

And now the animal kingdom is his.

What you do in the dark...

Jmo

 

[SleuthBee]

Yes! That would be one of the items I would have guessed he threw away. It would be easy to launch out the window.

Now I could be wrong but didn't Barry ask the LE if they found her phone. Also expecting them to find it. I'm going to search to see if I can find that..

I think he knew enough not to allow the phone to be located and info possibly recovered. Best to let it ping headed west then drop it in a cup full of water then toss it. I think his question to LE was a ruse.

 

[BeachSky]

Something I find interesting about the case is in some respects BM was forensically aware but in other respects he was epic fail.

Like he wasn't dumb enough to log telematics all the way to the gravesite, or take his phone there

Yet he was dumb enough to log telematics at all his dump sites and get caught on video at them - as well as to lie about his alibi in a way which would be disproved by his truck telematics e.g what time he left

Strange inconsistency IMO

All in all this shows he was rather less clever than given credit for IMO. Far from genius disposal down an unknown mineshaft he simply buried her on the side of the road.

We don't know how he got there - but actually the prosecution don't need to prove exactly how he did it - only that he could have.

Suzanne was the brains in that marriage imo

 

[Seattle1]

Suzanne Morphew's remains are found, but mystery endures for Colorado investigators

Now that Suzanne Morphew's remains have been found, the case takes on new life.

denvergazette.com

• Sep 28, 2023 Updated Oct 3, 2023

“It will become a joint effort between every investigative agency, which has any interest in the case,” Saguache County Sheriff Dan Warwick told The Denver Gazette Thursday. “I don’t know that this is starting over, but I can say that we are getting fresh eyes on the case.”

The lead FBI investigator who wrote the 130-page arrest affidavit has retired and now works for Douglas County Schools as director of safety and security. Jonny Grusing, a cracker-jack detective, has been an integral force in investigating numerous Colorado murder cases. That includes the case of Dylan Redwine, whose bones were also found after years of going missing. Grusing has continued to advise on the case, sources close to the investigation have told The Denver Gazette.

[..]

The discovery of her remains brings up a few key questions:

• Was Morphew kidnapped? Was she murdered? If so, how did she die? What happened during her final hours?
• If she was murdered, where was she killed? That location could determine which jurisdiction prosecutes the unsolved case.
• Was there more than one person involved in her disappearance?
• Will the old guard, which has been investigating the case for more than three years, be able to put egos aside and play nicely with new agencies, specifically the Saguache County Sheriff’s Office, which will now likely be brought in to piece her last hours together?

These next days will be filled with meetings between investigators regarding the case, according to Warwick. He admitted that his department, with eight to nine employees, is “tremendously smaller than Chaffee County's,” which has been in charge of the investigation into Morphew’s death from the beginning and took it over again when the case was dismissed in April 2022.

But that doesn’t sway him.

“I don’t give a damn what it takes. I’ll make it happen. Whatever it takes we’ll make it work and the commissioners will pay the bill,” he said.

 

[Smelly Squirrel]

yeah, I know.
It's a political football, actually.

11th Judicial District Attorney's Office spent quarter of a million dollars on Morphew case

11th Judicial District Attorney's Office spent quarter of a million dollars on Morphew case

krdo.com

From the article,

Dennis Maes, the former Chief Judge of the 10th Judicial District Court, said the discovery allegations and complaints against Stanley and her office should factor into the court venue decision. He said the 12th Judicial District should prosecute any future potential case.

“The fact that the initial investigation was botched in many ways and the fact that a new set of eyes can take a different look at this and determine whether or not charges will be filed against someone,” Maes said.

“They should not be wedded to any of the findings or any of the proceedings that occurred in the initial investigation,” he said. “It should be as if it was just starting brand new.”

Both Maes and Solano said it is possible special prosecutors from other districts or even the Colorado Attorney General’s Office will help with the case.