Building on recent posts, here are some thoughts for discussion that relate to Suzanne’s bike stuff and 2 or 3 empty spa chemical bottles being found, (possibly tossed rather haphazardly) in the front of Suzanne’s car.
Assessing certain evidence in this case depends heavily on whether the murder was carefully planned or a crime of passion. If Mr. Morphew planned the killing at least a couple days in advance, then there would be more time to determine how to eliminate evidence, stage the crime scene, dispose of the body and plant “fake” evidence.
If Suzanne’s killing was a second-degree crime of passion (or first-degree with a small amount of pre-planning), I would expect a much more haphazard attempt at staging and to a more limited degree (due to time constraints).
For various reasons I’m thinking Mr. Morphew made the decision to kill his wife without a great deal of planning. It may have been planned to an extent that would qualify as first-degree murder but not enough to where he didn’t have to scramble to fake a crime scene, ditch evidence, and hastily dispose of the body. I would submit that the bike crash/abduction staging alone establishes little aforethought. Leaving her biking gloves and shorts in the master closet (Page 5 of Arrest Affidavit) and her shades/camelback/ID in her car when the bike and helmet are down the road a mile or two indicates a last minute, very poorly thought-out plan to establish an alternative theory for the murder (likely conceived while Mr. Morphew was perspiring pure adrenaline).
And the empty spa chemical bottles scattered on the floor of her car also seems a bit off. Ignoring why they weren’t in the trash/recycling, it is inconsistent with the statements of DA Stanley; who when asked if the killing took place in the hot tub, said that the tub looked like it had not been used “in a long time”. If the contents of the empty bottles had been used to prepare the hot tub for use on Saturday it would include turning the tub on, bringing it up to temperature and circulating the chemicals (and likely general cleaning).
So, things that obviously would have to be part of the staged bike ride, and the empty spa bottles (the contents of which were used for something other than the spa) are found together in her car. Meanwhile, other necessary bike ride items (gloves and shorts) are in a different location (though in fairness, she no doubt had multiple pairs of riding shorts). This I believe is a conundrum, the response to which could have significant implications to the commitment of this crime.
One other element is the inconsistency of the “morning bike ride”. Mr. Morphew offered without prompting that, "Well, she's ridin' her bike but I'm a little concerned, because I think she said she was gonna take a morning ride". However, others (who I would argue have far lesser motivation to misrepresent) said she normally/regularly road in the afternoon (per Mallory Morphew, Page 6 of AA) or evening (per Libler, Page 16 of AA).
So, on the day she disappears, when the 9AM temperature was in the low-mid-40s, she deviates from her apparently well-known routine and takes off without shades, gloves, pack, snacks, or ID.
Since only Mr. Morphew would have a reason to stage the bike and helmet far from their home, I’d say it’s clear that his bit of fakery was hatched from a frantic mind (one that already suffered from a lack of certain critical thinking resources). But what does Websleuth’s Hive Mind think about the use/disposition of the spa chemicals and how they ended up in the car?
Two side notes:
1. Suzanne’s biking pack looks very similar to the Camelbak Rogue Light (in Ibiza Blue, below), which is a very popular model. Notably, the Rogue has storage space for phones, keys, wallets, snack packages, like those shown in the picture of her Range Rover, etc. and a stretch overflow pocket for a light layer like a windbreaker.
View attachment 469026
2. Sodium hypochlorite, a common spa sanitizer, destroys DNA and is used in DNA labs for decontamination. If it was used, its concentration would be about 1/10th of that of bleach and lingering odors far less likely.