Found Deceased CO - Suzanne Morphew, 49, Chaffee County, 10 May 2020 #61 *ARREST*

[Whiteorchids]

He was a PD himself for 20 years before becoming a Judge. IMO DN has not been before him unless she’s been on a case in Chaffee County. I think she has had more big-city clients. JMO
Remember in the May 27 hearing she offered to buy LE tape recorders to tape witnesses and Judge said “ Hey, I know we’re out in the sticks here... “.
Still cracks me up.

Colorado Judicial Branch - Bio

Judge Murphy is a Colorado native and a graduate of Denver East High School. He earned a degree in American History from the University of Pennsylvania and his law degree from the University of Colorado School of Law. Judge Murphy worked as a Deputy State Public Defender for 20 years prior to his appointment as District Court judge. For 10 of those years, he headed the Salida Regional Office of the Colorado State Public Defender. Judge Murphy has lived and worked in the 11th Judicial District since 1995. Judge Murphy serves as the Chief Judge of the district and hears cases primarily in Chaffee County (Salida).

 

[CGray123]

While I understand that the daughters are in an unimaginable position. I agree that although not in their control, it was in their father's control. My hope is that the judge is being extra cautious trying to ensure that BM is convicted of crimes committed.

A few things:

1. Why is this so different as other WSers have pointed out? Why isn't every AA in M1 cases with (all have) innocent victims protected? I don't think this is the right precedence here. Somewhat of a slap in the face to other M1 cases..

2. Witnesses. Plural.

3. I found the statement regarding extraneous information that may be deemed inadmissible worrisome. Any of our amazing legal minds have opinions on this?

As to victims and witnesses, the difference in this case may relate to the court's reliance on the Colorado Victim Rights Act, and specifically § 24-4.1-302.5. Rights afforded to victims. The prosecution did not oppose Morphew's reference to this statute.

This is an early case applying a new rule. I think the Judge is taking an approach he thinks will preclude arguments for a change of venue and/or post-conviction claims that the jury pool was unfairly tainted by exposure to inadmissible evidence. By making the order temporary, he reduced the Media Consortium's incentive to appeal. He limited the complete seal order to the time required for the parties to make redactions and for the Morphew daughters to figure out how to cope and where they go from here. Smart move.

I think the DA, in an "abundance of caution" when filing a rarely pursued, no-body murder case, threw in the kitchen sink to assure that the judge would find probable cause and the public would see this as a just prosecution.

The judge's concerns were clearly and strongly expressed, and related not only to evidence admissibility under rules like hearsay, but also to relevance. It will be interesting to see the DA's next move, given what I see as a strong statement of concern by the judge.

For lawyers, a question - when does the right to avoid double jeopardy apply? If the DA withdrew the case to investigate further, could she re-file it next year? Or, does she have to follow through now, and take whatever the outcome may be?

I just noticed that Fox News chose not to cover this latter aspect of the judge's ruling in its article, but only the witness protection part. Interesting.

All MOO, a non-expert court watcher's two cents.

 

[Alethea]

Most arrest affidavits are 1-3 pages long. LE usually gives the bare minimum to convince a judge to sign off on an arrest. LE doesn't usually like "showing their cards" that early and there is absolutely no reason to try to prove anything but probable cause that a crime has been committed at that stage.

I'm sorry but a 130 page affidavit is insane. I have no idea why someone would want to do that except show-boating and trying to get prejudicial information out into the public without actually leaking it to the public.

I truly can't think of anything similar in a decade+ of federal white collar defense. Complex multi-player antitrust conspiracy cases have had 50, 60 page indictments and 10 page probable cause affidavits. I agree with the judge that it is beyond unusual and apparently unnecessary.

 

[Whiteorchids]

I wish BM had a woman Judge like Linda Stanley. Most women judges I’ve observed in courtrooms are tough as nails. I think a female prosecutor would have been interesting watching all four women battling it out in the courtroom seriously would have made a good trial watch. This judge looks young. He doesn’t look very tough imho. Honestly, I’m not impressed with the prosecution team. They better beef up their game or Barry will walk free. Bad move not releasing the AA. A family member always is subject to hurt, pain and sorrowwhen their loved one is arrested. This case is no different. I’m very disappointed now all the rumors and theories will continue to fly.

 

[Alethea]

The problem with releasing an affidavit like this is the public will take it as true, not as allegations. It has the official stamp of the state and the court on it. I think the judge is (rightly) worried that if this is full of inadmissible evidence, he would be stamping the publicizing of an inappropriate document that affects the defendant's right to a fair trial.

And for what? Because we're nosy. We will find out what happened soon enough.

I do a lot of civil defense. Anyone can file a lawsuit against anyone else for any reason as long as they pay the filing fee. The case may be promptly dismissed, but it will still be in the public record. The public assumes that if something is said in a legal document, it must be true. My clients fight this all the time so I see it first-hand. A contract dispute gets a little out of hand and one party sues. Suddenly the other party is receiving calls from its vendors shocked that the person did something "illegal" when really the dispute is already being settled. But once it's out there, it's out there. And it looks really official with the court heading and the attorney signatures.

The talk about the Morphew girls was weird to me. I wonder if the state tried to implicate them somehow or included comments from them that obviously will be sensitive either way. Witness statements are often blacked out in AAs to protect the witnesses from public reprisal. You see that a lot in gang cases when the danger is more obvious.

 

[10ofRods]

Yes, that's another important thing to consider. Some of the statements we've heard so far, such as the hotel room reeking of chlorine, Barry sounding like he just had the worst night of his life, the loud noise heard in the middle of the night at the construction site, the sound of a truck outside MG's house at four in the morning, the mail in the garbage being his alibi, Barry rummaging through the garbage at the store, etc, can all be considered prejudicial and probably won't even be admissible if not backed up by supporting evidence.

And that's only the information we've heard about. I still wish we had a clue of what physical evidence they have or what proof LE has that Suzanne is deceased.

There's also Barry's statement that he spoke to LE for 30 hours, which would have generated a lot of material for the AA. That too is kind of...world record.

If what we know so far is all they have, then it's really weird that the AA is 129 pages. OTOH, the Judge is probably trying to protect witnesses - which is a standard reason to wait until evidentiary matters are settled at the prelim.

That's how it is supposed to work. If the defendant has any ties to possible allies outside of jail, and if the defendant has been known to attempt to threaten even LE, it makes sense to protect all of the witnesses. Which is why I have been concerned about those 8 LE officers. They came forward to state whatever they stated - but they are LE. One of the witnesses has already expressed fear and left the state.

A defendant who is willing to try and threaten or bribe or deceive LE officers is definitely a risk to other witnesses if they still have supporters outside of jail...which the AA may show.

 

[Deleted member 222031]

Most arrest affidavits are 1-3 pages long. LE usually gives the bare minimum to convince a judge to sign off on an arrest. LE doesn't usually like "showing their cards" that early and there is absolutely no reason to try to prove anything but probable cause that a crime has been committed at that stage.

I'm sorry but a 130 page affidavit is insane. I have no idea why someone would want to do that except show-boating and trying to get prejudicial information out into the public without actually leaking it to the public.

I truly can't think of anything similar in a decade+ of federal white collar defense. Complex multi-player antitrust conspiracy cases have had 50, 60 page indictments and 10 page probable cause affidavits. I agree with the judge that it is beyond unusual and apparently unnecessary.

And yet, a judge signed off on it, leading to BM's arrest. Methinks there is more to this than we outsiders can deduce....!

 

[Whiteorchids]

Chase Merritt who killed the entire McStay family had 305 pages affidavit and warrants.

 

[Momofthreeboys]

As to victims and witnesses, the difference in this case may relate to the court's reliance on the Colorado Victim Rights Act, and specifically § 24-4.1-302.5. Rights afforded to victims. The prosecution did not oppose Morphew's reference to this statute.

This is an early case applying a new rule. I think the Judge is taking an approach he thinks will preclude arguments for a change of venue and/or post-conviction claims that the jury pool was unfairly tainted by exposure to inadmissible evidence. By making the order temporary, he reduced the Media Consortium's incentive to appeal. He limited the complete seal order to the time required for the parties to make redactions and for the Morphew daughters to figure out how to cope and where they go from here. Smart move.

I think the DA, in an "abundance of caution" when filing a rarely pursued, no-body murder case, threw in the kitchen sink to assure that the judge would find probable cause and the public would see this as a just prosecution.

The judge's concerns were clearly and strongly expressed, and related not only to evidence admissibility under rules like hearsay, but also to relevance. It will be interesting to see the DA's next move, given what I see as a strong statement of concern by the judge.

For lawyers, a question - when does the right to avoid double jeopardy apply? If the DA withdrew the case to investigate further, could she re-file it next year? Or, does she have to follow through now, and take whatever the outcome may be?

I just noticed that Fox News chose not to cover this latter aspect of the judge's ruling in its article, but only the witness protection part. Interesting.

All MOO, a non-expert court watcher's two cents.

I too am curious as the judge also referenced potentially exculpable information in the Morphew interviews. So at least 3 reasons he is holding the affidavit sealed. The victims, the amount of content that may not be admissible, the inclusion of potential exculpatory information. I think the judge did the right thing.

 

[PaulaDC]

Yes! Especially, in hot water!

No one mentioned pool shock. Granulated and fast dissolving.

 

[Whiteorchids]

There's also Barry's statement that he spoke to LE for 30 hours, which would have generated a lot of material for the AA. That too is kind of...world record.

If what we know so far is all they have, then it's really weird that the AA is 129 pages. OTOH, the Judge is probably trying to protect witnesses - which is a standard reason to wait until evidentiary matters are settled at the prelim.

That's how it is supposed to work. If the defendant has any ties to possible allies outside of jail, and if the defendant has been known to attempt to threaten even LE, it makes sense to protect all of the witnesses. Which is why I have been concerned about those 8 LE officers. They came forward to state whatever they stated - but they are LE. One of the witnesses has already expressed fear and left the state.

A defendant who is willing to try and threaten or bribe or deceive LE officers is definitely a risk to other witnesses if they still have supporters outside of jail...which the AA may show.

I believe this too, all the inconsistencies in his interviews and statements were checked out and didn’t pan out. I believe the first one I remember BM said he was at fire training camp on Mother’s Day when SM went missing.

 

[Gigi3]

And yet, a judge signed off on it, leading to BM's arrest. Methinks there is more to this than we outsiders can deduce....!

And I think the daughters are going to be key in this whole timeline that Barry has constructed. JMO.

 

[Gigi3]

No one mentioned pool shock. Granulated and fast dissolving.

Ha! You’re right, I just finished shocking our pool a little while ago. Strong odor and dissolves quickly.

 

[Deleted member 222031]

The problem with releasing an affidavit like this is the public will take it as true, not as allegations. It has the official stamp of the state and the court on it. I think the judge is (rightly) worried that if this is full of inadmissible evidence, he would be stamping the publicizing of an inappropriate document that affects the defendant's right to a fair trial.

And for what? Because we're nosy. We will find out what happened soon enough.

I do a lot of civil defense. Anyone can file a lawsuit against anyone else for any reason as long as they pay the filing fee. The case may be promptly dismissed, but it will still be in the public record. The public assumes that if something is said in a legal document, it must be true. My clients fight this all the time so I see it first-hand. A contract dispute gets a little out of hand and one party sues. Suddenly the other party is receiving calls from its vendors shocked that the person did something "illegal" when really the dispute is already being settled. But once it's out there, it's out there. And it looks really official with the court heading and the attorney signatures.

The talk about the Morphew girls was weird to me. I wonder if the state tried to implicate them somehow or included comments from them that obviously will be sensitive either way. Witness statements are often blacked out in AAs to protect the witnesses from public reprisal. You see that a lot in gang cases when the danger is more obvious.

Are you saying that because some members of the public may not understand or accept the document for what it is - a gathering of "probable" cause, it should be withheld? Who cares how a random person thinks about it or makes assumptions - positive or negative - about it. If that were a legitimate reason for withholding this AA, would it not be a legitimate reason for withholding ALL AAs? My apologies if I have misunderstood you.

 

[Seattle1]

I could have sworn that she specifically said "Barry's Foundation" and then she just cut it off. But I don't want to go back for 2 hours to listen again. I just got the idea she was definitely saying it was not the same as whatever foundation or group that SM had going. Maybe I drank too much Budweiser that night. I was going to say Corona

During MM's interview with CM (YouTube IR), I recall MM stating that after BM returned from a foreign hunting trip, he set up the foundation -- it was his idea -- not his foundation. Seemed to me that MM was of the opinion that the foundation was more to benefit BM than SM.

Public Records show it's a registered Christian Non-Profit Corporation.

The primary exempt purpose states:

ADDRESS NEEDS OF CHILDREN IN VARIOUS GLOBAL LOCATIONS BY SHOWING THE LOVE OF JESUS CHRIST IN TANIGIBLE [sp]WAYS TO ADDRESS RECOGNIZED NEEDS.

SUZANNE R MORPHEW HOPE FOUNDATION INC | Open990

 

[TIGER0822]

There was an old post which posted a picture of the Salida dig and with what possibly looked like the outline/imprint of a body. If a poster here has the pic (I could not find it) and could repost that would be greatly appreciated.

 

[TIGER0822]

Ha! You’re right, I just finished shocking our pool a little while ago. Strong odor and dissolves quickly.

I splashed shock on me. It instantly burned right through my clothes and skin. It was rough.

 

[Deleted member 222031]

As to victims and witnesses, the difference in this case may relate to the court's reliance on the Colorado Victim Rights Act, and specifically § 24-4.1-302.5. Rights afforded to victims. The prosecution did not oppose Morphew's reference to this statute.

This is an early case applying a new rule. I think the Judge is taking an approach he thinks will preclude arguments for a change of venue and/or post-conviction claims that the jury pool was unfairly tainted by exposure to inadmissible evidence. By making the order temporary, he reduced the Media Consortium's incentive to appeal. He limited the complete seal order to the time required for the parties to make redactions and for the Morphew daughters to figure out how to cope and where they go from here. Smart move.

I think the DA, in an "abundance of caution" when filing a rarely pursued, no-body murder case, threw in the kitchen sink to assure that the judge would find probable cause and the public would see this as a just prosecution.

The judge's concerns were clearly and strongly expressed, and related not only to evidence admissibility under rules like hearsay, but also to relevance. It will be interesting to see the DA's next move, given what I see as a strong statement of concern by the judge.

For lawyers, a question - when does the right to avoid double jeopardy apply? If the DA withdrew the case to investigate further, could she re-file it next year? Or, does she have to follow through now, and take whatever the outcome may be?

I just noticed that Fox News chose not to cover this latter aspect of the judge's ruling in its article, but only the witness protection part. Interesting.

All MOO, a non-expert court watcher's two cents.

Above statement BBM - Isn't the AA sealed until 8/24/20 at the earliest? In reading the order, I thought the judge felt redactions would be a burden because of the length, making them moot. The needs of the daughters to "cope" with the statements of probable cause is a very weak argument for withholding it (as others have pointed out) unless they are potentially in legal jeopardy due to the AA. Looking at the GS AA - facts and assumptions deduced from facts led the narrative. I assume the same would be true of this AA.

 

[fcavanaugh]

Sitting here thinking about the lengthy
129 page AA, I am reminded of the following.
(keep in mind this was approx. 7 months prior to BM arrest, so numbers would likely be much higher after 7 more months of investigation). This is a multi-state investigation and substantial number of interviews were conducted.
Snipped from CCSO Press Release dated September 29, 2020:

Suzanne Morphew missing person Investigative Task Force Recap since May 10:

• 1,123 Total tips called to the designated tip line (includes hang-ups and duplicates).
• 180 Interviews conducted in Colorado, Indiana and other locations. This number does not take into account the hundreds of other contacts made between investigators and individuals as part of this case since May.
• 130+ Searches conducted (including warrants, which remained sealed at this time)
• 4,000+ Hours spent by TaskForce investigators on the case

IMHOO

#FindSuzanne
#BringSuzanneHome
#JusticeForSuzanne

 

[LietKynes]

The problem with releasing an affidavit like this is the public will take it as true, not as allegations. It has the official stamp of the state and the court on it. I think the judge is (rightly) worried that if this is full of inadmissible evidence, he would be stamping the publicizing of an inappropriate document that affects the defendant's right to a fair trial.

And for what? Because we're nosy. We will find out what happened soon enough.

I do a lot of civil defense. Anyone can file a lawsuit against anyone else for any reason as long as they pay the filing fee. The case may be promptly dismissed, but it will still be in the public record. The public assumes that if something is said in a legal document, it must be true. My clients fight this all the time so I see it first-hand. A contract dispute gets a little out of hand and one party sues. Suddenly the other party is receiving calls from its vendors shocked that the person did something "illegal" when really the dispute is already being settled. But once it's out there, it's out there. And it looks really official with the court heading and the attorney signatures.

The talk about the Morphew girls was weird to me. I wonder if the state tried to implicate them somehow or included comments from them that obviously will be sensitive either way. Witness statements are often blacked out in AAs to protect the witnesses from public reprisal. You see that a lot in gang cases when the danger is more obvious.

Saving this, as there are several points of interest to me.
It's clear that most if not all here want Suzanne to have justice and her killer, Barry, a fair trial.
To this end -- if we have to wait for the AA, so be it.

The lawyers for Barry may not want the AA to be released as it would be difficult for his side of the family.
Wonder what the Moorman's think about this and if they'll weigh in ?
Imo.