Found Deceased CO - Suzanne Morphew, 49, Chaffee County, 10 May 2020 #63 *ARREST*

[Momofthreeboys]

All the major MSM are quoting what the arrest warrant said, the he was reported to have said to FBI agents. “all these other guys are cheating” and that Suzanne was going to vote for Trump anyway. I believe 100% he knew full well it was illegal. Otherwise, why mention cheating?

That makes sense. If there are multiple instances of that reporting it must have been made available to media. I don't think his team will put up a huge fight over it....I still haven't changed my mind about a plea deal/probation/fine. Here's another "local-ish" article from Summit County: Hundreds in Colorado investigated for voter fraud

 

[JosieMae]

No, I am not suggesting that any further minor crimes committed by Barry be ignored. I am just wondering why the state spends resources on smaller crimes when they are charging him with Murder.

RSBM. It's not as though the State can willy-nilly pick and choose. If there is evidence that a crime has been committed, charges are brought.

This isn't a buffet table where the Law can leave some things off the plate.

 

[Melsworld]

Yeah, I probably wasn’t clear in my post.

I get what you are saying, and realize that lots of places in Salida, Poncha Springs, Maysville, Monarch, etc., are going to be in close proximity to some aspect of the BM murder case.

My point, which I didn’t make well, is that one, Franz Lake is an odd meeting place for a meeting with the FBI about any issue. And second, it just tripped a series of thought processes for me about noted locations in this whole murder saga. Just an interesting aside, to me.

It may be best if nobody follows my train of thought, anyway. Might be a scary journey.

I love maps. That’s how I orient myself in these cases, and the world, generally speaking. I’m also a mapmaker by trade, so a map is my friend.

Oh I LOVE maps, globes, anything to do with geography / travel really. I have maps from all over the world - most from traveling to those places before we had GPS on our phones. However, I have StreetWise maps from nearly every major city in Europe. The places I haven't been I look at having the map as step 1 in actually getting there one day. Your job sounds so very interesting! Would love to discuss with you sometime.

So it really helps when everyone describes these places and show a map of locations. Thanks everyone!

 

[scapa]

All the major MSM are quoting what the arrest warrant said, the he was reported to have said to FBI agents. “all these other guys are cheating” and that Suzanne was going to vote for Trump anyway. I believe 100% he knew full well it was illegal. Otherwise, why mention cheating?

Yep. BM was not some naif who thought it was perfectly reasonable to vote on behalf of a spouse he himself would later be charged with murdering. He did it because he wanted to and because he could -- and my bet is that this level reasoning was a longtime thing for him.

I'd also bet that his stated rationale for committing voter fraud, his claim that since "all these other guys are cheating" so he should too, is an important piece of his psychological puzzle. He seems like someone who is liable to get worked up about everyone else cheating while finding ways to justify or excuse it in himself: life is a zero sum game, everyone's crooked, a fella had better fight like hell for everything he has and cut every corner because if he doesn't he'll be left behind.

It's an exhausting way to live -- mostly for others, because it shifts blame for adverse events well away from oneself/the universe and thereby limits options for getting through them. Why pay employees under the table? Everyone else does. Why do substandard work on a county contract? Everyone does things this way, gotta make margins. Add in financial stress and a recurring serious illness, and BM is increasingly volatile, IMO.

I don't think they're equivalent cases or people, but when I think of BM's "search" for SM, I'm reminded of Patrick Frazee's utter bafflement that so many people should care about and search for just some single mom (paraphrase). I think he "disappeared" Suzanne in more ways than one.

 

[al66pine]

... Election mail ballot offense
Also, I'm not finding any reference to Franz Lake with this matter and don't understand the significance. Can you please share a link for this. Thanks....

@Seattle1 bbm sbm Thx for your post. After you posted question, @Error505 post 627 kindly provided a link & quote verifying Franz Lake was site of LE's talk w him.
@Momofthreeboys @windrower both weighed in about Franz Lake, but I'm not sure we have definitive answer about reason for that site. my2ct.

 

[Trebor5591]

RSBM. It's not as though the State can willy-nilly pick and choose. If there is evidence that a crime has been committed, charges are brought. This isn't a buffet table where the Law can leave some things off the plate.

Incorrect. It's very common, in some jurisdictions anyway, for District Attorneys to decline to prosecute people who have been arrested by the police. Just to provide one example, in 2020-21 the District Attorney in Portland OR continually over a period of time released a large majority of rioters/curfew violators who had been arrested during the continuing civil unrest there. This has occurred in New York City and Minneapolis as well. DA's discretion on prosecuting some arrestees and declining to prosecute others is well known in US jurisprudence.

I suppose in cases like Barry Morphew, with many eyes watching proceedings, the practice is for District Attorneys to charge everything possible.

 

[Seattle1]

@Seattle1 bbm sbm Thx for your post. After you posted question, @Error505 post 627 kindly provided a link & quote verifying Franz Lake was site of LE's talk w him.
@Momofthreeboys @windrower both weighed in about Franz Lake, but I'm not sure we have definitive answer about reason for that site. my2ct.

@al66pine - thanks for the follow-up. I found the answer to my own inquiry and satisfied FBI agents meeting with BM in person near the Franz Lake area of no significance to the ballot fraud.

^^sbm

Found a link for my own inquiry. There's also a popular mountain bike trail here.

A detective got the evidence, and on April 22, 2021, FBI agents met with Barry Morphew in person near the Franz Lake area. This was before Morphew was taken into custody for a first-degree murder charge.
May 14, 2021

Barry Morphew accused of using missing wife's ballot to vote for Donald Trump - KRDO

 

[JosieMae]

DBM as this is going off-topic and has nothing to do with the disappearance of SM.

 

[al66pine]

.... Interesting info by state on Who Can Return an Absentee or Mail Ballot on Behalf of a Voter at link below.
VOPP: Table 10: Who Can Collect and Return an Absentee Ballot Other Than the Voter

@Seattle1 sbm bbm Yes, extremely interesting article w a survey of various state laws about returning ballots. And they vary quite widely. A good read. Thx for your post & link.

 

[Murphy1950]

@Seattle1 bbm sbm Thx for your post. After you posted question, @Error505 post 627 kindly provided a link & quote verifying Franz Lake was site of LE's talk w him.
@Momofthreeboys @windrower both weighed in about Franz Lake, but I'm not sure we have definitive answer about reason for that site. my2ct

And from earlier today...
@Murphy1950 bbm Thx for your post on the voter fraud charge. Maybe you or someone can refresh my (sometimes dodgy) memory on one point.

Been a long case here @al66Pine.Well darn, I count on you to keep me on track I see you got some answers above GREAT!!!
You mentioned..."when BM was questioned, it was not just FBI. Didn't a CCSO detective or a dist. atty office's investigator also participate in that chat?"

Reading several articles available they all read he was interviewed by FBI agents. I didn’t see mentioned, in what I read, of the CCSO being part of this discussion but the Election Officer did turn the ballot over to the Sheriff’s office.

"We still completed our statutory requirement by sending out this cure letter, and no one responded," said Mitchell. When no one responds, or responds by saying they never filled out a ballot, the clerk is supposed to turn over the sealed ballot envelopes to the district attorney to investigate. With Suzanne Morphew's ballot, the clerk called the sheriff…..Until a signature is verified, the envelope is never opened and the ballot is not counted”

I would imagine the Sherriff’s office eventually turned it over to the DA’s office. Could well have been a CCSO detective there but all I can find is FBI agents.

Different articles. All mention Frantz lake and FBI only (too many sources to link)

“I wanted Trump… to win,” Morphew told FBI agents when questioned…”

“In April, Barry Morphew was interviewed by FBI agents about the ballot…”

“During an audio-recorded interview with the FBI and Morphew on April 22, they asked him why…”

You also questioned...
"BM being charged under a CO crim statute, not fed statute."
I was curious also about the Colorado charges vs Feds. I read Barry was charged with Felony Forgery of Public Records and a Misdemeanor Elections-mail ballot offense

What I learned is most election law is defined at the state level, there are varying degrees of punishment, as well as safeguards, in place to prevent someone from voting twice. And there are some quirks in the law. That may have been the best they could do. He printed, his name as witness to nothing (as it wasn’t signed) a date and mailed it back.
And you asked...
@Murphy1950 I am also curious about why they talked w BM at that location, Franz Lake. Also @10ofRods Any (further) theories on that?


I really think Frantz lake was really just to rattle Barry. Who knows they may have walked up behind him and asked…”Do you know anybody here?”

My question is.. It didn’t occur to Barry that in a county with so few people, Salida being the county seat (where the ballot was mailed) someone might not notice her name? The names are physically checked off.

Is that Barry, being totally unaware?, or taking his chances being cunning ?? as his BIL described him. He stopped short of signing her name. Probably thought “hey, this may fly, but if they catch it, what can they do?

 

[Puzzles8]

I think BM being interviewed by an FBI Agent may have confused this issue as a federal matter when it was not.

BM allegedly completed SM's ballot, signed as the witness, and returned the ballot to be counted.

In May 2021 - BM was charged as follows:

• Forgery of public record
• Election mail ballot offense

Suspected cases of voter fraud are typically referred to the appropriate District Attorney’s office or to the Colorado Attorney General for investigation and prosecution. In this case, given the name on the ballot, the County Clerk contacted the Chaffee County Sheriff.

Also, I'm not finding any reference to Franz Lake with this matter and don't understand the significance. Can you please share a link for this. Thanks.

Barry Morphew accused of voting for missing wife Suzanne Morphew | 9news.com

Interesting info by state on Who Can Return an Absentee or Mail Ballot on Behalf of a Voter at link below.

VOPP: Table 10: Who Can Collect and Return an Absentee Ballot Other Than the Voter

If BM returned the ballot by U.S. mail, could that result in federal charges?

 

[Seattle1]

If BM returned the ballot by U.S. mail, could that result in federal charges?

I really don't think so -- just based on there not being any federal charges in the Colorado cases cited and/or reported in MSM.

I also thought this an interesting comment about ballot fraud:

“They don’t make really good criminal cases because it’s difficult to prove criminal intent, that there was a knowing violation of election law,” District Attorney John Newsome said.

Hundreds in Colorado investigated for voter fraud

 

[al66pine]

Creative Defense?

Here's one from 2018: Former Colorado GOP chairman sentenced for voter fraud...

sbm Per linked article, def. marked his wife's ballot, signed her name, mailed it in. Charged w voter fraud, def. told judge, he did not know it was illegal, it was customary for him to do it for both his ex-wife and this wife* but he did not remember doing it, blamed diabetes.

Dep Dist Atty said "If he were going to sign a name during this confused diabetic state, wouldn't he sign his own name?"

@Momofthreeboys Thanks for finding this. It's a doozy. Inspiration for BM? my2ct
_______________________________________
* "this wife" may have been an (additional, more recent) ex-wife who had not lived at def's address, where def requested ballot to be mailed, for 11 mo's before election.

 

[10ofRods]

Incorrect. It's very common, in some jurisdictions anyway, for District Attorneys to decline to prosecute people who have been arrested by the police. Just to provide one example, in 2020-21 the District Attorney in Portland OR continually over a period of time released a large majority of rioters/curfew violators who had been arrested during the continuing civil unrest there. This has occurred in New York City and Minneapolis as well. DA's discretion on prosecuting some arrestees and declining to prosecute others is well known in US jurisprudence.

I suppose in cases like Barry Morphew, with many eyes watching proceedings, the practice is for District Attorneys to charge everything possible.

I couldn't agree with you more. I have 25 years of forensic experience, working with LE, DA's - and PD's. Where I work (SoCal), there are so many cases where the defendant is allowed to plead down to a much, much lesser charge - or never charged at all.

I don't even think that "eyes on the case" are the reason the DA in Chaffee County brought charges - I truly believe that she is one of those who believe that a case should be brought if the evidence truly points in one and only one direction. She's taking a risk - a jury may decide Barry is a likable, affable, above-board person. We'll see how his attorneys do with that gambit.

But once a person is going to be charged - yeah, the DA is going to charge everything (it's really frustrating, for example, to KNOW that someone is a rapist because there's a rape kit, the victim is not only credible but there are several victims, and the rapist has basically bragged about what they did...so when you finally nab them for a crime where there's tons of evidence, you throw the book at them).

And I hope there are more books to be thrown at Barry Morphew.

I also am in favor of DA's who prosecute even when they are uncertain (1 juror can always screw things up). But if there's a lot of evidence against the defendant - bring it on.

 

[mainemom376]

Does anyone know if LE is still actively searching for her remains?

 

[al66pine]

Voting-Related Offenses?
From my post 611: “… iirc,… BM was charged under a CO crim statute, not fed statute.” In the past couple days, some posts suggested or concluded – BM was charged w a fed voting related offense.
Per fox21news.com (sorry can't find link), the Arrest Warrant* dated May 13 references two sections of CO. Revised Statutes:
- 1-13-106. “Forgery” related to ballots & election issues**
- 1-13-112. “Offense related to Mail Ballot.” ***

Respectfully, this ^info & links may help resolve questions about fed or state nature of voting-related charges BM faces now. I welcome comments or corrections. my2ct.
___________________________________
* fox21news.com: https://www.fox21news.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/37/2021/05/Morphew-Forgery-Affidavit-for-Arrest-Warrant.pdf
** 2018 Colorado Revised Statutes :: Title 1 - Elections :: General, Primary, Recall, and Congressional Vacancy Elections :: Article 13 - Election Offenses :: Part 1 - Offenses - General Provisions :: § 1-13-106. Forgery
*** Section 1-13-112 - Offenses relating to mail ballots, Colo. Rev. Stat. § 1-13-112 | Casetext Search + Citator

 

[CGray123]

I question how strong a case LE has, if they are also filing a voter fraud charge. To me, that smacks of desperation, and the fear that he just might beat the murder charges. Think about it: If the murder charges are solid, why spend additional resources on a voter fraud charge? Unless the motivation for such is political.

Voter fraud has received a great deal of public attention over the past three years, and states are taking whatever action they feel is necessary to assure the integrity of their elections. JMO, Colorado is no exception. For example, here are a couple of MSM reports of recent prosecutions: Colorado Woman Charged with Voter Fraud - & - Woodland Park Woman Charged with Voting Twice. I don't believe there are ulterior motives of any kind associated with this charge against BM. It's simply important to the state to prosecute these cases when they are provable, and send a message, that "You can't get away with it here". All MOO.

 

[Momofthreeboys]

My guess is if the FBI wants a You Tube video they can get it either directly from the person who created the video or from You Tube.

 

[RumorMonger]

I thought I read that she shot right up in bed when she heard it, or something like that. I do remember that she opened the door, looked around and didn't see anything. It does sound as of whoever was there disappeared quickly. I imagined Barry sneaking off down the creek in a kayak at one point.

I wake up to check out noises sometimes, and the next day don't remember how long I was up or what time it was, so it could also be that she didn't remember everything clearly. Imo

IMO the neighbor actually said that she was hard of hearing and waited 20 or 30 minutes before acting.

 

[RumorMonger]

I think the wedding is being overplayed as significant. IIRC, because of Covid it was a private ceremony on Sunday (Mother’s Day). I don’t see the mother of the bride FaceTiming SM (or whatever) leading up to or during this event. SM would probably tell her, tell me about it afterwards, share pics and videos- enjoy yourself. It’s possible any plans for SM to speak were also changed due to the wedding being a different event (Covid) than originally planned.

SBM
Just jumping off of this post re: the wedding, I think the wedding is being overplayed too. I can't imagine why a virtual wedding that you (and your family) aren't in or any part of, happening in another time zone is either important or interesting to SM. This idea is a write-off in terms of significance regarding SM's fate IMO.