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

[Boxer]

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.

Or he may have thought, like the friend I mentioned a month ago that he could legally vote for her with the conservatorship. But that would be part of an interview that we don’t have access to. Doesn’t change the fact that it was not legal but it also doesn’t tie directly to the murder and is a separate charge. It is just one of a chain of things that happened during the year. I do not know if facts from one trial can be used in the other trial… I don’t think so but am not certain.

In Texas a lady is in prison for 5 years for voting (for herself) before her probation was complete.
A man in PA who faked a vote for his dead mother got probation.

 

[Boxer]

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.

Or he may have thought, like the friend I mentioned a month ago that he could legally vote for her with the conservatorship. But that would be part of an interview that we don’t have access to. Doesn’t change the fact that it was not legal but it also doesn’t tie directly to the murder and is a separate charge. It is just one of a chain of things that happened during the year. I do not know if facts from one trial can be used in the other trial… I don’t think so but am not certain.

Agree. Shows he believes she is dead.
So he got toggled between using her assets as the conservator for an incapacitated person, and knowing she was dead.

In Texas a lady is in prison for 5 years for voting (for herself) before her probation was complete.
A man in PA who faked a vote for his dead mother got probation.
I wonder what CO does with voter fraud?

 

[Error505]

I haven’t found the msm link about Franz Lake, aka Franz #1 Reservoir, but it is interesting that it is located between the Longhorn Ranch subdivision, where BM bought, and later sold, a lot, and the beach house construction site, where BM reportedly had a job and where the FBI searched early on.

Agree, if he really did say that then he knew what he was doing. The People Magazine article says he "allegedly" made that claim. I think if he doesn't plea deal this charge we'll find out in the court docs if he admitted knowingly comitting fraud at the time.

BBM Good post @Ontario Mom

I'm not so sure I buy that. Especially since he was supposed to have said this:

"Just because I wanted Trump to win," he said, according to the warrant. "To give him [Donald Trump] another vote, I figured all these other guys are cheating and I know she [Suzanne Morphew] was going to vote for Trump anyway." Husband Accused of Killing Suzanne Morphew Allegedly Sent in Fraudulent Presidential Ballot for Her

That sure sounds to me like he knew dang good and well what he was doing was illegal. "All these other guys" cheating, so he figured he would too.

jmo

@Momofthreeboys - Yes BM really did say that. I’d be very surprised if FBI would deliberately LIE in the Affidavit over “voter fraud” and their conversation with BM.
Barry Morphew accused of using missing wife's ballot to vote for Donald Trump - KRDO

SALIDA, Colo. (KRDO) -- Barry Morphew, the man accused of murder in the disappearance of his wife, is now accused of using his missing wife's ballot in the 2020 presidential election to vote for Donald Trump.

Morphew, who's already in custody for first-degree murder and several other charges in connection with Suzanne Morphew's disappearance, faces new charges, according to court records updated this week. Those charges include forgery and "offenses relating to mail ballots."

According to an affidavit filed in Colorado Court, Chaffee County Clerk Lori Mitchell reported on Oct. 22 that the office had received a ballot that was "predesignated for a missing person, identified as Suzanne Morphew." Morphew has been missing since last Mother's Day.


The County Clerk gave the ballot to a Chaffee County Sheriff's Office sergeant as evidence, and the ballot had an address listed as 19057 Puma Path in Salida, which is where the Morphews resided. The ballot didn't have a signature, but it did have a "handwritten date of 10/15/20" and the handwritten name of "Barry Lee Morphew on the designated signature line of Witness' Legal Name," according to the affidavit.

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.

During the interview, the agents asked Barry why he submitted Suzanne's election ballot.

According to the affidavit, Barry replied, "Just because I wanted Trump to win ... I just thought, give him another vote, I figured all these other guys are cheating."

Barry also told the FBI agents, "I know [Suzanne] was going to vote for Trump anyway."

The FBI agents asked Morphew if he knew that it was illegal, and he replied saying, "I didn't know you couldn't do that for your spouse."

The arrest affidavit for the murder charge that Morphew is facing is still sealed, and opposing parties have until May 27th to submit documents in response. Few other details have been released in the alleged murder.
MOO

 

[Momofthreeboys]

Agree. Shows he believes she is dead.
So he got toggled between using her assets as the conservator for an incapacitated person, and knowing she was dead.

In Texas a lady is in prison for 5 years for voting (for herself) before her probation was complete.
A man in PA who faked a vote for his dead mother got probation.
I wonder what CO does with voter fraud?

Here's one from 2018: Former Colorado GOP chairman sentenced for voter fraud I'm still sticking with they will either plea bargain this or he'll get a fine and probation.

 

[10ofRods]

Now that I think about it, Barry's mind works in a peculiar way. He's been concerned from the beginning that something about his voice or body language or micro-expressions might tip off experts that he's guilty (while that could be true, and voice analysis is a thing - it's not admissible in court, AFAIK).

I didn't do nothing wrong at the hotel.

These might not be the exact words, I just remember it was a double negative (which I believe to be the way he talks) but adding "at the hotel" is him trying to be truthful. Whatever he did wrong, it wasn't at the hotel.

I figured all these other guys are cheating.

Sounds like grade school reasoning. He doesn't say that he actually knows such fellows, but that he, Barry Morphew, did some thinking and figured out this was a good thing to do. But notice that he doesn't lie - he actually reveals to the FBI that he knew it was wrong and did it anyway.

The element of impersonating Suzanne is interesting to me. He got the Conservatorship legally, with no objection from the older daughter who had standing to contest it. But did he impersonate her at other times or sign her name to documents without her permission, so that mailing in that ballot was just...standard operating procedure for him?

Myself, I figure that Barry excused his own cheating (which I believe he did - the extra-marital kind) with the same kind of "reasoning."

I got the time wrong about when I was doing a mechanical thingie with the Bobcat.

He admits he was doing the mechanical thingie (which JP says was at the garage/shop where JP worked) and implies that he just absentmindedly forgot exactly when. He's trying to make LE (and anyone else who listens to what he says) believe he's truthful. See? He can admit he was wrong about a minor detail.

The one thing he hasn't done is look directly into a camera and say, "I did not kill Suzanne. I am completely innocent. I have no knowledge whatsoever about what happened to her." Any of those things would be a start - but he can't do it, because he has a hard time lying. He doesn't consider floating various theories about mountain lions or possible abduction/running away to be lies - he's just throwing things out there. Again, this sounds like juvenile moral reasoning.

 

[Trebor5591]

Are you suggesting that any further "minor" crimes Barry committed during the past couple of years should just be ignored?

If you've read the Judge's order, you'd know that the general impression is that the State has a very good case indeed. That's why the AA is sealed.

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.

I don't follow your argument that the State has a very good case because the AA is sealed. That makes no sense to me, but I am not an attorney and not real experienced in DA tactics. Would be please elaborate on your thinking here? Thanks.

 

[10ofRods]

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.

I don't follow your argument that the State has a very good case because the AA is sealed. That makes no sense to me, but I am not an attorney and not real experienced in DA tactics. Would be please elaborate on your thinking here? Thanks.

It's okay if you don't follow my argument. We can respectfully disagree. I am not sure at all what you mean about the "state spending resources," (adding a charge to the docket takes about 15 minutes of the Court Clerk's time and obviously, the FBI had already written the report months ago - and I do not believe the FBI should just ignore crimes and not write them up, I'm happy to pay. them to do that).

Now that the charge is filed, and since Barry's utterances make it obvious that he did indeed commit voter fraud, it's not going to take more than an hour of the Court's time to present that evidence, IMO.

It's Barry Morphew's lawyers who are going to spend the "resources of the State," (really, the resources of Chaffee County).

Do go take a look at the arrestees in Chaffee County - there are hundreds of people charged with small crimes every year. Are you saying that all the shoplifters and bad check writers and vandals should not "take up the state's resources?" As I've said before and I'll try to phrase it so that I don't get my wording deleted: Barry Morphew should not be treated differently than any other lawbreaker in Chaffee County.

My view on the AA is that it contains more information about Barry's crimes than we can even imagine and that it contains ample data (cell phone data, truck GPS data, Barry's own words, words of many witnesses, forensic evidence.

Juries are not fond of lying, and I believe LE has plenty to show that Barry's attempted alibis are lies. I think he stupidly bleached and cleaned certain areas of the house (so that even regular domestic DNA was missing from that area). Instead of being where he said he was on Saturday, he was running around buying bleach and inexplicably cleaning only certain parts of the house...hmmm...I wonder why...

I also believe that some witnesses came forward after the AA, because that often happens - people are afraid of murderers. I think the case will be quite strong.

 

[CGray123]

If BM’s attys could think of a way to get him out of jail, they would try it. He is still locked up apparently because the factual allegations in the AA cannot be overcome. If so, the defense is in no rush to confront the unpleasant inevitable. It may take some time for BM to realize the jig is up. Nothing anyone can say or do to hasten Barry’s going away party.

BBM. I believe E&N are currently focused on preparing a defense to the charge and not applying for bail, but for a different reason.

MOO, BM is still in jail because he is charged with a "capital offense" and the judge has not decided whether he is eligible for bail. If the judge decides the "proof is evident or the presumption great" that BM committed Murder in the First Degree, he will not be eligible for bail. Section 16-4-101, Colorado Revised Statutes. The hearing in which the parties can argue bail eligibility is the August hearing, also set as a preliminary hearing.

I understand (MOO) that if Judge Murphy finds probable cause he will also find the proof is evident. Since I also believe (MOO) that he is the judge who signed the arrest warrant, and since he must view the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution to determine probable cause [In the above link to the statute, look for the citations to People v. District Ct., 17th Jud. Dist., 926 P.2d 567 (Colo. 1996); People v. Hall, 999 P.2d 207 (Colo. 2000)], it seems to me very likely that the judge will find probable cause and deny bail.

E&H are very experienced defense attorneys, so I agree with you that they are not focused on bail at this point. In the unlikely event Judge Murphy finds PC and incongruously fails to find the proof is evident that BM committed capital murder, BM's attorneys will have no problem making a pitch for bail. They may do so on the spot.

 

[CGray123]

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.

I've argued before that the ancillary charges filed as one case with the murder charge are deemed to be part of the same criminal episode and that they must be filed or they will be foregone. I believe they have been filed to assure that evidence of these crimes can be presented at trial and not subject to a relevancy challenge. That's still MOO.

 

[nyvictoria]

Now that I think about it, Barry's mind works in a peculiar way. He's been concerned from the beginning that something about his voice or body language or micro-expressions might tip off experts that he's guilty (while that could be true, and voice analysis is a thing - it's not admissible in court, AFAIK).

I didn't do nothing wrong at the hotel.

These might not be the exact words, I just remember it was a double negative (which I believe to be the way he talks) but adding "at the hotel" is him trying to be truthful. Whatever he did wrong, it wasn't at the hotel.

I figured all these other guys are cheating.

Sounds like grade school reasoning. He doesn't say that he actually knows such fellows, but that he, Barry Morphew, did some thinking and figured out this was a good thing to do. But notice that he doesn't lie - he actually reveals to the FBI that he knew it was wrong and did it anyway.

The element of impersonating Suzanne is interesting to me. He got the Conservatorship legally, with no objection from the older daughter who had standing to contest it. But did he impersonate her at other times or sign her name to documents without her permission, so that mailing in that ballot was just...standard operating procedure for him?

Myself, I figure that Barry excused his own cheating (which I believe he did - the extra-marital kind) with the same kind of "reasoning."

I got the time wrong about when I was doing a mechanical thingie with the Bobcat.

He admits he was doing the mechanical thingie (which JP says was at the garage/shop where JP worked) and implies that he just absentmindedly forgot exactly when. He's trying to make LE (and anyone else who listens to what he says) believe he's truthful. See? He can admit he was wrong about a minor detail.

The one thing he hasn't done is look directly into a camera and say, "I did not kill Suzanne. I am completely innocent. I have no knowledge whatsoever about what happened to her." Any of those things would be a start - but he can't do it, because he has a hard time lying. He doesn't consider floating various theories about mountain lions or possible abduction/running away to be lies - he's just throwing things out there. Again, this sounds like juvenile moral reasoning.

I agree with everything you stated about Barry, with the exception of he has a hard time lying. I think he lies easily but isn’t very good at it. IMO he’s been caught lying before, whether by Suzanne or others, and he knows he has “tells” that give him away. That’s why he’s refused to let the media record him, other than the initial pitiful, “Oh Suzanne…”

 

[windrower]

Frantz Lake is a reservoir and a popular fishing location just outside the "main" part of Salida. Everything is relative if you look at a map - pretty much one main N/S (Hwy. 285) and one main E/W (Hwy. 50) and a backroad out to 285 with Salida being used as an identifier since it is the main commerce area for many, many miles as well as a population concentration of almost 6,000 out of the 19,000+ who live in the entire Chaffee county area. https://cpw.state.co.us/learn/Maps/FrantzMtShavanoSandsSWA_geo.pdf

edited to add map of Chaffee County. Chaffee County, Colorado - Wikipedia

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.

 

[10ofRods]

I agree with everything you stated about Barry, with the exception of he has a hard time lying. I think he lies easily but isn’t very good at it. IMO he’s been caught lying before, whether by Suzanne or others, and he knows he has “tells” that give him away. That’s why he’s refused to let the media record him, other than the initial pitiful, “Oh Suzanne…”

Ah - yes, you put it much better than me. He obviously has been lying (a lot), but yeah, he's clumsy at it.

I think he mostly "got away with things" by spending a lot of time alone, doing whatever he wanted, and explaining it all as "work" or "hunting."

I bet you're right about being caught before due to "tells." What struck me about his arrest is that he looks indignant in his mug shot, then in his first court appearance, he looks wilted. Maybe the word is "depressed." Comparing how he looked that day to his infamous talk with TD near the creek, I swear his biceps are half the size they were at the time of Suzanne's disappearance. Then, at the next appearance (the one with his black and white jail stripes), he looks very angry, mean and hardened. Not at all the person we had come to know through Suzanne's FB and Insta photos.

IOW, he quickly started looking like a man who had thrown himself into adjusting to...jail. Fortunately for him, he won't be speaking in Court (most likely) and will get coached by his defense team on how to look less...guilty and mean. Jurors spend a lot of time watching the defendant during testimony. Of course, that's way down the road.

If by then he can manage to look older, weak and frail, that certainly won't hurt him.

 

[CGray123]

Rule 8, Colorado Rules of Criminal Procedure, governs joinder of offenses. I intended to link it in my post above, but the attempt failed (due entirely my tech karma, no doubt).

 

[10ofRods]

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.

How interesting that you're a mapmaker! I collect maps and am never very far away from one.

I think the Franz Lake area was searched prior to this meeting between Barry and the FBI. So, it's some place that Barry has returned to (perhaps several times?) It's extremely hard to locate humans in a body of water, despite advances in the technology for doing it.

What's interesting to me about Franz Lake is that it is close to a private shooting range (owned by a member of LE), and to the landfill. And a cemetery. As well as, of course, the lot that Barry bought and then sold rather quickly. It's not on the way to Maysville, but it is on the way to Denver. So it's close to at least 3 places where evidence/a body could be hidden (the lake itself being a fourth one). What was Barry doing up there?

The view from that lake is serene.

Does anyone remember the date of that encounter?

At any rate, I bet it's a place that Barry went to feel...some closure inside his own mind. I am not one of the people who thinks that Barry did anything to Suzanne's body that was destructive (besides put her somewhere). If she's in that area (or that lake), he can tell himself that she's near by other buried people (and her soul is in Heaven - the sky above the lake),

They did not drain the lake/reservoir as far as I know.

 

[Seattle1]

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.

^^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

 

[CGray123]

We can’t really talk about other people but I am super curious what and who a “key witness” might be other than people directly related to the timeline and Barry’s travels and those who can confirm last sightings of Suzanne.

IMO, forensic experts will be key witnesses in this case, and they will not be called at the preliminary hearing.

 

[Momofthreeboys]

IMO, forensic experts will be key witnesses in this case, and they will not be called at the preliminary hearing.

Agree. Probably just LE team I would think. I can't imagine who else at the preliminary. I have to believe that they have forensics....I can't figure out how they could charge Murder 1 without something and enough of something that supports her not being alive. Can't be less of anything that could be easily explained. My husband bleeds easily...if they ever coated my home in Luminol it would light up like a Christmas tree in just about every room but not enough or in manner that would mean he was dead...same for DNA...if they have that, feels to me like it needs to have been somewhere unexpected and not explainable. But I'm just guessing like everyone.

 

[Seattle1]

Agree. Probably just LE team I would think. I can't imagine who else at the preliminary. I have to believe that they have forensics....I can't figure out how they could charge Murder 1 without something and enough of something that supports her not being alive. Can't be less of anything that could be easily explained. My husband bleeds easily...if they ever coated my home in Luminol it would light up like a Christmas tree in just about every room but not enough or in manner that would mean he was dead...same for DNA...if they have that, feels to me like it needs to have been somewhere unexpected and not explainable. But I'm just guessing like everyone.

At the preliminary hearing, generally, the court will allow statements of
witnesses to come into evidence through a detective or other police officer.

https://www.coloradodefenders.us/wp...e-to-the-colorado-criminal-justice-system.pdf

 

[Momofthreeboys]

After 130 pages of notes, interview snippets etc. in the AA , I'm actually getting more curious about what they don't use for trial that we know about.

 

[Ontario Mom]

Agree, if he really did say that then he knew what he was doing. The People Magazine article says he "allegedly" made that claim. I think if he doesn't plea deal this charge we'll find out in the court docs if he admitted knowingly comitting fraud at the time.

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?