Found Deceased CO - Suzanne Morphew, 49, Chaffee County, 10 May 2020 #65 *ARREST*

[MassGuy]

I think they wanted bail, which was my first thought before the hearing even occurred and I expressed in a post many moons ago. The fact that the prosecution missed the judge's required date for full disclosure and that the defense claimed they had received no evidence that Suzanne was even dead gave them an opening. The only charge in Colorado that is a no bond charge is Murder 1. I totally believe they have no intention of plea dealing anything. The prosecution has created the dilema...in my opinion....from an overly broad arrest affidavit combined with as the defense described it to the judge overly broad search warrants and the pointed out that Judge Murphy had signed at least one of the search warrants that was very broad. If it's true that a dozen devices were seized from the Morphew home and placed into evidence as the defense claims from the signed evidence list but have only received partial or all disclosure on under five devices...the law is the law regarding disclosure. I honestly don't think the prosecution is ready for this preliminary but they triggered the time line with the arrest warrant and I've been nervous about that since day one wondering what had changed recently in their case to go after the arrest warrant...fingers crossed.

They knew they weren’t getting bail, and that the judge wasn’t going to go for second degree murder. That was merely posturing on their part, and it seems to be having the desired effect.

I’ve also seen absolutely no indication the prosecution is not ready for this preliminary hearing, and I’m not the least bit worried.

Defense complaints about discovery happen all the time, and I fully expect there to be more grievances in the future.

That’s the nature of the beast when you are talking about a staggering amount of evidence in various forms, and multiple agencies and organizations processing and turning over this evidence.

Just wait until we hear about investigative mistakes, which have occurred in every single Colorado case I have followed (Schelling, Berreth, Stauch).

There were some big ones, and it didn’t matter in the first two, and almost certainly won’t matter in the Stauch case.

I don’t expect them to matter here either.

 

[Murphy1950]

Just wait until we hear about investigative mistakes, which have occurred in every single Colorado case I have followed (Schelling, Berreth, Stauch).

There were some big ones, and it didn’t matter in the first two, and almost certainly won’t matter in the Stauch case.

I don’t expect them to matter here either.

This is really good to know. I have little experience here and wouldn't know what to expect of investigative mistakes. I have often thought the officer who showed up at Stauch's house that night, must still be kicking himself, if indeed they are correct and Gannon was in her car, which seems to be the case.

 

[MassGuy]

RSBM
Not so sure they make it easy Seattle, They could but apparently don't.
"Apr 14, 2021 — Azimuth unlocked the iPhone at the center of an epic legal battle between the FBI and Apple. Now, Apple is suing the company co-founded by...."

The above is the Washington Post but hitting a paywall. San Berndino was 6 year ago and 14 people died. Apple is still fighting.

That’s dealing with a locked phone though, and we have no indication any devices were locked here. The defense complaint about phone imaging indicates that the phones in question were able to be downloaded, which means they must have been provided with the passcodes.

Suzanne’s phone may be gone, but law enforcement can still learn a great deal from Apple.

What Apple surrenders to law enforcement when issued a subpoena | AppleInsider

 

[Seattle1]

They knew they weren’t getting bail, and that the judge wasn’t going to go for second degree murder. That was merely posturing on their part, and it seems to be having the desired effect.

I’ve also seen absolutely no indication the prosecution is not ready for this preliminary hearing, and I’m not the least bit worried.

Defense complaints about discovery happen all the time, and I fully expect there to be more grievances in the future.

That’s the nature of the beast when you are talking about a staggering amount of evidence in various forms, and multiple agencies and organizations processing and turning over this evidence.

Just wait until we hear about investigative mistakes, which have occurred in every single Colorado case I have followed (Schelling, Berreth, Stauch).

There were some big ones, and it didn’t matter in the first two, and almost certainly won’t matter in the Stauch case.

I don’t expect them to matter here either.

Vinnie & the expert panel agree -- re. discovery and how far ahead the prosecution was already in handing over (terabyte +) evidence/data when the preliminary hasn't happened yet!

7/23/21 Missing Colorado Mother: Evidence Discussed at Hearing - Court TV

 

[Momofthreeboys]

I admire everyone's confidence that the prosecution has it "together". Clearly there is "stuff" that warranted the signing of the arrest warrant, but that is step 1 in a long chain of hearings and motions. I don't think the assistant prosecutor is dumb enough to without anything even remotely exculpatory. I'm generally optimistic so I do have my fingers crossed.

 

[al66pine]

Where?

How do you think that works re: warrants? Barry vacated PP, with all of their stuff. I assume some things may have gone back to Indiana, some to his new condo, some to storage units....

@DizzyB bbm sbm Good thinking about how widely dispersed the PP household items may be.

Some furnishings may have ended up w the two dau's, who may be in separate locations.
Could GD be storing a few items for his buddy BM?
And less likely, but conceivable, w nephew in CO?
IDK, just pondering.

 

[Love Never Fails]

Vinnie & the expert panel agree -- re. discovery and how far ahead the prosecution was already in handing over (terabyte +) evidence/data when the preliminary hasn't happened yet!

7/23/21 Missing Colorado Mother: Evidence Discussed at Hearing - Court TV

Great clip. Thank you. Sounds like they believe the DA has a lot of evidence listed in that AA.

 

[kshultz06082]

There you go. No Suzanne phone, and no activity since Saturday? I am waiting to hear what Barry says Suzanne and he did once he finally arrived home on Saturday after work/errands. They have his phone, so if Barry’s data shows he arrives, Suzanne’s phone still has activity, then nothing… And Barry’s phone continues to move and update. From that point forward (maybe with a late evening FB friend request exception), Suzanne’s phone does not move, and nothing goes in or out from it. I wonder if Barry knew that your iPhone records how many steps you take, whether you want it to or not.

She had an iWatch as well which monitors your heart rate... if she was wearing it, I'd be curious to see what it recorded... high heart rates followed by lessening heart rates until there are zero? That could help answer ALOT of questions... where was Barry's phone when her watch showed possible extreme elevations and the final low?

 

[Momofthreeboys]

Great clip. Thank you. Sounds like they believe the DA has a lot of evidence listed in that AA.

Well he said that it is not typical for prosecutors in Colorado to go out and charge the most heinous crime without feeling strongly they have probable cause so it did not sound to me that the panel believed the DA had alot of evidence, they are assuming....like we all are....that somewhere in those 130 pages there was probable cause and enough evidence supporting the charge. I just had a slightly different take on what I heard. That does align with most of the posts that we are assuming the lawyer who signed the arrest warrant saw something in those pages that he felt was "enough" to sign off on the warrant.

 

[windrower]

Where?
@DizzyB bbm sbm Good thinking about how widely dispersed the PP household items may be.

Some furnishings may have ended up w the two dau's, who may be in separate locations.
Could GD be storing a few items for his buddy BM?
And less likely, but conceivable, w nephew in CO?
IDK, just pondering.

This mention of nephew TN, who was the original spokesperson for BM when SUZANNE was first reported missing, makes me hope the AA has some info on why TN suddenly went silent on BM.

I attributed the silence to mean TN wised up and wasn’t buying anymore what BM was trying to sell. But I’d like to know, if true, how that meshes with how BM’s two sisters (one the mother of TN) and mother view the case against BM. (I have no knowledge of what they think about BM’s situation, but close family members are usually among the last to recognize the truth of a murderous spouse. IMO)

Of course, maybe TN went silent for another reason— his wife and daughters, his business, etc. But I think he learned early on that BM was very likely the reason SUZANNE was missing.

All IMO.

 

[Curiousobserver]

They knew they weren’t getting bail, and that the judge wasn’t going to go for second degree murder. That was merely posturing on their part, and it seems to be having the desired effect.

I’ve also seen absolutely no indication the prosecution is not ready for this preliminary hearing, and I’m not the least bit worried.

Defense complaints about discovery happen all the time, and I fully expect there to be more grievances in the future.

That’s the nature of the beast when you are talking about a staggering amount of evidence in various forms, and multiple agencies and organizations processing and turning over this evidence.

Just wait until we hear about investigative mistakes, which have occurred in every single Colorado case I have followed (Schelling, Berreth, Stauch).

There were some big ones, and it didn’t matter in the first two, and almost certainly won’t matter in the Stauch case.

I don’t expect them to matter here either.

From the standard defense attorney playbook...

We didn't get all the evidence
Its not really evidence, its coincidence
Its tainted evidence
You planted the evidence
Evidence was improperly obtained (no-fair)
You're misinterpreting the evidence
Its actually evidence somebody else did it
You ignored all the good evidence we liked
This tiny piece of evidence doesn't fit your theory so the whole case should be thrown out

 

[kshultz06082]

From the standard defense attorney playbook...

We didn't get all the evidence
Its not really evidence, its coincidence
Its tainted evidence
You planted the evidence
Evidence was improperly obtained (no-fair)
You're misinterpreting the evidence
Its actually evidence somebody else did it
You ignored all the good evidence we liked
This tiny piece of evidence doesn't fit your theory so the whole case should be thrown out

You get a standing ovation from me! We are going to see this line by line! I love this summary!

 

[Deleted member 222031]

From the standard defense attorney playbook...

We didn't get all the evidence
Its not really evidence, its coincidence
Its tainted evidence
You planted the evidence
Evidence was improperly obtained (no-fair)
You're misinterpreting the evidence
Its actually evidence somebody else did it
You ignored all the good evidence we liked
This tiny piece of evidence doesn't fit your theory so the whole case should be thrown out

Ad infinitum because after conviction they will be doing the same thing not only to the prosecution but also to the judge! Fortunately for SM, loud protestations are not the same as reasonable doubt. JMO

 

[Momofthreeboys]

Yup that's what defense attorneys do and how they earn their income. But in some major cases they also hire their own investigators and they look at everything with fresh eyes in totality and many more things than what we see only in courtrooms. I am not on board with the idea that the police "planted" any evidence in this case...don't think we're going to hear that mostly because nothing has even told us "what all" evidence the prosecution has. But I know it's been used and proved before in other cases of course.

 

[ajaylee]

I can't help but think that BM's attorneys wanted the judge to amend the primary charge from M1 to M2 for a particular reason. My guess is that they forsee an avenue of BM pleading to Manslaughter, as opposed to M2...in exchange for revealing all details and location of the body. That would be a huge departure from both M1 or M2...but, imo, they would have downgraded punishment substantially. Just a hunch...but I think they are after Manslaughter at the end of the day.

With all due respect, I really really hope you are wrong.

Patrick Frazee got the appropriate punishment without a body. BM must get the same.

Doesn't pre-meditation preclude manslaughter? Sure seems like there's evidence of that.

 

[Megnut]

Try this:

(Pure speculation)

Something very bad happens at PP around noon-thirty on May 9, while two phones were pinging in stereo.

Between noon-thirty and, say, 4:30 or so, both phones traveled together, everywhere Barry went. At 4:30, both phones pinged at a sandwich shop, where Barry may have purchased two sandwiches....

Suzanne's phone messages BFF... but something is "off" about them. Her phone may even send half-credible messages to the daughters.

At some point early evening both phones ping at the beachfront property. Perhaps her phone died there. Tossed into a footing post-hole.

That search was three weeks after Suzanne went missing. Perhaps right about the time her phone data came back....

JMO

 

[Seattle1]

Well he said that it is not typical for prosecutors in Colorado to go out and charge the most heinous crime without feeling strongly they have probable cause so it did not sound to me that the panel believed the DA had alot of evidence, they are assuming....like we all are....that somewhere in those 130 pages there was probable cause and enough evidence supporting the charge. I just had a slightly different take on what I heard. That does align with most of the posts that we are assuming the lawyer who signed the arrest warrant saw something in those pages that he felt was "enough" to sign off on the warrant.

^^rbbm

I believe OP is mistaken. A valid arrest warrant is issued/signed by a (neutral) judge or magistrate who determines there is probable cause for arrest. To my knowledge, the same applies to either state or federal arrest, across the country.

 

[Momofthreeboys]

^^rbbm

I believe OP is mistaken. A valid arrest warrant is issued/signed by a (neutral) judge or magistrate who determines there is probable cause for arrest. To my knowledge, the same applies to either state or federal arrest, across the country.

Yup - my brain said judge and my fingers typed lawyer. Sorry. The edit function has expired. Thanks for pointing out the correction.

 

[Scootie98]

With all due respect, I really really hope you are wrong.

Patrick Frazee got the appropriate punishment without a body. BM must get the same.

Doesn't pre-meditation preclude manslaughter? Sure seems like there's evidence of that.

I have seen some pretty outrageous plea deals over the years....having been in the criminal justice field. I don't suggest I want to be right....My point is...if somehow, the defense can move this case off of M1, for whatever reason......then they would be looking for that very best consolation prize.....Manslaughter...which would be a huge victory, imo.

 

[SouthAussie]

"Only about 1% of criminal cases in Colorado in 2019 ended in trial, according to state data. The vast majority of cases instead ended in negotiated settlements between prosecutors and defendants."

Most criminal justice in Colorado comes through plea deals

Would be interesting to know the percentage of murder cases that make it to trial in CO.

ETA:
Over the past year, there has been (at least) one plea deal accepted, one plea deal rejected, and one plea deal not offered - for murder, in CO.

https://www.koaa.com/news/covering-...l-in-2017-killing-of-2-colorado-springs-teens
Accused murderer turns down plea deal
https://www.thedenverchannel.com/ne...offer-client-plea-bargain-may-be-race-related