Found Deceased CO - Suzanne Morphew, 49, Chaffee County, 10 May 2020 #72 *ARREST*

[Hair of the Dog]

Where did we learn that Barry was making plans for a new truck prior to Suzanne's disappearance? I know it has been mentioned here that he did in fact get one - in Indiana, IIRC, but how do we know he was planning to do so already?

He needed to go to Indiana anyway, to consult an attorney and do paperwork regarding the Guardianship.

I believe he was texting someone in IN about it on the 7th of May. I believe it came up during the first day of the prelim but I am going from memory, I didn't take notes.

Efficiency in operations! He's a planner!

ETA: Link




Lauren Scharf
@LaurenScharfTV
·
Aug 10

On May 7, #BarryMorphew texted a person about getting a new truck. Attempted to call #SuzanneMorphew dad Gene. Also texted George Davis. Mallory was sending pictures of their trip to Utah and also a text that said, "Finally got the job!"

https://twitter.com/LaurenScharfTV

 

[kshultz06082]

No. Because Suzanne was already dead by Saturday afternoon.

But I’m sure BM would like LE to believe it was one of the workers, and I suspect he tried to set one of the workers up by involving them in his Sunday “wall job.”

jmo

But armed robbers don't tend to hide the bodies of homeowners that interrupted them... they kill them, grab whatever they were trying to steal and run like wind... when would this have happened that Barry didn't come home during? These alleged methhead robbers also did an AMAZING clean up! No blood evidence anywhere. Most murders that's don't involve blood (strangling) seem to be more of a personal attack rather than a robbery by an unknown methhead. Jmo

 

[Boxer]

I am a little unclear about the state of Barry's truck when he returned to Salida from Broomfield; was it just the cab that was messy and full of trash or was it the bed too? If it was the bed too, what did he do with the trash while he was at the carwash? If he put it back, it would lead me to believe he was trying to obfuscate any odors/evidence that might remain post carwash. He was making plans to acquire a new truck in the days prior to Suzanne's disappearance. Was his truck leased and the lease was coming due or was he trying to put some distance between him and the truck? Was the deal he got on a new truck in IN significantly better than the deal he would have gotten in CO? When you factor in the time to drive back and forth to IN and the cost of fuel to do so, you have to wonder IMO.

Great observation.
6 times to trashes
and a visit to a car wash and his truck is still messy!

 

[Boxer]

I am a little unclear about the state of Barry's truck when he returned to Salida from Broomfield; was it just the cab that was messy and full of trash or was it the bed too? If it was the bed too, what did he do with the trash while he was at the carwash? If he put it back, it would lead me to believe he was trying to obfuscate any odors/evidence that might remain post carwash. He was making plans to acquire a new truck in the days prior to Suzanne's disappearance. Was his truck leased and the lease was coming due or was he trying to put some distance between him and the truck? Was the deal he got on a new truck in IN significantly better than the deal he would have gotten in CO? When you factor in the time to drive back and forth to IN and the cost of fuel to do so, you have to wonder IMO.

Great observation.
6 times to trashes and a visit to a car wash and his truck is still messy!

 

[Truecolors]

But armed robbers don't tend to hide the bodies of homeowners that interrupted them... they kill them, grab whatever they were trying to steal and run like wind... when would this have happened that Barry didn't come home during? These alleged methhead robbers also did an AMAZING clean up! No blood evidence anywhere. Most murders that's don't involve blood (strangling) seem to be more of a personal attack rather than a robbery by an unknown methhead. Jmo

Also, they would have to have started pretty early in order to get Suzanne’s phone to the Poncha Springs area by 4:30 am. Tricky, too, since her husband saw her sleeping safely in bed at 5:00 am…

MOO

 

[girlhasnoname]

He is by all appearances a jerk, and it’s going to become more and more evident that he’s a guilty jerk.

So if you are the prosecution, what kind of deal would you do for her body? He knows what happened and where she is. It’s the only leverage BM has. So what’s that information worth? Would you be willing to let BM off a with 20 year sentence in exchange for the truth and her body?

That's such a tough question. Usually the DA considers the wishes of the immediate family when plea deals are discussed, but I think their case is solid enough to not have to offer one.

Do the girls really think he's innocent, or would they be willing to bargin for their mother's remains? I honestly don't know.

I can't believe BM would ever admit responsibility. His EGO is too big, he's very concerned about his image.

Little does he understand his good name and character, or lack thereof, are long gone.

JMO

 

[LandManatee]

Since the first request went out for private citizens to save their footage, I have been complaining about it. I particularly hated the “don’t call us, we’ll call you” part of their release. Thankfully there are places that don’t overwrite their videos. Poncha Market was a big miss for me. I would loved to have seen Barry digging through the trash there, in its entirety. You can’t expect everyone in the area to bone up on how to save files just in case. One would figure that if LE needed my footage, they would have come calling pretty early in the game. Or at least said give us a call if you need more information or maybe they could have set up a Dropbox or email address to send files to. The clips could have sat there.

I know of a person that submitted a higher level eyewitness account and it took LE over a month to reach out to them and interview them. It’s obvious LE just had so much information flooding in that it was time, organization and manpower they were fighting against.

I completely agree that having setup at least a Dropbox or something similar for files to sit in until they could get to them would have been a good idea.

 

[Boxer]

Also, they would have to have started pretty early in order to get Suzanne’s phone to the Poncha Springs area by 4:30 am. Tricky, too, since her husband saw her sleeping safely in bed at 5:00 am…

MOO

Just a note, her phone last pinged 4:23am 5/10.

 

[kshultz06082]

Also, they would have to have started pretty early in order to get Suzanne’s phone to the Poncha Springs area by 4:30 am. Tricky, too, since her husband saw her sleeping safely in bed at 5:00 am…

MOO

Exactly!

 

[Deleted member 222031]

My thoughts are she was hoping for that "civil" conversation to happen where they could discuss things calmly. I am guessing that perhaps they had previously had good times hiking together.

I have been thinking about another perspective on SM's statement: "I’m done. I could care less about what you’ve been up to for years. We need to figure this out civilly."

They married in a Baptist church, SM had been raised Methodist but BM Baptist. They apparently were regular churchgoers.

Marriage is very sacred in some belief systems with only two grounds for divorce: adultery and abandonment. And even in those circumstances, repentance and reconciliation are encouraged. Separation and repentance/reconciliation are encouraged even when DV is occurring (which I personally find very disturbing).

I wonder if Suzanne was expressing the idea that their civil marriage was over because their biblical marriage was irreparable in her eyes.

Maybe I'm stretching here but I do think they saw their marriage as a sacrament with larger meaning than civil marriage. BM used their biblical beliefs as a coercive tool in his pattern of abuse, as in citing a verse about forgiving someone 70x7.

Regardless of whether I am way off base here or not and recognizing BM was a "biblical husband" only in his own mind, I do think there is a very powerful subtext to the decision SM made to remain with someone as volatile as BM.

IMO, the basic covenant between them was irretrievably broken. That had also been a subtext in their relationship for a long time. They put on a good public front until SM stated the truth out loud, clearly. When BM knew there could be no reconciliation, he acted.

Not victim blaming in any way. But could SM, even based on the limited knowledge we have about BM's terrible abuse, really have ever expected CIVIL behavior from him?

MOO

 

[DizzyB]

I have been thinking about another perspective on SM's statement: "I’m done. I could care less about what you’ve been up to for years. We need to figure this out civilly."

They married in a Baptist church, SM had been raised Methodist but BM Baptist. They apparently were regular churchgoers.

Marriage is very sacred in some belief systems with only two grounds for divorce: adultery and abandonment. And even in those circumstances, repentance and reconciliation are encouraged. Separation and repentance/reconciliation are encouraged even when DV is occurring (which I personally find very disturbing).

I wonder if Suzanne was expressing the idea that their civil marriage was over because their biblical marriage was irreparable in her eyes.

Maybe I'm stretching here but I do think they saw their marriage as a sacrament with larger meaning than civil marriage. BM used their biblical beliefs as a coercive tool in his pattern of abuse, as in citing a verse about forgiving someone 70x7.

Regardless of whether I am way off base here or not and recognizing BM was a "biblical husband" only in his own mind, I do think there is a very powerful subtext to the decision SM made to remain with someone as volatile as BM.

IMO, the basic covenant between them was irretrievably broken. That had also been a subtext in their relationship for a long time. They put on a good public front until SM stated the truth out loud, clearly. When BM knew there could be no reconciliation, he acted.

Not victim blaming in any way. But could SM, even based on the limited knowledge we have about BM's terrible abuse, really have ever expected CIVIL behavior from him?

MOO

You did make me start thinking about that word “civilly” and it’s usage in the text. Down the rabbithole I go.

 

[Deleted member 222031]

I am a little unclear about the state of Barry's truck when he returned to Salida from Broomfield; was it just the cab that was messy and full of trash or was it the bed too? If it was the bed too, what did he do with the trash while he was at the carwash? If he put it back, it would lead me to believe he was trying to obfuscate any odors/evidence that might remain post carwash. He was making plans to acquire a new truck in the days prior to Suzanne's disappearance. Was his truck leased and the lease was coming due or was he trying to put some distance between him and the truck? Was the deal he got on a new truck in IN significantly better than the deal he would have gotten in CO? When you factor in the time to drive back and forth to IN and the cost of fuel to do so, you have to wonder IMO.

Testimony is he only washed the windshield.

 

[Lyanna]

Judge orders prosecution to turn over arrest affidavit to defense in Morphew murder case - KRDO

I missed this article,it's from May 27th, just found it interesting with regard to tampering with body charge as well as weapon charge.

 

[OldCop]

I take this to mean Salida. He was apparently wearing a Chaffee firefighter shirt, and when the clerk asked him what he was doing for Mother’s Day, he responded with “firefighter training.”

I’m going out on a limb here and guessing it was a Broomfield area Walmart. There’s a couple there. If he bought something that looked like a Mother’s Day gift at the one in Salida in the days before SM died, it might prompt that question from the cashier, but it wouldn’t really help the prosecution. I could see a cashier asking a man that question on Mother’s Day morning.
I could be totally wrong on that.
Anyway, his shirt was probably similar to the one pictured here. BM likes his tees. I’m also throwing in his class photo taken August, 2018.

 

[Midwestmom2019]

They both had affairs. Adultery would not have been an issue. She did not have the strength to argue endlessly with him in court over marital assets. So her suggestion to resolve the splitting amicably was the intent. What is the law? How does it apply to us? And our children? God forbid she knew about other murders of wives wanting to leave abusive husbands but never ever dreamed she could be a victim, too. Had she contemplated her own murder, she would have chosen a different exit strategy.

 

[DizzyB]

I’m going out on a limb here and guessing it was a Broomfield area Walmart. There’s a couple there. If he bought something that looked like a Mother’s Day gift at the one in Salida in the days before SM died, it might prompt that question from the cashier, but it wouldn’t really help the prosecution. I could see a cashier asking a man that question on Mother’s Day morning.
I could be totally wrong on that.
Anyway, his shirt was probably similar to the one pictured here. BM likes his tees. I’m also throwing in his class photo taken August, 2018.

Pretty sure you are correct on the day that Barry was wearing the CCFD tshirt at Walmart. There was talk early on about footage being pulled from a Broomfield Walmart, never verified. But why would anyone make small talk about Mother’s Day on another day? It would just be odd.

 

[DizzyB]

They both had affairs. Adultery would not have been an issue. She did not have the strength to argue endlessly with him in court over marital assets. So her suggestion to resolve the splitting amicably was the intent. What is the law? How does it apply to us? And our children? God forbid she knew about other murders of wives wanting to leave abusive husbands but never ever dreamed she could be a victim, too. Had she contemplated her own murder, she would have chosen a different exit strategy.

Was she speaking of amicably or was this a discussion of a civil divorce (as in not in the eyes of the church)?

 

[Warwick7]

IMO, Barry's comments about "drunk eyes" and "taking the edge off in the evening" were meant to plant the seed that Suzanne was a lush and it was a look and behavior that he, the long suffering husband, was used to seeing and mitigating.

IMO, Barry reached his peak in high school and intellectually and emotionally Suzanne outgrew him. The bully turned cry baby when confronted, everything bad always someone else's fault, buying "stuff" to create the illusion of wealth for others to envy.

IMO, Suzanne was waiting on the sale of the IN house to close so she could have access to enough $ to get set up in a new place and that is why she couldn't just get in her car and drive away, she was biding her time.

This is such a good post! You nailed the "lush" part.

 

[MassGuy]

I’m going out on a limb here and guessing it was a Broomfield area Walmart. There’s a couple there. If he bought something that looked like a Mother’s Day gift at the one in Salida in the days before SM died, it might prompt that question from the cashier, but it wouldn’t really help the prosecution. I could see a cashier asking a man that question on Mother’s Day morning.
I could be totally wrong on that.
Anyway, his shirt was probably similar to the one pictured here. BM likes his tees. I’m also throwing in his class photo taken August, 2018.

Yeah, that does make a lot of sense. In any event, it’s interesting that the prosecution hasn’t mentioned that stop yet.

If this was before Mother’s Day, it makes sense that it wouldn’t be mentioned, as perhaps he made purchases that go to premeditation (which will be covered during the next two days).

If this was on Mother’s Day, it must be significant for another reason.

 

[Hair of the Dog]

Testimony is he only washed the windshield.

SUZANNE MORPHEW: Where was Barry Morphew on May 9 and 10? | FOX31 Denver (kdvr.com)

"Morphew got his car washed, and went to a Men’s Warehouse parking lot for another trash run that lasts 40 minutes."

I believe he paid particular attention to cleaning the windshield but the wash wasn't limited to the windshield.