Found Deceased CO - Suzanne Morphew, 49, Chaffee County, 10 May 2020 #79 *ARREST*

[DeDee]

IMO the animosity toward JL was due to his apathetic and avoidant behavior when she went radio silent, which continued after he heard she was "missing". His immediate and continued reaction was self preservation, not one of love and concern. If he was that concerned about losing his family, he would not have become involved to begin with.

For me this is a lesser degree of BM's behavior. Imagine for a moment a person you "love" disappearing and instead of concern you delete their existence from your life to deflect problems.

I don't think anyone would disagree that imagining SM feeling some peace and HOPE in her final times was heart warming, she deserved that.
MOOI IMO

"For me this is a lesser degree of BM's behavior."

Barry's charged, among others, with Murder 1. What lesser degree charge do you feel JL deserves for his behavior?

 

[Deleted member 718]

^^rsbm

Respectfully - this is posted as fact but I think that evidence proves this untrue.
Where did you learn he attended SM's going away party?

JL lived in Michigan, not Indiana. He told FBI that SM initiated contact when out of the blue - she reached out to him on social media. The first time they saw each other in more than 20+ years was when SM invited JL to meet her in New Orleans, Feb 2019.

Actually, she surprised JL in New Orleans. I take that to mean he didn't know she was coming.

Replying to
@AshleyKKTV
and
@KKTV11News
Defense says #SuzanneMorphew used her friend Sheila as an excuse to go see Jeff Libler. Says she would tell #BarryMorphew she was going to have a girls weekend. She took one trip to New Orleans and surprised Libler. She allegedly told her husband and friend she was going alone.

3:13 PM · Aug 9, 2021

 

[Blue Amethyst]

Is the general public allowed to see the list of visitors of BM in Chaffee County Jail?

I wonder if TN or GD have stopped by to say "Hi. How are you doing, BM?"

Just wondering....

Good question, @Brubon. I wonder too if they are still good buddies or if they have slipped out the back door when Barry wasn’t looking.

We sure don’t hear much about them so maybe they are facing up to some of the facts presented in this case.

 

[Seattle1]

Here is one:


Barry Morphew's hands had cuts; allegedly shed ‘crocodile tears’ over after wife Suzanne's disappearance

The appearance of forced entry was of significant concern to investigators that they contacted the previous homeowners to confirm whether or not this was a preexisting condition. This tells me not that there were fresh splinters on the floor from a weekend encounter but that BM most likely forced the master bedroom door open sometime during his residency. MOO

 

[Deleted member 718]

At 10:58 in this video, Scott says LE couldn't tell if the fireplace remains - burned documents and books- were Suzanne's journal. In fact the burned paper found in the fireplace was not the same type of paper as Suzanne's journal.

 

[10ofRods]

Great post I think your absolutely right on. My first husband was a very abusive, workaholic, jealous businessman, I always had a bruise to coverup somewhere. The last thing I would have done is risk having a BF even though I had many opportunities to do so. I had no doubt if I got caught he would explode and kill me. Suzanne had to know she was playing with fire but I guess to her it was worth the risk. Too bad it wasn’t with a guy who truly loved and cared for her to help get her out of that life. That JL was a coward. If I were his wife I would take my kids and get as far away from him as I could.

<modsnip>

I too feel so badly that she chose such a person as her affair partner - I don't think JL had any intention whatsoever of leaving his wife or making himself available during the part where Suzanne actually left Barry (remember, he knew she had just told him that she was leaving). Perhaps JL simply can't imagine being jealous and getting murderous (even if Barry didn't know about JL, it's clear that by the phone-grabbing and spying on Suzanne, that he was suspicious - my own view is that spouses always know, at some level, about affairs).

To me an emotional affair is the worst, especially if your spouse is already emotionally distant. One night stands, hooking up with randos on Bumble, etc., would not bother me personally as much as an emotional/romantic affair (but if sex were added to that, that would be absolutely devastating and watching a dear friend go through it later in life was just heartbreaking). Every couple is different (my friend stayed with her husband - with many provisos). But Barry Morphew made his jealousy plain in very graphic language.

Remember when, after giving other scenarios, Barry offered Lauren S. the "I think it was someone she knew for a long time" scenario?

 

[Seattle1]

Actually, she surprised JL in New Orleans. I take that to mean he didn't know she was coming.

Replying to
@AshleyKKTV
and
@KKTV11News
Defense says #SuzanneMorphew used her friend Sheila as an excuse to go see Jeff Libler. Says she would tell #BarryMorphew she was going to have a girls weekend. She took one trip to New Orleans and surprised Libler. She allegedly told her husband and friend she was going alone.

3:13 PM · Aug 9, 2021

Not disagreeing but I've seen this represented differently both by MSM and YT recaps of PH. The following by LS supports my post:

Lauren Scharf@LaurenScharfTV

Suzanne had planned a trip to New Orleans in February and asked if Libler would like to meet her there.

2:55 PM · Aug 9, 2021

 

[Seattle1]

Preliminary trial reveals Suzanne had an affair

May 10, 2021

[..]

[Libler] lives in Michigan, is married and the father of six children. He and Suzanne met when they were teenagers and reconnected 20 years later when she contacted him on Facebook saying “Hi, stranger.”

Nielsen, in questioning lead investigator, Commander Alex Walker, asked if Libler came forward once it was known that Suzanne was missing.

He hadn’t until he was found in November when he said he did not come forward because he was protecting her legacy and did not want her to be known for having an affair. Also he was protecting himself.

The affair was initially an emotional one but eventually became physical with the couple meeting at least six times in New Orleans, Florida and Michigan.

[..]

Barry had not known about the affair. However, Harris said that in questioning Libler, Liler said if Barry had any idea he (Libler) and Suzanne were together Barry would have talked to him first and he didn’t think Barry had anything to do with her disappearance.

 

[Cindizzi]

At 10:58 in this video, Scott says LE couldn't tell if the fireplace remains - burned documents and books- were Suzanne's journal. In fact the burned paper found in the fireplace was not the same type of paper as Suzanne's journal.

The paper similar to wrapping paper intrigued me. I saw a tweet that also said the wood was lacquered wood. Was there a Birthday gift (SM bday was April 30) or a Mother’s Day gift that was destroyed during an argument? JMO

https://twitter.com/ashleykktv/status/1429850403504599042?s=21
He says there was a fireplace inside the Morphew home that was searched. They found a piece of wood that was not fire wood, paper similar to wrapping paper, two long metal pieces, and something similar to bookbinding. #SuzanneMorphew #BarryMorphew @KKTV11News

https://twitter.com/laurenscharftv/status/1429926781386121232?s=21
Agent Grusing spoke with #BarryMorphew about burned file folders in the fireplace. Barry said they were getting rid of old files.

 

[Seattle1]

https://www.thedenverchannel.com/ne...rs-confirm-suzanne-was-having-a-2-year-affair

8/13/21

Harris then explained how Suzanne came to know Libler.

The two had gone to high school in Indiana and hooked up during the summer of 1989 at a house party. Barry was not at the party. Twenty years later, they hooked up again, Harris said.

The relationship started platonic — talking about books, movies, Suzanne's cancer — but by February 2019, the two met up in New Orleans and fooled around in a hotel. Harris said they did not have sex.

They met up a few other times in 2019 as well, he said. They started communicating via WhatsApp and LinkedIn when Barry became suspicious.

After Suzanne's disappearance and once authorities tracked down Libler to talk, he said Suzanne's marriage was not good. The couple argued a lot, he said, and she repeatedly said she wanted to leave. However, she also said she couldn't divorce Barry for "Biblical reasons."

Upon discovering she may have been abducted, Libler deleted his accounts because he said it'd negatively affect Suzanne's daughters, Harris said.

[..]

Eytan said Suzanne seemed to keep lots of secrets, noting that the affair was not a short-term fling.

When Eytan said it lasted two years, Harris corrected the statement, saying it was actually a year and a half. The first witness on Monday, a commander with the Chaffee County Sheriff's Office, said the affair spanned two years, so it's not clear which is correct.

Suzanne did not tell her sister or best friends about Libler, Eytan said.

Barry claimed not to know about the affair when investigators told him, Harris
said. He said he thought she may have been having an emotional affair, but not a physical one.

[..]

On May 8, 2020, Libler messaged Suzanne saying, "You need to be my wife" and complimented her biking gear. The following morning, May 9, she texted him saying, "We need to be husband & wife."

Libler said the affair made him nervous and he didn't want to lose his job or his family. He said he didn't want Suzanne's legacy to be that she had an affair "with that guy."

 

[Cindizzi]

<modsnip>

I too feel so badly that she chose such a person as her affair partner - I don't think JL had any intention whatsoever of leaving his wife or making himself available during the part where Suzanne actually left Barry (remember, he knew she had just told him that she was leaving). Perhaps JL simply can't imagine being jealous and getting murderous (even if Barry didn't know about JL, it's clear that by the phone-grabbing and spying on Suzanne, that he was suspicious - my own view is that spouses always know, at some level, about affairs).

To me an emotional affair is the worst, especially if your spouse is already emotionally distant. One night stands, hooking up with randos on Bumble, etc., would not bother me personally as much as an emotional/romantic affair (but if sex were added to that, that would be absolutely devastating and watching a dear friend go through it later in life was just heartbreaking). Every couple is different (my friend stayed with her husband - with many provisos). But Barry Morphew made his jealousy plain in very graphic language.

Remember when, after giving other scenarios, Barry offered Lauren S. the "I think it was someone she knew for a long time" scenario?

BBM BM actually said “ someone who knows her well”.

not trying to nitpick. Just thought I’d provide the link.

 

[Scootie98]

^^rsbm

Respectfully - this is posted as fact but I think that evidence proves this untrue.
Where did you learn he attended SM's going away party?

JL lived in Michigan, not Indiana. He told FBI that SM initiated contact when out of the blue - she reached out to him on social media. The first time they saw each other in more than 20+ years was when SM invited JL to meet her in New Orleans, Feb 2019.

I read it online....will need to research it....that he was there. I will see what I can find.

 

[Momofthreeboys]

I find it ironic that neither JL or BM were with their wives on Mother's Day.

JL was working on a dock and going to a hardware store instead of spending the day with the mother of his six children.

Barry Morphew texted wife about suicide days before she disappeared: ‘Going to see my savior’

She isn’t his mother. Perhaps he had younger kids with him giving his wife a day to herself.

 

[marylamby]

I don’t have “hatred” toward JL but I think he acted in a cowardly manner by not going to LE after Suzanne disappeared.

It is quite possible his insight and information from his communications with Suzanne could have helped tremendously with the investigation.

We don't know if he contacted LE, whether with full disclosure or anonymously. He could've easily said that he's a friend she'd confided with about her situation at home and how their communication ended abruptly.
We didn't hear about/from his employees, friends or women he's been in contact with or even had affairs with for any number of personal reasons but I'll assume personal security to be high on the list.
There's also a distinct possibility that any of the above stated to LE that they WOULDN'T testify, or at least until and IF the case DID go to trial, out of fear of retribution.
Some witnesses flat out say they'll never testify out of fear - take what I info I've given you and do what you will with it - but leave me out of it. Obviously, this isn't the case with Jeff (as his affair was only found by LE months later, from what we understand) but he may have sent a 'tip' to LE, we just don't know yet.
He was probably in fear for not only his own life but that of his family's. His gut knew BM killed Suzanne but he had no way of knowing if BM even knew about him, IMO.
Who the hell knows what he was and is capable of.
Barry had an exit strategy and we also don't know if that included, say, a trip to IN and/or a visit to certain 'friends' who didn't comply with his wishes or stay by his side. He already could have been a fugitive if eventually charged in absentia so what would he have to lose? Or if he were never charged at all? What if he's not convicted?
The fact that the defense pulled out the distraction in the PH with Suzanne's infidelity (they don't have any other lame leg to stand on) shows it's pure smoke and mirrors and they know it.
Why some are still harping on it only confirms their assumption that human response to an affair trumps the facts and all the other evidence of a MURDER CASE.
This should be a nonissue unless and until he brings evidence to the case or not.
I realize this may sound like an admonishment but believe me I don't intend it to be taken that way.
This is about cold-blooded murder not infidelity and imo (certainly not on her part, Barry is alive), that's where the focus should stay.
You're all fabulous and I appreciate everyone's opinion but c'mon, Suzanne's cheating is only yet another reason for Barry's desire to kill her.
Also, IMO, he wanted her money - she was out of there - and that was his PRIMARY reason for doing so. His perceived betrayal to his ego only made it that much more palatable, imminently necessary and justified.
/end rant
IMHO

 

[DeDee]

I find it ironic that neither JL or BM were with their wives on Mother's Day.

JL was working on a dock and going to a hardware store instead of spending the day with the mother of his six children.

Barry Morphew texted wife about suicide days before she disappeared: ‘Going to see my savior’

Yes, it is ironic. Maybe a new or repaired dock was on her Honey Do List. Maybe he purchased a new boat for her gift and was making the dock easily assessible. Don't know. Don't care.

We know Barry was building his alibi on Mother's Day while Suzanne's 2 children were out of town.

 

[marylamby]

I read it online....will need to research it....that he was there. I will see what I can find.

Please do.

 

[Momofthreeboys]

Both NG and Crime Talk have talked about BM video chatting with 7-8 unidentified women on their shows. Chaffee Couty Jail only permits visiting by video chat whether in person at the Jail or by visitors own home computer. (I've previously linked NG crime stories and crime talk YT).

Well considering the entire legal team is female including the private investigator and 2 daughters it kinda makes sense his visitors are primarily female.

 

[marylamby]

I find it ironic that neither JL or BM were with their wives on Mother's Day.

JL was working on a dock and going to a hardware store instead of spending the day with the mother of his six children.

Barry Morphew texted wife about suicide days before she disappeared: ‘Going to see my savior’

Maybe it was his for own home. Maybe it was a contracted job. Maybe it wasn't for the entire day.
Barry's plans (as if) were to not be there the entire day and night.

 

[marylamby]

Well considering the entire legal team is female including the private investigator and 2 daughters it kinda makes sense his visitors are primarily female.

Do you know this for a fact that his visitors were his family? If you could link to that info, I'd greatly appreciate it.

 

[10ofRods]

My apologies for using the harsh word hatred when replying to your post. Mostly, I was disagreeing with JL using Suzanne as already mentioned.

Do you, or anyone, mind offering suggestions on how JL could have assisted Investigators asap for I don't see how he may have known where Barry placed his wife.

I think he could have been of more assistance to Suzanne.

She had just informed her husband of many years that she was leaving him. Surely everyone knows, by know, that this is a dangerous time in a person's life?

Since he had influence over Suzanne (suggesting that she take up bicycling, encouraging her to move to Ecuador, helping her research various options and probably much else) he should have told her to go immediately to an attorney and to tell the attorney that she needed an R/O (which, while it probably wouldn't have prevented Suzanne's death, would have enabled him to call the police immediately after she abruptly disappeared from their romantic conversation and said that he had reason to believe she was in danger - the police would have already been alerted to the situation by the terms of the R/O). He should have suggested that if she was going to tell Barry she was leaving, that she immediately seek a place to live where Barry didn't know where she was. And...if she needed it, he could have put some of the costs of that on his credit card.

That probably would have prevented Barry from removing her from the house, at the very least.

That's what he could have done.