Found Deceased CO - Suzanne Morphew, 49, did not return from bike ride, Chaffee County, 10 May 2020 #18

[BeckyF]

I watched an episode of Dr. Oz yesterday that had Jennifer Kesse's parents on one segment. She disappeared in 2006. Jennifer's parents felt that police were not doing enough. So, they went to work on their own.

Jennifer's parents acted in a way that I think any (innocent) person would behave if a loved one went missing.

They have done every that they possibly can to locate her. The parents have printed up fliers; kept Jennifer's face in the media by giving multiple interviews; hired a lawyer, a PI, organized search parties, sued for the police records.

The parents have made it their life mission to find their loved one. I would like to think that I would be doing the same for my loved one. I mean, who could really rest one day not knowing where the person is or what happened?

The only reason that I can see that a person would do nothing is that the person knows what happened to his or her loved one. I can see no other reason to remain so indifferent and so silent

Yes and there are many cases like that. And yes, as another poster stated, there are risks to exposing yourself because if it makes it to social media, which it undoubtedly would, you could be crucified and whatever you say publicly could follow you forever. Maybe a person has to weigh the risks. But I have to say, if you want your loved one found and for any resolution to what has happened, you take the risk. JMO

 

[10ofRods]

If there were no prints at all found on the bike, I continue leaning away from BM. A husband would have occasion to handle his wife's property. My DH brings out my bike for me, my mom's DH takes her car to fill up gas and get it washed for her. There would be no reason for SM's husband to wipe it clean, but there would be a reason for anyone else to wipe it.

Well, since fingerprints can be layered and it's forensically possible to tell which fingerprints came first and last, yes, there could be a reason for any person staging a scene to wipe fingerprints.

If all of the fingerprints were on top of earlier fingerprints, it would show the last person to touch the bike. According to the alleged "Suzanne went biking" story, her fingerprints should be the last ones. Especially on areas like the brake levers.

Separating Overlapped Fingerprints - IEEE Journals & Magazine

It has occurred to me that Suzanne may not have ridden her bike recently. If it sat, unused, in the garage, then particles from the air (dust) would settle on top of the prints. That would be easily discernible. If Suzanne's prints were not recent/fresh, that would be discernible. We would expect her prints to be on the bike's saddle, on the grips, and on the brake levers. There might be little reason for her prints to appear on the forks or the frame of the bicycle, at least not recently.

Forensics would find her prints in these places and be able to tell how old or new they were (a bike would be a really good object on which prints could be preserved and then subject to particle fall-out from the air, especially if anyone ever started a car in the garage).

If, on top of those prints, smearing some of them, resided other prints and no new Suzanne prints on top of key places, that's a concern. It's an open/shut case maker, but it is certainly an important set of clues.

Similarly, if the found object of Suzanne's showed fingerprints on top of hers (two different people touching the phone, with the second person's pattern imprinted on top of the first one's) then that would be a reinforcing print pattern (someone other than Suzanne was the last person to touch those things).

Similarly, if prints were wiped, it seems likely someone other than Suzanne did that.

I would also assume that when the bike was taken into evidence, it was handled carefully (lifting it by its tires, perhaps, while wearing gloves).

I've been going with the "it was leaned up against a tree" idea even though that comes only from BM (and from BM to his nephew, etc).

The "in the ravine" theory...can't remember where that came from, does anyone remember?

Of course, LE could have bought the missing-on-bike ride theory and simply grabbed the bike by the bars and wheeled it into evidence, hopefully while gloved. That should still leave some evidence on other parts of the bike, especially if the bike wasn't ridden to the place where it was found.

Anyway, yes, there would be a reason for a family member to still wipe evidence, especially if the bike was going to show that Suzanne had not been riding recently.

 

[Seattle1]

Lauren Scharf[URL='https://twitter.com/LaurenScharfTV']@LaurenScharfTV[/URL]

CBI spokesperson tells me there were no searches over the holiday weekend for #suzannemorphew #MissingPerson CBI says the family is cooperative and investigators are still following up on tips.
@FOX21News

10:26 AM · Jul 6, 2020

 

[10ofRods]

I agree that the investigators are looking at Barry Morphew. My contention, though, is that that fact alone is insufficient for me to think that he did anything to Suzanne. In this case, that's all we have because the search warrant probable cause affidavits (PCAs) are sealed. PCAs
are made under penalty of perjury, so -- if & when we get to see their content -- then at least we'll have an idea as to the bases for investigators' seeming focus on Barry. After reading the PCAs, I may think that there's a good reason for police to suspect Barry. Then again, maybe the PCAs will make me think that investigators are off their collective rocker.

For most of us, that's just one small piece of why BM leaps to mind as a top suspect.

I'm sure you know all the other pieces, but I don't think I know a single WSer who goes by just one fact alone.

We all use fairly complex thinking about these things, and many variables. For me, the 10+ searches and that one road closure up past Puma Path are quite intriguing. Note that these searches were under the auspices of CCSO. In the Gannon Stauch case, we later learned that the FBI was active outside the state (not necessarily searching, but certainly looking into evidence). We also learned that LE, in the Stauch case, was in touch with LE in at least two other states not counting Florida. They didn't announce all this publicly.

We know evidence was taken out of the Morphew home. We don't know what it is.

In the absence of any other locale/person being the focus of the investigation, I'm going to say that BM is definitely under scrutiny - here, and in Salida.

No one should be "convinced" of guilt or innocence of any party at this time. But we can have our opinions and that guides us in what we try to discover (even if it's not admissible in the Court of Websleuths - none of us wants to have rumors governing the discussion).

Several have posted their entire list of suppositions (none of it rumor) as to why BM has their attention as a suspect in this case. No one has used just one fact. However, in this forum format, it's easier to discuss one or two things at a time.

 

[Tate123]

IMO, I'm tempted to take the reporters word for this (bolded) - has never been a homicide case. For me, I would like to see this statement followed by - according to CCSO (as an example).

It's confusing. Who is saying it has never been a homicide case?

 

[Murphy1950]

The "in the ravine" theory...can't remember where that came from, does anyone remember?

RSBM

Lauren Scharf on her FB live, said the fire chief (Bertram?) told her that he thought (heard?) the bike was found in a ravine. Daily Mail reported it was found on a bridge

Nancy Grace specifically used the Phrase/scenario the bike was found "under the bridge" Actually she was "questioning", there wasn’t a final resolution to the question. She was asking whether it was under the bridge or on a bridge because that could make a difference. (Such as, was the bike staged on a bridge to make it look like SM jumped, or under a bridge like the bike was being hidden by someone, etc.)

No confirmation from authorities as to whether any scenarios are accurate or if a bike was even recovered.

 

[Seattle1]

I've been going with the "it was leaned up against a tree" idea even though that comes only from BM (and from BM to his nephew, etc).

The "in the ravine" theory...can't remember where that came from, does anyone remember?

^^sbm

Out of BM's own mouth, he told blogger TD that the bike located on the ground off the road they were standing on --and the wheel was facing upwards. (I think leaning against a tree was a sm rumor).

I believe the bike located in the ravine was a statement by the Fire Chief.

 

[LietKynes]

It's confusing. Who is saying it has never been a homicide case?

I know, strange, isn't it ?

So, LE dug up a person's concrete foundation for just a missing person ?
If she's only missing and no foul play expected-- it seems somewhat drastic to get a SW for the Morphew house, under the foundation of BM's work site, and maybe checking out his landscaping equipment ?
Not to mention the dogs.
Were any of them HRD dogs ?
I'd read that the dogs were from a corrections facility and may be trained for multiple uses --so both SAR and HRD ?

This link :
Stephanie (Butzer) Rose (@stephaniebutzer) / Twitter

Also Seattle1 post #919.

Methinks Team BM have spoken to SBR ?
B/c at the start of the investigation LE seemed to think there was a criminal element at play.
Based on their actions.
And I've always believed that Suzanne's side of the family have cooperated with LE, so that's prob. not in dispute.
Imo.

Eta : This latest Tweet from SBR piqued my interest !
"Has never been a homicide investigation..."
Emphasis mine.

Oh, really ?
Says who ?
Sorry , just had to say that -- and it's meant in an inquiring and respectful way.
Just comes across as someone having been spoken to by an interested party.
Because LE sure aren't acting like she's only missing.
MOO.

 

[BeckyF]

DBM duplicate

 

[oviedo]

I know, strange, isn't it ?

So, LE dug up a person's concrete foundation for just a missing person ?

This link :
Stephanie (Butzer) Rose (@stephaniebutzer) / Twitter

Also Seattle1 post #919.

Methinks Team BM have spoken to SBR ?
B/c at the start of the investigation LE seemed to think there was a criminal element at play.
Based on their actions.
And I've always believed that Suzanne's side of the family have cooperated with LE, so that's prob. not in dispute.
Imo.

BBM - I guess so ...
JMO

 

[Seattle1]

It's confusing. Who is saying it has never been a homicide case?

I don't think I've ever heard this case referred to as a homicide case, ever.

What I have read are word games regarding whether or not this is a criminal investigation. Some report it is-- citing the Sheriff, and some report he said it's not being ruled out. I went with local reporters versus the NY Post from the beginning.

Amber Jo Cooper‏Verified account @AmberJoCooper
Also, the Chaffee County Sheriff says they are not considering it a criminal investigation, but it’s not being ruled out.
1:35 PM - 13 May 2020

https://nypost.com/2020/05/13/colorado-woman-missing-after-going-on-mothers-day-bike-ride/

May 13, 2020

Spezze declined to comment on whether Morphew’s husband is cooperating with authorities in the search for the woman or whether investigators believe foul play was involved.

“This is an open criminal investigation,” Spezze said during a brief interview.

 

[Midwestmom2019]

A “missing persons” case only? This doesn’t ring true.

Why would friends and relatives of the victim be asked by LE not to comment for the sake of the integrity of the investigation of the missing person?

It can only be that the investigation is so close to home that such comments might compromise the investigation due to the very proximity the perpetrator has to the the victim, her children, and the evidence.

moo

Ok. Leave out the adjective missing. It could compromise the integrity of the investigation of the person. They want nothing to spoil the evidence found during the investigation. She just as well could be missing. She could just as well be injured. Or dead. Her status is not important. Flawless investigation is what Colorado is aiming for here. For all the weed smoking jokes we make about Colorado, LE is not about to let this investigation get sidetracked. Or derailed. Or planted with a bloody glove. It’s by the book. It’s coming up on a silver platter. The entire world is watching LE do its job. I commend them for their perfectionism. It has to be perfect, or the victim will never get justice.

 

[OldCop]

Any person could be missing for any reason.
A missing person could be a runaway.
A missing person could be abducted.
A missing person could have committed suicide.
A missing person could have walked away from his/her life.
A missing person could have been murdered.
That fact is, anyone who is gone and you don’t know where they went is a missing person.
Semantics
MOO

 

[swedeheart]

exactly. gannon's wasn't a homicide (for a long time) until it was.

do we even know if suzanne actually went on or enjoyed bike rides? or is that something we have been told by her husband only? (bc that is just how little we know about what's going on here.)

IMO.

 

[Deleted member 718]

It's confusing. Who is saying it has never been a homicide case?

It's from this tweet:

Stephanie (Butzer) Rose
@stephaniebutzer

Friday would be the two-month mark since #SuzanneMorphew went missing from Chaffee County. As of now, this remains a missing persons case and has never been a homicide case. Previous story on why little info has been released to the public: https://bit.ly/3cPtH0i

BBM

If you read the tweet's linked article from the one month anniversary it says this:

"Wednesday marks one month since Morphew, 49, was reported missing after she left for a bike ride and never returned. The case’s momentum carried into the following couple weeks, but there have been few updates regarding the investigation since late May.

Susan Medina with the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) said there’s a reason for that.

“There hasn’t been any real new information to relay in the case other than investigators are working,” she said Wednesday morning.

This case remains a high priority for the Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office and CBI, she said.

“Our agents are working closely with the Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office, and the FBI has a team as well assigned to this. Committed — there’s a high level of commitment to this case,” she said. “You may not see a news release on a daily basis but that doesn’t mean that extensive work isn’t happening on a daily basis. … Countless hours every day by agents and analysts and investigators to determine where Suzanne is and what happened.”

She confirmed that as of Wednesday morning, Suzanne had not been found and that this remains a missing person case.

After 1 month and few updates, CBI says ‘a high level of commitment’ remains in Suzanne Morphew case

 

[Madeleine74]

It's a word/semantics game. They have no proof she's deceased and from homicide, and she is missing, so that's what they're willing to say.

IMO

 

[Midwestmom2019]

Well, since fingerprints can be layered and it's forensically possible to tell which fingerprints came first and last, yes, there could be a reason for any person staging a scene to wipe fingerprints.

If all of the fingerprints were on top of earlier fingerprints, it would show the last person to touch the bike. According to the alleged "Suzanne went biking" story, her fingerprints should be the last ones. Especially on areas like the brake levers.

Separating Overlapped Fingerprints - IEEE Journals & Magazine

It has occurred to me that Suzanne may not have ridden her bike recently. If it sat, unused, in the garage, then particles from the air (dust) would settle on top of the prints. That would be easily discernible. If Suzanne's prints were not recent/fresh, that would be discernible. We would expect her prints to be on the bike's saddle, on the grips, and on the brake levers. There might be little reason for her prints to appear on the forks or the frame of the bicycle, at least not recently.

Forensics would find her prints in these places and be able to tell how old or new they were (a bike would be a really good object on which prints could be preserved and then subject to particle fall-out from the air, especially if anyone ever started a car in the garage).

If, on top of those prints, smearing some of them, resided other prints and no new Suzanne prints on top of key places, that's a concern. It's an open/shut case maker, but it is certainly an important set of clues.

Similarly, if the found object of Suzanne's showed fingerprints on top of hers (two different people touching the phone, with the second person's pattern imprinted on top of the first one's) then that would be a reinforcing print pattern (someone other than Suzanne was the last person to touch those things).

Similarly, if prints were wiped, it seems likely someone other than Suzanne did that.

I would also assume that when the bike was taken into evidence, it was handled carefully (lifting it by its tires, perhaps, while wearing gloves).

I've been going with the "it was leaned up against a tree" idea even though that comes only from BM (and from BM to his nephew, etc).

The "in the ravine" theory...can't remember where that came from, does anyone remember?

Of course, LE could have bought the missing-on-bike ride theory and simply grabbed the bike by the bars and wheeled it into evidence, hopefully while gloved. That should still leave some evidence on other parts of the bike, especially if the bike wasn't ridden to the place where it was found.

Anyway, yes, there would be a reason for a family member to still wipe evidence, especially if the bike was going to show that Suzanne had not been riding recently.

Agreed.
If it was wiped clean, the last person touching it, (before LE) wiped it. Assuming it had not just been washed, waxed, oiled, inflated or whatever you do to bikes to keep them in shape. Then one set of prints and hers could be on it. The guys at the bike shop generally don’t wear white gloves loading and unloading a bike. Maybe regular gloves to protect their hands. Even so, they’re rough and tumble. Cut the tips off their gloves for fine work. The last to touch that bike is thinking I better wipe my prints off of here bc they’ll be able to figure out I was around this bike when she went missing. Whoever it was. You wipe down a bike after you get back, if you wipe it down at all. You brush a horse down after you get it back in the barn. You lock a car door with a key or remotely after you’ve parked it. If there are no prints on the car door, or the horse bridle or bit, or the bike, it was after the last stop. Wiped clean where it was located means someone else was there. Or put it there. And was the last to touch it. Who was last? Who has the weakest alibi? Or no alibi?
Have any of you ever heard the fable of the rooster being able to crow at a thief just by the thief putting their hands on the sooty bottom of a big fireplace cook pot?

 

[DizzyB]

I just spent a little time researching no body murder charges. Lots of hurdles. Witnesses, enough blood evidence that the missing person could not have survived, forensic evidence that shows one manipulated data such as proof that an individual texted as the person or drove their car in the effort to make it seem as if the person was still alive. No slam dunks without a body.

 

[Knox]

I just spent a little time researching no body murder charges. Lots of hurdles. Witnesses, enough blood evidence that the missing person could not have survived, forensic evidence that shows one manipulated data such as proof that an individual texted as the person or drove their car in the effort to make it seem as if the person was still alive. No slam dunks without a body.

Respectfully, every murder charge (case) has hurdles.

I'm still confident LE will solve this case and the investigation is quietly proceeding.

 

[LietKynes]

I still think we'll be amazed at what LE have uncovered.

Of particular importance --imo-- was the sheriff saying (when asked at the presser if BM was cooperating) , "...Yes, and we hope he continues to do so..." (paraphrased by me).
If Suzanne has been harmed --LE aren't going to just give up and quit.
They're letting someone(s) sweat it out.

So we all wait...