Found Deceased CO - Suzanne Morphew, 49, did not return from bike ride, Chaffee County, 10 May 2020 #26

[Lilypad13]

(dunking from flying tomatoes-ha!) IMO, I believe more that this neighbor is a busy body, than what she claims she heard.

Well ITA retrieving a piece of equipment to use elsewhere is definitely a possible explanation for the noise. But respectfully if that is what happened then it is still connected to a coverup and with hiding Suzanne’s body. So if the neighbor heard and reported this noise and it is an important clue in the investigation then she should be commended for it and not called a “busy body.” LE asked that if anyone saw or heard anything to report it no matter how small of a detail it may seem. Hearing loud machinery late at night at a construction site connected to a missing woman’s husband does not seem insignificant IMO. If BM and/or someone else removed a piece of equipment and loaded it on a trailer would it take that long? I would agree that the neighbor could have misjudged the length of time she heard the noise unless she looked at a clock and timed it. But she said she was woken up by the noise so I was thinking it might have even been longer than 30 minutes. And was the piece of equipment returned to the site afterwards? That would be risky. Was any equipment missing? We don’t know the answers to these questions but maybe LE does. And maybe gps, cell phone pings, etc. will shed more light. You know I love you but I don’t share your impression of the neighbor. Just because she’s elderly and a little cranky doesn’t mean she should be stereotyped as a meddling busybody. I think she did the right thing and if Suzanne was found at the construction site she would be called a hero. Actually if I remember correctly LE came to her house so she didn’t seek them out but when asked if she heard or saw anything unusual she told them what she heard. IMO No tomatoes thrown! Lol

 

[Lilypad13]

Well ya, she is a curtain twitcher, no doubt, heh.

So might we be one day!

 

[Skigh]

Well ITA retrieving a piece of equipment to use elsewhere is definitely a possible explanation for the noise. But respectfully if that is what happened then it is still connected to a coverup and with hiding Suzanne’s body. So if the neighbor heard and reported this noise and it is an important clue in the investigation then she should be commended for it and not called a “busy body.” LE asked that if anyone saw or heard anything to report it no matter how small of a detail it may seem. Hearing loud machinery late at night at a construction site connected to a missing woman’s husband does not seem insignificant IMO. If BM and/or someone else removed a piece of equipment and loaded it on a trailer would it take that long? I would agree that the neighbor could have misjudged the length of time she heard the noise unless she looked at a clock and timed it. But she said she was woken up by the noise so I was thinking it might have even been longer than 30 minutes. And was the piece of equipment returned to the site afterwards? That would be risky. Was any equipment missing? We don’t know the answers to these questions but maybe LE does. And maybe gps, cell phone pings, etc. will shed more light. You know I love you but I don’t share your impression of the neighbor. Just because she’s elderly and a little cranky doesn’t mean she should be stereotyped as a meddling busybody. I think she did the right thing and if Suzanne was found at the construction site she would be called a hero. Actually if I remember correctly LE came to her house so she didn’t seek them out but when asked if she heard or saw anything unusual she told them what she heard. IMO No tomatoes thrown! Lol

Well said. I totally agree with you.

 

[Hoss569]

I have wondered since the beginning about WHY the FBI and CBI got involved so quickly. Could there have been some history of discord or abuse? Did the neighbor who called 911 offer some info on a personal level that made the sheriff consider homicide and reach out for more law enforcement,? Just thinking out loud.
MOO

IMO, I think the neighbor has given more info than what we know, to BM as well.

Wouldn't the FBI and CBI need to be contacted immediately due to the proximity of Federal and state lands? Isn't there a very high possibility that an incident involving SM has occurred on Federal land and or State land requiring the FBI to be notified? I guess it would then be up to them if they wanted to work the case or how much they wish to be involved. Which it appears they are involved to a degree.

On the attached map, the shaded area is National Forest land, blue dot is approximate location of the M's residence.

 

[K9Enzo]

Well ITA retrieving a piece of equipment to use elsewhere is definitely a possible explanation for the noise. But respectfully if that is what happened then it is still connected to a coverup and with hiding Suzanne’s body. So if the neighbor heard and reported this noise and it is an important clue in the investigation then she should be commended for it and not called a “busy body.” LE asked that if anyone saw or heard anything to report it no matter how small of a detail it may seem. Hearing loud machinery late at night at a construction site connected to a missing woman’s husband does not seem insignificant IMO. If BM and/or someone else removed a piece of equipment and loaded it on a trailer would it take that long? I would agree that the neighbor could have misjudged the length of time she heard the noise unless she looked at a clock and timed it. But she said she was woken up by the noise so I was thinking it might have even been longer than 30 minutes. And was the piece of equipment returned to the site afterwards? That would be risky. Was any equipment missing? We don’t know the answers to these questions but maybe LE does. And maybe gps, cell phone pings, etc. will shed more light. You know I love you but I don’t share your impression of the neighbor. Just because she’s elderly and a little cranky doesn’t mean she should be stereotyped as a meddling busybody. I think she did the right thing and if Suzanne was found at the construction site she would be called a hero. Actually if I remember correctly LE came to her house so she didn’t seek them out but when asked if she heard or saw anything unusual she told them what she heard. IMO No tomatoes thrown! Lol

I honestly appreciate your post! But to be fair - I never mentioned her age or demeanor. Not all calls to LE are true or as they seem. Nothing wrong with her calling it in. She absolutely should have. LE will sort it out to determine if it's credible or not. Maybe they did and that resulted in the site dig. *I* just don't believe the site dig was because of her info. IMO

 

[enelram]

I have wondered since the beginning about WHY the FBI and CBI got involved so quickly. Could there have been some history of discord or abuse? Did the neighbor who called 911 offer some info on a personal level that made the sheriff consider homicide and reach out for more law enforcement,? Just thinking out loud.
MOO

good question. I'll repeat what I've said here many many times. In a marriage NO ONE
knows what goes on behind closed doors.
Sometimes domestic abuse/violence is
purposely hidden from children regardless
of their ages. It happens. Abusers can be so surreptitious that often family members are
surprised when these marriages end and news of DV comes out. This is also why these perps can get away with it for so long.
Yes, maybe the closer neighbor had seen some
or heard some prior hostile behavior. And usually LE won't disclose if they've had DV calls to the home in these cases.
IMO, BM certainly fits the MO.

 

[DizzyB]

Welcome, @NatKingCola. You made some good points that got me thinking. What if BM had one of his workers, or two, take his truck and trailer and asked him to go pick up a piece of equipment at that job site and bring it to Denver for the other job prep. While this was going on it gave him opportunity to stage a bike, drop a personal item, and dispose of a body in a vehicle that wasn’t his and which, potentially, had no GPS. He may have taken the worker’s older vehicle and told him he would swap back when he got to Denver. The workers may have had no idea they were being used as pawns. This may have been another one of BM’s false trails.
When LE confronted him about the dig site, he could say, “No, that wasn’t even me. I was home with my wife until 5:00 a.m.”
Theoretical scenario.

I do wonder about his workforce, and which of his people were driving up to Denver on Mother’s Day evening. It does sound plausible that he might ask one of them to move/load equipment because they were told BM was getting a very early start on Sunday morning.

 

[Hair of the Dog]

70 is the new 60! Some people are old at 50 some are young at 80.

I am a sound sleeper and if an unfamiliar and persistent noise that I can't readily identify (trash truck, train whistle) awakens me, I am definitely going to get up and take a look! Especially if it is in close proximity to my residence.

LOL I don't think I am a curtain twitcher but I am fairly observant and if something gets my attention I do assess the situation to see if it is just someone pulling over to make a call or because their car broke down vs. someone who is sizing up my neighbor's house or otherwise acting suspiciously. If you don't know what is normal for your neighborhood, you won't know what isn't.

JMO

 

[Error505]

IMO, I think the neighbor has given more info than what we know, to BM as well.

Wouldn't the FBI and CBI need to be contacted immediately due to the proximity of Federal and state lands? Isn't there a very high possibility that an incident involving SM has occurred on Federal land and or State land requiring the FBI to be notified? I guess it would then be up to them if they wanted to work the case or how much they wish to be involved. Which it appears they are involved to a degree.

On the attached map, the shaded area is National Forest land, blue dot is approximate location of the M's residence.

Great question! I followed the Gannon Stauch case (Colorado Springs) and FBI and CBI were brought in for assistance within 24-36 hours iirc. It’s not unusual for those 2 agencies to be called due to the mass resources they have access to which typical police dept or sheriffs’ offices won’t have. It usually doesn’t have anything to do with fed and state lands, but more to do with their mobile crime labs, forensic experts, Profiling experts, etc. IMHO

 

[Knox]

I honestly appreciate your post! But to be fair - I never mentioned her age or demeanor. Not all calls to LE are true or as they seem. Nothing wrong with her calling it in. She absolutely should have. LE will sort it out to determine if it's credible or not. Maybe they did and that resulted in the site dig. *I* just don't believe the site dig was because of her info. IMO

LE showed up at the construction site on Thursday, May 21st and set up to search the property. I'm still trying to determine MB's role- did she call the tip line and report the noise prior to the search? Or was her information gained through a canvas of the neighborhood, during the search of the property?

 

[Lilypad13]

Well said. I totally agree with you.

Thanks I’m glad I’m not alone. Most think the work site dig came up with nothing and maybe it did. LE said as much but I still think the noise of equipment is something. LE said they didn’t find anything connected to the SM case at this time. Well they found a neighbor who heard the sound of loud machinery running possibly late on Saturday night into Sunday morning. Then we find out Suzanne was still alive and texting/messaging her bff in IN on Saturday until the communication ended abruptly or changed. Then we have BM departing their house at 5 am for a job prep in Denver. That noise from loud equipment falls right in the midst of that timeline! And I suppose if BM was innocent (big IF) and he actually needed to leave at 5 am on MD to do a job in Denver that he could have been loading up a piece of equipment he needed to take with him. But why on Earth would he wait until that late to go and get it? Maybe he’s a night owl but if I had to get up that early to travel to Denver to set up a job I would want to get a good night’s sleep. Why not get it Saturday afternoon or if it was being used then when the work stopped for the evening and load it up and have it ready to roll in your own driveway in the morning? It just doesn’t make any sense why anyone would be running equipment that late at night. It’s dark outside and it might disturb neighbors who are sleeping so it might have been an unplanned and desperate attempt to dispose of a body. Some OPs in construction have said sometimes you have to work odd hours to meet deadlines. So ok say there was coincidentally some pressing work that needed to be done at THAT job site prior to the concrete being poured then why not work until sunset and then come back at sunrise? It’s just too much of a coincidence. The FBI obviously thought so too or they wouldn’t have spent time, money & resources there for three days. I’ve always thought the noise at the job site is connected somehow with Suzanne’s disappearance. I can’t wait to find out how...if we ever do! IMO

 

[Hatfield]

The loud noises late at night at the Salida contruction site would be very unusual to me because if BM had needed that piece of equipment in Denver then he had all day Saturday to move it, so why wait till the middle of the night to move it.

Unless they were using it at the Salida site during the day Saturday and I am not sure if we heard anything about whether the crew was working during the day Saturday. If there was no activity at that site during the day and it only happened late Saturday night, then that would seem strange to me as well. Why not move it during the Saturday daytime hours when you can see better?
All JMO of course.

 

[Dr.StClements]

Thanks, @Seattle1! My bad, @Dr.StClements!

Yes, if the adult Morphew daughter expressed no reservation and consented to the guardian appointment, then that can only add weight to Barry's request.

Not at all! I'm very grateful to have access to your wisdom. Thank you
Interesting that older M daughter apparently co-signed BM's Guardianship application. We don't have any insight into how that might have come about. Personally, I hope and pray that the daughters are surrounded by genuine love and support.

 

[LietKynes]

Interesting comment from a former prosecutor
and now private attorney, who spoke on
Court TV this past evening.
She said she doesn't remember any case she ever prosecuted of homicide committed by husband against wife, where there wasn't
prior violence against wife before her murder.
My mind jumped to SM and how we've discussed BM's controlling personality.
I'm sure LE has most all the pieces and knows pretty much what happened.
They just need those little additional details
to put a credible story together to convince a
jury of what happened.
It's coming BM, get your affairs in order.

bbm
Exactly. ^^^

Re. the bolded : Oh, I think he is.

Plus there's the $$ from the gimmee fund that he can use for his defense.
So unfair to Suzanne.
Imo.

 

[Hair of the Dog]

Not at all! I'm very grateful to have access to your wisdom. Thank you
Interesting that older M daughter apparently co-signed BM's Guardianship application. We don't have any insight into how that might have come about. Personally, I hope and pray that the daughters are surrounded by genuine love and support.

Maybe it was presented to her as necessary in order to meet familial financial needs. IDK JMO

 

[Warwick1991]

When hunting, normally a large game animal like a deer should be gutted immediately to remove entrails and then either butchered immediately or kept cold and cool until the deer can be transported to a deer processing place.

For hunters, they make all types of Large Game Bags that can help transport a deer or other large game animal but most are "breathable" because you typically want to let it breathe.

However, if only going for a short drive to a butchering station, they do make very heavy duty plastic game bags like this one in 1st link below. Most of the other types in the 2nd link are the breathable type.

I think BM would know about all types of game bags. The heavy duty large plastic ones are hard to find like in 1st link. I bought one one time to transport a deer to a butchering place and it worked great to keep the back of the truck clean but I kept one end open to let air in and keep it breathable. I also packed ice all around the outside.

Single Quarter Game Bag Available in Small - Medium - Large

GAME BAGS

I think it depends how far the hunter is from a place where the deer can be dressed - properly butchered for meat. I’ve never seen anyone use a game bag; perhaps it varies by region/geography. If someone lives in a wooded area with plentiful deer, they often place the deer on a deer cart or other portable transport method, drag/push it through the woods, load it onto the back of a pickup truck, and take it to a place - like a garage or barn - where it can be hoisted up to allow the butchering to be done in a controlled manner. It is harder to dress a carcass in the field, and trying to do that in the woods can attract predators. If a hunter is hunting very far from a parked vehicle, getting the game out of the woods is a much bigger challenge.

 

[Lilypad13]

I honestly appreciate your post! But to be fair - I never mentioned her age or demeanor. Not all calls to LE are true or as they seem. Nothing wrong with her calling it in. She absolutely should have. LE will sort it out to determine if it's credible or not. Maybe they did and that resulted in the site dig. *I* just don't believe the site dig was because of her info. IMO

Maybe & maybe not but it might have reinforced a theory or lead that LE already had. I said she she was elderly because it’s true - she is obviously a senior citizen and she did seem a little ornery to me. The stereotype of a “busybody” in my mind anyway gives a negative connotation of someone who may not have anything better to do but snoop into everyone else’s business. She was woken up by the loud noise not sitting there peeking out her blinds spying and exaggerating things. I think you said you didn’t believe what she said so that was really why I commented because I didn’t agree. But we can agree to disagree and maybe one day we will find out what happened and it will all come together and make more sense.

 

[swedeheart]

i was just checking twitter to see if there was anything new happening, and suzanne's profile is locked. wasn't it previously open?

moo.

 

[Lilypad13]

and to add it was the evening of May 9 after an abrupt(?) end to a conversation SM was having with her friend....
JMO

Yes! Jinx

 

[OldCop]

I have wondered since the beginning about WHY the FBI and CBI got involved so quickly. Could there have been some history of discord or abuse? Did the neighbor who called 911 offer some info on a personal level that made the sheriff consider homicide and reach out for more law enforcement,? Just thinking out loud.
MOO

@Area52, while there may have been some prior history, that would not have triggered the calls to the FBI or CBI. By Wednesday, when SM still hadn’t been found, and it had been reported that these agencies were involved, LE knew that they would likely need CBI for lab work and the FBI for digital forensics.
As far as the neighbor who made the 911 call saying something about what she had seen or heard, I posted the exact same thought several threads ago. I think you may be right about this and that whatever it was, it raised LE’s suspicions about BM very early in the investigation.