Found Deceased CO - Suzanne Morphew, 49, did not return from bike ride, Chaffee County, 10 May 2020 #31

[EggSalad]

This is a good point.

Thinking more on this - I don't think the wet towels on the floor (he probably just took a shower and didn't care to hang the towels up) or the smell of chlorine matters. I believe the employee smelled it and don't believe he's lying. I know the hotel said they don't clean with it but I'm sure they do use some sort of bleach mixture. This is also during COVID (I think this is a valid argument). Anytime I have ever stayed in a hotel, the towels smell like heavy bleach. They smell even stronger of bleach to *me* when wet.

I'm looking forward to LS interview with this employee. I think the DM really sensationalized this story, which is what they do.

IMO

have you ever checked into a hotel on one day and then late in the evening on the following day the room has an overpowering smell of cleaner? Especially when housekeeping hasn’t been by that day?

 

[Skigh]

Only one daughter is a minor, unless she recently turned 18. The other is about 21. Imo

Has there been any information anywhere about whether both girls are still staying at the family home with BM?

 

[K9Enzo]

have you ever checked into a hotel on one day and then late in the evening on the following day the room has an overpowering smell of cleaner? Especially when housekeeping hasn’t been by that day?

Can't say that I have but I'm a snob and want fresh towels daily.

 

[kkdj]

Why would BM take any mail with him to the hotel? That seems odd. Was it recent mail? Was it something he had kept in a safe and brought it with him to peruse? Why, in either scenario?

 

[K9Enzo]

Why would BM take any mail with him to the hotel? That seems odd. Was it recent mail? Was it something he had kept in a safe and brought it with him to peruse? Why, in either scenario?

Good question. Some think he was hiding mail from SM, some think further into this and maybe this mail was part of his his financial motive for murder. Someone (can't remember who) made a comment about did he get the mail from the mailbox before heading to that hotel and what day was this - I'm interested in this question.

I also think it's possible it was mail/info he brought with him, that really doesn't matter and he was going to make phone calls on during his downtime in the hotel. Or it's part of a cover-up and he was really dumb and left it behind or left it intentionally (I can't think of a reason why).

 

[DizzyB]

I have stayed in a couple of hotels since Covid. I was told by both that there would be no maid service (essentially they would clean before my arrival, and after I left), and fresh towels were available upon request. Maybe Barry expected that the room would be cleaned daily, and it was not. He may have just done the regular thing (obvious through photos that he stayed at many hotels), and assumed that the towels and garbage would have been removed long before his worker arrived.
Edit to add: I also called the hotel and got an early check-in (9am) during Isaias when I was without power and needed a shower, WiFi and air conditioning.

When Barry spoke to Lauren, he made it sound like the only inconsistency in his statement was the timing of the bobcat fix. Either he was b-s-ing Lauren, or LE had not hit him hard, or he’s clueless. There are so many red flags.

 

[happyday]

In the Aug 24 interview PE/AM, time stamp around 9:39 minutes, AM is relating what Barry told him re having problems with local people. AM says that Barry told him he just had a problem with one local guy, he had to fire the guy because he was on drugs, and he was part of the reason the wall was crooked, one week ago he threatened me (BM) and I ran into him and told him to leave me and my family alone, "or else". BM told the police. He paid his employees mostly by check, address was on checks.
BM says that one guy had been in the neighborhood, working at odd jobs that BM had gotten him with airB&Bs. BM says that the guys drove to their own jobs.

This is the part that jumped off the page to me: BM didn't notice what car the guy drives. "So many cars show up, I don't know who drives what".

Isn't that bizarre? BM tells the guy to leave his family alone, got the guy odd jobs in his own neighborhood, worked with him on the wall, fired the guy because of drugs, , paid him by check, but never noticed his vehicle?

Also what jumps out to me is that he’s planting the seed that there are bad local people who know where they live. Just throwing things at the wall...

 

[happyday]

Why would BM take any mail with him to the hotel? That seems odd. Was it recent mail? Was it something he had kept in a safe and brought it with him to peruse? Why, in either scenario?

I’m not even sure that the mail is important. JP seemed to feel like just the mail being there was the important thing—he said for an alibi so I feel that means the mail was just supposed to be evidence BM was there. Not the most sophisticated plan, but there must be reason JP thought that.

 

[swedeheart]

Why would BM take any mail with him to the hotel? That seems odd. Was it recent mail? Was it something he had kept in a safe and brought it with him to peruse? Why, in either scenario?

i think he was at the hotel for clean-up only. he cleaned his truck, his tools, himself. maybe the mail was sitting in the truck, and he took it into the room to clean it off, bc something got "spilled" on it that he needed to wipe clean. he might not have actually even had the chlorine/bleach in the room. maybe it was the strong smell of chlorine/bleach that he was trying to clean off in the room.

as far as not leaving the tools for JP, BM knew for a fact he wasn't even possibly coming back to denver for the job, bc he knew how serious the situation was at home. those tools are his likelihood, so he took them home. i'm thinking he doesn't think too highly of JP, and thought he would be easy to keep quiet and only slightly confused.

 

[Hoss569]

Why would BM take any mail with him to the hotel? That seems odd. Was it recent mail? Was it something he had kept in a safe and brought it with him to peruse? Why, in either scenario?

It does a little, but when staying in a hotel for work that would be something to take up some time, if you havent had a chance to and need to go thru it. I travel 4 to 5 days a week for work and I do bring my stack of mail to go thru one of the nights, altho to me as a road warrior it would not be abnormal.

 

[Dr.StClements]

I think this is a very interesting post - thank you. I'm in agreement with you that BM was using the hotel room for something nefarious. And I also hope that LE has already had the room forensically scoured.

I believe they will have done that as soon as they became aware of BM using the hotel. That hotel has remained silent all this time, having previously passed CCTV footage to LE. They haven't leaked this information in almost 4 months. It's only come to light as a result of BM's colleague speaking publicly. IMO, LE is to be commended for keeping such a tight rein on information and getting other parties to buy into the need to remain tight-lipped, in the interests of the case.

Would you mind clarifying something you posted? You mentioned that you don't think Suzanne was ever in that room, alive or dead, but then go on to mention BM's plans being interrupted. Further on you mention the possibility of LE finding human matter (Suzanne's) in the hotel shower drain.
I agree with you that BM probably dismembered SM's body to make it easier to dispose of. He could have used multiple trash receptacles to do so, hundreds of miles from his own home. I wasn't sure what you meant when you said you thought that SM's body was never in the hotel room, but raised the possibility of forensic evidence from her being trapped in the shower drain.

BM would be taking a huge risk driving over a hundred miles to the hotel with human matter from SM on his body, having already dismembered her elsewhere, then showering that evidence away at the hotel. I'm doubtful that Suzanne's body - whatever state it's in - will ever be found. Hopeful that she will be, but realistic about the chances of it happening.

I'm replying to myself here; please bear with me!

Perhaps BM did something to SM on the Saturday evening at the place where the woman living near to the building site reported hearing heavy machinery being operated v late at night. If so, SM's body fragments/remains could have been washed away by the fast-flowing river immediately behind the building site.
He'd then be driving to the hotel to clean himself up under cover of darkness - much smaller chance of being spotted...

 

[Hoss569]

I’m not even sure that the mail is important. JP seemed to feel like just the mail being there was the important thing—he said for an alibi so I feel that means the mail was just supposed to be evidence BM was there. Not the most sophisticated plan, but there must be reason JP thought that.

JP could have seen some personal things or business related things that he should not have been privy to. So without knowledge of why the mail says, or is what it is, to him it may just seem like odd. He might of just be trying to be important or knowledgeable in the case, and for his benefit as well.

 

[Goldenseal]

I know...I've wondered if the Daily Mail has opened a satellite branch in Colorado...maybe they have.

Really. It would be a total moneymaker.

 

[happyday]

i think he was at the hotel for clean-up only. he cleaned his truck, his tools, himself. maybe the mail was sitting in the truck, and he took it into the room to clean it off, bc something got "spilled" on it that he needed to wipe clean. he might not have actually even had the chlorine/bleach in the room. maybe it was the strong smell of chlorine/bleach that he was trying to clean off in the room.

as far as not leaving the tools for JP, BM knew for a fact he wasn't even possibly coming back to denver for the job, bc he knew how serious the situation was at home. those tools are his likelihood, so he took them home. i'm thinking he doesn't think too highly of JP, and thought he would be easy to keep quiet and only slightly confused.

BBM

Yeah, I think he thought he would stay quiet but JP got the feeling he was being used in whatever alibi/plan BM was concocting & JP didn’t like that one bit.

 

[Love Never Fails]

Re Chlorine Smell in Hotel Room

I have well water at my house. I know I can tell when I walk into a house with chlorinated city water. My father, a research chemist, once got a glass of water from the tap in my childhood home, smelled it and declared the chlorine content to be too high. He tested the chlorine level himself, found his result to be consistent with his sense of smell, and reported the situation to the county. My point is that JP could have a keen sense of smell and/or be used to well water.

Same for me. Strong sense of smell. I had to travel a lot in the past year and stayed at some very nice hotels. Also stayed at a Holiday Inn Express. So much was left out of that article. If room had a strong smell, just request another room. I have been in rooms with a jacuzzi that had strong chlorine odor. I didn’t know why, and I just requested another room. Both times I was booked in the room because that was all they said was available. Yet both times, I was finally given a different room. Hotels usually provide two bath towels now. I always ask for more. Perhaps BM used both towels. Doesn’t mean he was cleaning anything except himself.

He may have had a guest. Mmhmm...

Anyway, I don’t see any red flags in JPs statement except maybe for the mail left in the room. Don’t know why it was there. However, if BM left in a hurry for the family emergency, he likely thought the maid would clean the room and forgot about the mail. As for the letter in the trash, maybe it wasn’t important to him. Just saying these things don’t seem strange by themselves.

I still think he is guilty, but not of doing anything to Suzanne in that room.

 

[Love Never Fails]

This is a good point.

Thinking more on this - I don't think the wet towels on the floor (he probably just took a shower and didn't care to hang the towels up) or the smell of chlorine matters. I believe the employee smelled it and don't believe he's lying. I know the hotel said they don't clean with it but I'm sure they do use some sort of bleach mixture. This is also during COVID (I think this is a valid argument). Anytime I have ever stayed in a hotel, the towels smell like heavy bleach. They smell even stronger of bleach to *me* when wet.

I'm looking forward to LS interview with this employee. I think the DM really sensationalized this story, which is what they do.

IMO

Agree completely.

 

[PaulaDC]

His hotel room smelled of chorine? As in bleach?
Lots of wet towels?
Sounds like BM was cleaning something(s).
He said he had brought tools to the hotel room but the worker said there were no tools iirc. So, I'm thinking he did bring some tools into the hotel room and took them with him when he left. Those tools, I expect will be tools used in the commission of a crime (murder) and/or the disposing of the body, in whatever shape (s) BM decided to dispose of it.
Being the hotel room smelled strongly of Chlorine I don't expect BM to have realized how strong the smell had become as he had been (working) in it for awhile.
jmo

You're correct about not realizing the strength of the odor. I use bleach and obviously I can't smell it but someone always points out how strong the odor is by remarking that I turn on a fan or open the window. moo

 

[Fireflize]

the NY post:

https://nypost.com/2020/09/02/suzan...utm_campaign=SocialFlow&utm_source=NYPTwitter

Thx Swede.
The New York Post article reads with a slightly different nuance in regards to the employee's feelings about an alibi. In this article, I understood that he may have felt the whole Denver job narrative was the alibi. No BM, no tools, left hanging for two days, no job.
Another thought, it will be interesting if there is camera footage of BM carrying tools inside, then back outside. I can't think why he would take them away if there really was a job and he expected that his employee would need them. I would also want to know if the tools made it all the way back to Salida. I really doubt that he tossed them. They were valuable to him. Unlike his wife. Sparklingly clean tools will add to a circumstantial case.
Moo of course.

 

[RealForReal]

Just thinking about what’s come out in the past 24 hours and past discussions about BM and speculations of DV and narcissism- do you think there is ANY scenario in which BM folds? It might be a naive thought (especially in light of past cases), but might be the only way SM is ever found.

 

[Hoss569]

I just had a thought on the mail thing.

Why would JP mention the mail to the FBI so quickly? He surely didnt know all that was going on by Sunday night or possibly Monday? He wouldnt have thought the worse for SM by the time he talked to FBI?

I am kind of not buying the mail story. Would JP have profited from being interviewed or sensationalizing things to a degree? Why would he have thought on Monday morning Oh I need to take all this mail with me as the Fed's may need it, instead of returning it to BM?