Found Deceased CO - Suzanne Morphew, 49, did not return from bike ride, Chaffee County, 10 May 2020 #36

[Hatch]

I could be wrong but I don't think the lot had anything to do with it. jmo

Perhaps spending money on his family from her inheritance did make SM mad, if she put her foot down IMO BM blew up.

 

[PaulaDC]

I do not see them paying over the asking price. It looks like they paid asking price. The house listed in 2015 for $998,000 and sold for $1.1 million. It was on the market again in Dec 2017 for $1.575 million and early in 2018 is when the Morphews bought it.

Was that house built by them and just transferred between their names and business names or was it actually purchased from another unrelated family.

 

[OldCop]

Accuracy re Sales? realtor.com etc?

@10ofRods Yep, that kind of appreciation? If only.

Just a gen observation re real est info ---
I've found the most accurate info about sales & transactions in public records, usu. avail thru county recorder's office or county clerk's office (or equivalent, depends on the state. May or may not be available online. Sometimes free, other times not.), rather than sites like realtor.com, zillow.com, etc. IME.

@al66pine, would we find listing prices in public records? I’m thinking just the transaction amounts.

 

[Feistyomi]

Equity skimming? moo

Respectfully, not sure how this applies here?

 

[windrower]

From OldCop post #509: The attachment, which includes a description of the Morphew house from a real estate ad, says the property borders the San Isabel National Forest.

National forest right out their front door.

Could SUZANNE be “up the mountain” somewhat closer to home?

Since I’ve no idea where any LE searches for SUZANNE have taken place, I guess I’ll keep this area on my list of possibles for now.

https://www.websleuths.com/forums/attachments/3f5f9957-0bd7-423a-898c-06e8582e9749-jpeg.

(Also, I was unable to change the two previous commitments I have this next week, so I cannot take part in the upcoming search for SUZANNE. A huge thanks to our WS members able to go help AM. My prayers are with you all.)

 

[OldCop]

bbm
I admit that 5/8/20 has me curious.
My guess is that LE have so much more information that they're sitting on.
Much of it potentially incriminating.

After MG said that BM had been at the dig site on 5/8, I began to wonder when LE received that information. LE might have wanted to see if there were recordings of BM traveling to the site, if he had anything with him, and what he did earlier on that date.
Aside from SM’s bff saying that she was texting with SM on 5/9, we really don’t know when she was physically seen by anyone besides Barry.

 

[Auntie Cipation]

The staging of the bicycle for one. I don’t believe he ever imagined law enforcement wouldn’t buy what he was selling. He seems arrogant like that.

He apparently meant for it to look like she was abducted on a bike ride, while he was many miles away.

If they were to buy that, then no one would be searching his room (likely in his mind anyway). He was never supposed to be a suspect.

I imagine he was prepared to play the role of grieving husband, until everything went to hell.

“The best laid plans of mice and men...”

Your post just triggered a thought that's been bubbling in my subconscious --

if I was going to stage a disappearance that was supposed to have happened during a bike ride, and the person was a frequent/in shape rider, I would not normally think to stage the supposed incident so close to home.

My first thought would be to stage it on a remote stretch of wherever the person often rode.

Is there some ostensible reason why anyone would think a spot barely a quarter mile from home would be a realistic location? I suppose if the victim was a young child who didn't ride farther from home, that would seem like a likely spot, but that's obviously not the case here.

Because if we can't think of any, then it starts to smell of last-minute story rather than thought out ahead of time.

IMO MOO

 

[MassGuy]

Your post just triggered a thought that's been bubbling in my subconscious --

if I was going to stage a disappearance that was supposed to have happened during a bike ride, and the person was a frequent/in shape rider, I would not normally think to stage the supposed incident so close to home.

My first thought would be to stage it on a remote stretch of wherever the person often rode.

Is there some ostensible reason why anyone would think a spot barely a quarter mile from home would be a realistic location? I suppose if the victim was a young child who didn't ride farther from home, that would seem like a likely spot, but that's obviously not the case here.

Because if we can't think of any, then it starts to smell of last-minute story rather than thought out ahead of time.

IMO MOO

I do think this was last minute, and he was forced to think on his feet. That’s hard when you’re panicking, in a rush, and perhaps not all that bright to begin with.

That ravine provided a good location to dump the bike and not have it discovered immediately. He needed time to establish his alibi, so he couldn’t have the bike discovered right away.

I also think it’s likely that there were other considerations here, to potentially include surveillance cameras.

 

[OldCop]

Your post just triggered a thought that's been bubbling in my subconscious --

if I was going to stage a disappearance that was supposed to have happened during a bike ride, and the person was a frequent/in shape rider, I would not normally think to stage the supposed incident so close to home.

My first thought would be to stage it on a remote stretch of wherever the person often rode.

Is there some ostensible reason why anyone would think a spot barely a quarter mile from home would be a realistic location? I suppose if the victim was a young child who didn't ride farther from home, that would seem like a likely spot, but that's obviously not the case here.

Because if we can't think of any, then it starts to smell of last-minute story rather than thought out ahead of time.

IMO MOO

ITA And to add to your post, why is BM searching all the trails “up the mountain”? Does he think she went for a hike after she “got in the water”? Or does he think that the abductor went on a hike up the mountain with her strapped to his back? Or, I suppose the mountain lion could have dragged her up there while leaving no evidence.

 

[MassGuy]

ITA And to add to your post, why is BM searching all the trails “up the mountain”? Does he think she went for a hike after she “got in the water”? Or does he think that the abductor went on a hike up the mountain with her strapped to his back? Or, I suppose the mountain lion could have dragged her up there while leaving no evidence.

I think it’s just an excuse to ride his dirt bike.

 

[al66pine]

Real Est Info. Listing Prices?

@al66pine, would we find listing prices in public records? I’m thinking just the transaction amounts.

@OldCop 'Public records' meaning -
--- Info which is publicly available, like in zillow.com, realtor.com, etc or other?
Sure. But bear in mind the potential for errors stemming from the various sources feeding info into these sites.

--- Records in county recorder's or county clerk's office (or equiv ofc)?
No, no listing/asking prices or price changes, that I've seen in the several states I've online searched. <--- Just IME.
(Admittedly, opportunity for error here too).

 

[NWLady]

They found no evidence related to SM's disappearance at the job site, though.

This is a cautionary tale: the fact that they showed a judge probable cause to believe evidence of a crime was present at the Salida job site does not mean there was, in fact, evidence of a crime at the site. Same with the other warrants, the results of which we don't know. Maybe they'll produce evidence, maybe not. We won't know until charges are filed, most likely.

The point is, evidence leading to reasonable suspicion/probable cause is not sufficient to prove a crime.

If you ask me, "Are the warrants evidence that LE is interested in BS and his activities in relation to SM's disappearance?" ITA. Proof of guilt? Not so much.

BS?? Do you mean BM? TIA!

 

[MassGuy]

BS?? Do you mean BM? TIA!

Yeah, they mean “BM.” My autocorrect does the same thing. It’s fitting though, as BM is the BS king.

 

[Momofthreeboys]

IMO, no local properties show that kind of appreciation - especially not per square foot/per acre. There was some discussion of this in very early threads. I only looked through 5 years on Zillow for similarly priced/sized houses.

The land and Location I think supported the price. At one point I looked up area comparables and they were all in the 1.2 range but didn’t have the 7 acres that the Morphew home has. Real estate is worth what you can sell it for is the old saying.

 

[Knox]

He rented the room in his name, left tools, used towels and some trash in the room, must have asked the desk to provide entry for his employees, and has he clearly stated, there are cameras everywhere he went. What could possibly indicate that he didn't think LE would search the room? IMO

He never anticipated LE wouldn't immediately buy off on Suzanne being taken by a mountain lion or an abductor or that his alibi wouldn't be questioned but on a surface level.

 

[Knox]

After MG said that BM had been at the dig site on 5/8, I began to wonder when LE received that information. LE might have wanted to see if there were recordings of BM traveling to the site, if he had anything with him, and what he did earlier on that date.
Aside from SM’s bff saying that she was texting with SM on 5/9, we really don’t know when she was physically seen by anyone besides Barry.

She was seen by the Airbnb house cleaner on Wednesday, the week she disappeared. Suzanne and Barry were on a walk and ran into her at the community trash dumpster.

 

[PaulaDC]

BS?? Do you mean BM? TIA!

Same meaning in my book.

 

[OldCop]

She was seen by the Airbnb house cleaner on Wednesday, the week she disappeared. Suzanne and Barry were on a walk and ran into her at the community trash dumpster.

Yes. And then it was reported that she was at a bike repair shop on Thursday. (TD)

 

[Deleted member 102539]

So much for that.

Would be hepful to know, when this pic was taken of the super-suntanned two ....... His haircolor .......

 

[seekingjustice**]

He never anticipated LE wouldn't immediately buy off on Suzanne being taken by a mountain lion or an abductor or that his alibi wouldn't be questioned but on a surface level.

Yeah I agree with you about him not anticipating his story being bought by LE - I wonder what clues were left behind in the home, because the likelihood is, he did not expect his home to be sealed off and searched as a 'crime scene' .