Found Deceased CO - Suzanne Morphew, 49, did not return from bike ride, Chaffee County, 10 May 2020 #42

[lamlawindy]

what sucks about all this is even if you are innocent and just there to interview/testify, you can still end up spending thousands of dollars on legal fees. It’s really unfair.

Well, that goes to step #1. If agreeing to speak to investigators will hurt a person financially, that is a factor to consider.

 

[jakat]

He feels compelled to respond to every new revelation. In the phone interviews with Lauren, he was both angry and combative.

I don’t see that changing, provided Lauren is put back on this story.

I hope she is put back on this story.

 

[lamlawindy]

For those legal experts out there... I'm curious whether a law could be passed that would allow the collection of the extraordinary investigation costs associated with investigating a "missing body" or "longtime missing body" murder case from the assets of the person(s) successfully convicted of murder or conspiracy to commit murder when the person(s) are also convicted of tampering with, altering, or concealing evidence to delay the discovery of the remains.

I think such a statute would be possible. However, I also worry about the problems it may cause:

1. If the defendant has minor children, will seizing his/her assets impoverish them? What about innocent spouses, who may be joint owners of the assets: do they have the burden of proving their innocence lest their assets be seized? Would a jury finding be required to determine which costs were "extraordinary" and which were not?

2. If the defendant moved his/her assets into a trust, will this defeat the statute? Would there be a "lookback" period in the statute to defeat the trust? @oviedo may be able to explain lookback periods better than I can

3. Will the incentive of recouping search costs cause agencies to prioritize victims and defendants from families with greater economic wealth? We already know that -- in general -- a higher socio-economic status correlates with more attention from authorities. Would such a statute exacerbate this situation?

I think a good lesson can be learned from civil forfeiture laws in drug cases. Police departments & prosecutors can obtain title to property, such as cash, cars, & real estate. I would posit that police departments' drug units grew after civil forfeiture laws were enacted in the 80s/90s because of the financial incentive they created: civil forfeiture could fill a fiscal void without increasing taxes. At the same time, civil forfeiture created some of the issues referenced above.

All this is not to say that such a statute is not a good idea, just that the issue should be studied & debated from different angles. Indeed, different states may decide differently on the issue, which is appropriate in a federal republic.

 

[MadTing]

Suzanne is 5’4”, 110 lbs per NAMUS. The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

Barry only appears to be a few inches taller than SM, Not sure why i had in my head he was like 6ft+

 

[WildOrchid]

Maybe she is wearing heels. That’s what I do at 5’4” next to my 6’2” SO.

Barry only appears to be a few inches taller than SM, Not sure why i had in my head he was like 6ft+

 

[kkdj]

I’m reminded tonight, after watching the new Netflix documentary on the murders of Shanann, Bella, CeCe and Nico Watts, that when a man murders his current or ex partner, it is (as per the documentary end credits) nearly always premeditated.

IMO, Barry did plan this, his motive was purely financial and although pretty much all of his behaviour has been sloppy, his disposal of Suzanne wasn’t sloppy. He has her hidden incredibly well.

I hope for her daughters sake that she is found and that Barry is held accountable.

I watched that last night too. It was so sad.
I noticed when CW said he just wanted his family to come home, I was reminded of BM's statement of wanting SM back. So flat by both of them. So unemotional. I couldn't help but compare.
moo

 

[WildOrchid]

And both shook their heads no the whole time. I watched that show too.

I watched that last night too. It was so sad.
I noticed when CW said he just wanted his family to come home, I was reminded of BM's statement of wanting SM back. So flat by both of them. So unemotional. I couldn't help but compare.
moo

 

[Barry]

Now here’s a crazy thought, we could cross-apply Rossmo’s Theory to see what area pops up, but we need 5 Data Points (and a mathematician lol). I don’t think we have 5 points, do we?

1. House
2. Hotel

(eta: Firehouse? Again, when was he there last. Did he go by there to pick up equipment, etc.)

BBM: Thank you, I had not heard of before. If the data points are obtained, may not have to be a mathematician to plug numbers into the variables. Interpretation would be the bullwork.

 

[Megnut]

Reverse Rosmosis

LE is surely between a rock and a hard place, as @OldCop said, balancing investigation integrity with family or public need to know.

The biggest problem, as I see it, is that our dear Suzanne herself is likely between a real rock and hard place, and that is the bedrock of Colorado, the whole state is built of rocks and hard places...

Whether there was a master plan or generalized idea, I don't know, but I'm beginning to feel that, in his dark-herculean effort to conceal the crime, he DID NOT put effort or thought into an alibi. I think WE have assumed ANYBODY who'd do such a thing would work up an alibi. I think his alibi was: I saw her, she was sleeping. If her bike is gone, she must have gone on a bike ride. I wasn't there.

Broomfield doesn't make for a good alibi. Besides, from the sounds of it, his alibi/story may have shifted as facts became known. I think Broomfield was all and only about removing his crew from Salida, somehow JP features into that too, just don't know how. By his own mouth, BM tells us he offered this "opportunity" and "they jumped on it". He paid them to NOT DO A JOB. He parked them. And paid them to stay parked. Why?

The challenge for LE in my opinion is that he must have had access to multiple vehicles overnight and at least one was untrackable. I suspect that Suzanne was concealed temporarily atop tools and/or in a toolbox and/or in a cooler.

I think there was a bobcat prowling under dark of night.

I think it all started in the home. Officers TWICE went to Kelsey B's townhouse and reported no signs of a scuffle (my assessment), even though poor Kelsey was BLUDGEONED in that space. Intentional clean up designed to thwart detection. BM had CONSIDERABLE time for clean up, except for some afternoon time in Salida, he had a span of suntime hours to sanitize a crime scene. IMO everything else happened during moontime.

Meanwhile, the bobcat continued to move around Maysville, Salida and parts unknown.... perhaps leaving sign and scent in its wake.

LE has this. They'll get him.

I'm with @MassGuy -- sloppy crime, successful concealment... but what happens in dark WILL be seen in the light. In time.

One tip away.

JMO

 

[Brubon]

I had not heard of it either. I just quickly read a synopsis and understood it the same way. Profiling for serial offenders; rape, murder, & arson type crimes.

I have said all along that I believe he checks on SM. Be it a small memorial or a place he guards from afar. He is too controlling to drop and leave and then hope for the best.

Is it possible that BM has a trail camera pointed at SM's final resting place?
Monitoring virtually? BM continuing his control?

RIP Suzanne.
MOO

 

[DellaC]

snipped by me

1. House
2. Hotel
3. Longhorn Ranch Property
4. Construction site with beach
5. .

The only one here I know that can do Rossmo’s Theory is @shadowraiths; (not sure if @dotr has ever tried)

@MassGuy, you any good with math? Posting the formula, standby (in case we get a 5th data point)


https://www.websleuths.com/forums/attachments/attachment-2-jpg.104853/

This reminds me a bit of a discussion I followed during the Hannah Graham case. Those involved were mostly intelligence analysts. One opined that if J. Matthew were indeed the murderer, he would put the body in a known but remote location. This analyst created a map, pinpointed home, work, previous employment, etc.on the map. Then he put an x at the center where there was a summer camp, little used off season. Hannah's body was found just 1/4 mile from that x, iirc.

I was super impressed. A triumph for math and logic. Rossmo's formula is new to me, but so interesting. Here's a nice article about Kim Rossmo: Rossmo’s formula - Magazine - Arts and Science - University of Saskatchewan

I'm an engineer-- trained before personal computers-- so pretty good at math.

 

[Barry]

Reverse Rosmosis

LE is surely between a rock and a hard place, as @OldCop said, balancing investigation integrity with family or public need to know.

The biggest problem, as I see it, is that our dear Suzanne herself is likely between a real rock and hard place, and that is the bedrock of Colorado, the whole state is built of rocks and hard places...

Whether there was a master plan or generalized idea, I don't know, but I'm beginning to feel that, in his dark-herculean effort to conceal the crime, he DID NOT put effort or thought into an alibi. I think WE have assumed ANYBODY who'd do such a thing would work up an alibi. I think his alibi was: I saw her, she was sleeping. If her bike is gone, she must've have gone on a bike ride. I wasn't there.

Broomfield doesn't make for a good alibi. Besides, from the sounds of it, his alibi/story may have shifted as facts became known. I think Broomfield was all and only about removing his crew from Salida, somehow JP features into that too, just don't know how. By his own mouth, BM tells us he offered this "opportunity" and "they jumped on it". He paid them to NOT DO A JOB. He parked them. And paid them to stay parked. Why?

The challenge for LE in my opinion is that he must have had access to multiple vehicles overnight and at least one was untrackable. I suspect that Suzanne was concealed temporarily atop tools and/or in a toolbox and/or in a cooler.

I think there was a bobcat prowling under dark of night.

I think it all started in the home. Officers TWICE went to Kelsey B's townhouse and reported no signs of a scuffle (my assessment), even thought poor Kelsey was BLUDGEONED in that space. Intentional clean up designed to thwart detection. BM had CONSIDERABLE time for clean up, except for some afternoon time in Salida, he had a span of suntime hours to sanitize a crime scene. IMO everything else happened during moontime.

Meanwhile, the bobcat continued to move around Maysville, Salida and parts unknown.... perhaps leaving sign and scent in its wake.

LE has this. They'll get him.

I'm with @MassGuy -- sloppy crime, successful concealment... but what happens in dark will be seen in the light.

JMO

"Reverse Rosmosis" LOL.

 

[oviedo]

I am optimistic that SM will be found and here's why. I keep circling back to a verifiable timeline (which we don't have but I bet LE does). Here's my working hypothesis.

1. BM was working alone.
2. There is finite amount of time to disappear her and LE most likely knows what that time line looks like.
3. She was probably disappeared under the cover of darkness which pulls the timeline in.
4. The terrain out there is very rough and walking it at night could easily lead to a broken ankle so I don't think she was taken to some inaccessible hiding spot
5. Given #4, the location had to be drivable by truck and possibly bobcat
6. Loading a bobcat on and off a trailer by yourself at night could be time consuming, difficult and noisy so I don't think the bobcat is in play, that leaves just the truck.
7. Combine the above with truck GPS and other (cell phone) electronic data I think you can probably get very close to points of interest. BM may have had head start but as LE tightens up the details they are zeroing in on the truth. They are going to find her one way or the other (the other being that BM could just break under the stress and lead them to her). JMO

Jennifer still hasn’t been found and Fotis was caught on video - CT is no CO - so I don’t think SM will be found either
JMO

 

[MissTilly]

The mountain lion appears to have a solid throwing arm.

Aaaah! Just when I thought the mountain lion had been exonerated and returned to his usual pastimes of drinking pina coladas and taking walks in the rain, he is practicing his slam drunks with Suzanne’s
baby blue
bike helmet?

moo

 

[Deleted member 102539]

btw -- so the Poncha Market and the scribbled note are the same day/time/area...
now just not sure if he was digging through a trash can, or dumpster.

eta: Perhaps both.

If the dumpster is the green big thing, I'm wondering, how one might be able to search in it, without climbing into it?

 

[Megnut]

I know PE guys are seasoned cops but is it possible that LE wanted it known that those sites were ostensibly unprotected overnight? If LE actually had hidden surveillance, perhaps they were hoping a spooked mountain liar would slink into the picture...

LE may have a really good idea that the lion is raking digital media....

Just a thought --

JMO

 

[Deleted member 102539]

Alright, getting close. I added an eta above as a thought, but I don’t think there has been any mention of that, (firehouse), but I’ve been wondering about it, which is why I added a question mark.

So.

1. House
2. Hotel
3. Longhorn Ranch Property
4. Construction site with beach
5. .

The only one here I know that can do Rossmo’s Theory is @shadowraiths; (not sure if @dotr has ever tried)

@MassGuy, you any good with math? Posting the formula, standby (in case we get a 5th data point)


https://www.websleuths.com/forums/attachments/attachment-2-jpg.104853/

5. Fire fighter station? (Though would have been risky.)

 

[OzzieB]

I can’t imagine him driving that far with a body in the car. Even if he did it in the middle of the night, it’s a huge risk. The only way I can see him putting Suzanne that far away is if she was drugged first, then murdered wherever he left her. If he was pulled over by LE, he could say she was sleeping or passed out drunk.
JMO

WOW... You just blew my mind with that. If she was drugged then killed where she was left he wouldn't have to worry about cadaver dogs picking up anything in the car. Maybe he told her they would go somewhere for mother's day.

 

[Tate123]

.

 

[Deleted member 102539]

Thanks, MG.
And yes, I most definitely think it (whatever "it" may be) happened at the house. Well, the first stage of "it" anyway.

Perhaps he "made her happy", just not with hiking/biking, but with a little drive with a borrowed car (GPS!)?