Found Deceased CO - Suzanne Morphew, 49, did not return from bike ride, Chaffee County, 10 May 2020 #7

[MassGuy]

Now I'm wondering if LE has Barry's DNA. In most jurisdictions, asking for DNA is not considered a violation of the right to remain silent. If Barry didn't give it, and instead lawyered up, I wonder what LE will do next?

I hate to see the two daughters be in the middle of this or asked to provide evidence. I'm sure they found Suzanne's DNA in the house in various places (hairbrush) but I wonder if Barry took his hair utensils with him to Colorado - and now has them where ever he is?

I know we have to wait to find out, I'm just thinking about what types of evidence LE might be interested in finding.

They would likely obtain a warrant in that case, which is something we’ve seen in other cases on here.

I don’t think they’d have any trouble in the probable cause department.

 

[katydid23]

Do we know when BM got back from his Denver trip?
If he returned on Sunday evening, a few hours after the police had been notified she was missing, I would expect he’d have gone to the house. But I’ve seen it mentioned that he has not been in the house since he got back.
If police stopped him from returning to his own home, on the same evening she was reported missing - it seems as if they suspected him of something before they even spoke to him? MOO.
Can you imagine coming home from a trip after finding out your spouse has gone missing, and not being allowed in your own home?
Does anyone know if this is standard procedure, to prevent a spouse from entering their home, if they were away when the person went missing? Thanks.

If they suspect there might be a crime scene in the home or on the property, they usually won't let anyone live there until it is searched and tested.

Although we did see the opposite happen in a few recent cases. They let family stay in Kelsey Berreth's condo, until family called and reported blood on the wall.

And a few people were staying in Gannon's family home while he was still missing. And before they found the crime scene there.

 

[katydid23]

I have been following this only for a few days, but imo, and this opinion based in speculation.... I think she caught him with a much younger woman, and after years of being the accepting wife in the background, after raising and being surrounded these more confident daughters, she told him she was leaving ~ that action was out of his control. He reacted in anger and here we are ... i hate who he is in the video. He is transparent. This will be solved. IMO

I am not familiar with Colorado divorce laws---but I think someone posted that it is not a community property state?

I am wondering how expensive it might be for him if she asked for a divorce. There goes the house and his Indiana business? Does she get half in case of a divorce?

There wouldn't be the usual custody issues, which trigger way too many spouse murders. But dividing up property and business assets are also strong motives for killing one's partner.

Especially if there are muddy or weird financial shenanigans, which would be under scrutiny in divorce court.

 

[DBLG]

I had this thought today. The cutout for the concrete area was very precise. I wonder if it is at all possible that the concrete was laid over an old septic tank and that is why that very specific area was searched? All MOO

 

[gamma gal]

I had this thought today. The cutout for the concrete area was very precise. I wonder if it is at all possible that the concrete was laid over an old septic tank and that is why that very specific area was searched? All MOO

And I wondered today if BM had septic on his own property... do they ever check those for evidence?

 

[Sarahlou]

And I wondered today if BM had septic on his own property... do they ever check those for evidence?

I'm sure if he had one they would have checked it.

 

[MrsWatson]

Pure speculation here.

I think the reason the search for SM happened so quickly may be due to past behavior or incidents in the family that caused great alarm for people who would normally expect to be in touch with her on Mother's Day & were unable to reach her. Perhaps one of these people was privy to some confidences SM shared that prompted that urgency.

I don't put much weight into the relative that didn't know who TM was. I have a huge extended family on both my mother and father's sides, impossible to keep track of who's married to who and who's kid belong to which cousin. Plus, the interview with the relative smacks of ambush. It's possible the relative was caught off guard ("How the heck did you get my phone number?") and may have been too polite to just hang up.

The fact that LE has not released any information that we usually see immediately in missing persons cases such as height,weight, eye & hair color, last seen wearing,a recent picture etc, makes me think LE knew right off the bat that SM was not "missing" per se but a victim of a crime and they had very strong suspicions right out of the gate what they were dealing with. And it wasn't a bushy haired stranger.Or a mountain lion.

The assessment of BM's screen test by the Dr was fascinating. As a total layperson, I just see a very forced statement, from a guy who really puts a lot of effort into appearing to be a nice guy. It just seems really really fake. And he think's he's clever. Like it's supposed to be some sort of coded message to whoever is holding her, except's its obvious,it's not. It's like he's watched a lot of movies about it. Fake & forced, how he thinks he should act.

MOO

 

[303gmf]

<modsnip: quoted post was removed>I had the idea this particular volunteer fire-person was a newbie, but wasn't sure how to go about articulating.
Sometimes volunteer fire departments have half the town as volunteers. This is about neighborliness, not necessarily experience. Maybe the Morphew's area is like this, where "everyone" is associated with the fire department.
From my experience also:
Wildlife firefighting and SAR are life and death activities. You're not "experienced" or really "legit" until you've had a VAST amount of experience, from a layman's point of view. Plus, those teams are highly stratified, as far as I know. Until you've been out there ALOT your job is to follow instructions, and they are very unlikely to be glamorous.
Also, there's no information that BM has a whole lot of any experience in the outdoors of the kind we see in Colorado. This is not something you get from a season or two in the area or from going hunting for the day with your buddies. You don't get this experience in Indiana. You don't get it from a map. It's the kind of thing where it takes lore handed down from very experienced folks to get you up to snuff, a prodigious number of skills (and sometimes training like Wilderness First Responder), and you have to have been through a fair number of inadvertent stressful experiences in the backcountry.
We're not talking "weekend warriors" in any of this. Sometimes enthusiasts are labeled "experienced" when they pretty much only have a pinky toe in the activity. I often cringe when SAR goes out after an "experienced" hiker who was inappropriately dressed, in threatening weather, and with inappropriate supplies, out for a "quick hike".

Excellent post!

 

[Rosiebones]

I wonder how carefully LE, or anyone else for that matter looked at the home on Monday to see how long she may have been gone.
How many days of mail were in the mailbox?
Any package deliveries by the front door?
Were plants unwatered ?
Was the shower stall dry, indicating no showers for some time?
Were the towels damp?
Had the dishwasher been run or was it still full of dirty dishes, was the food dried on?
Was there any indication of what her dinner was to be, laid out on the counter or defrosting?
Were there glasses or coffee cup on the counter still damp in the bottom or dried out.

There are so many ways to get an understanding or feeling as to whether a person has been gone from a home for a couple of days or only a couple of hours and I hope LE could assess that.

 

[Madeleine74]

{snipped for space}
To date, there have been more than 100 tips reported to the dedicated phone line as part of Ms. Morphew’s Missing Person case. "

Essentially, LE has told the public that they will not be sharing any information that they have received, but in four days the amount of tips they had received (100) was equivalent to one-half of the population of Maysville (197), where SM lives.
In my opinion, LE is saying "don't expect us to share any information that we have learned" and "we've talked to a helluva lot of witnesses" . I don't see how that becomes "Nobody saw a thing, guaranteed!"

Exactly! The mentality is essentially, "pics or it didn't happen." We see this more and more and definitely in criminal cases. If LE isn't sharing, which they rarely do, and then only as little as possible, there must be no information, no evidence, nothing at all, in the eyes of a public who doesn't understand how real life criminal cases go. A rapt audience wants to participate, get involved, explore their inner Sherlock Holmes and solve the crime. They are left living on rumors and speculation and venting at what must be incompetent LE.

 

[Heliopops]

If the father is the perp, wouldn't he anticipate his daughters would be concerned at not being able to communicate with their mother on Mother's Day?

JMO

If it was a crime of passion, he may not have given Mother’s Day a thought, or was even unaware it was coming up. Especially as the girls don’t live at home.

 

[zecats]

Where is that photo?

In this link and I've also uploaded it in 2 parts to show caption under as well with photo credit. Def a female bike as it's a pass-thru as they call it.
Police and FBI wrap up search at property where missing mom Suzanne Morphew's husband worked | Daily Mail Online

ETA Bike photo too large.

 

[zecats]

In this link and I've also uploaded it in 2 parts to show caption under as well with photo credit. Def a female bike as it's a pass-thru as they call it.
Police and FBI wrap up search at property where missing mom Suzanne Morphew's husband worked | Daily Mail Online

ETA Bike photo too large.

Here it is - I cropped to fit BM and bike. Caption states it was just before search of his home. Wasn't there an indication (a list somewhere) stating Suzanne's bike was this color?

 

[zecats]

Let me put these two photos together with a thought. This photo is from the beginning search, juts after she was reported missing. Wasn't BM wearing that shirt while he was also searching - the day after MD? He met LE at the home maybe?

Also, if the bike was found the same day or immediately the next day - it could be Suzanne's bike being taken in for evidence. JMO

 

[vaporlass]

Don't most women who want out of a marriage after many years consult with an attorney and file for divorce? Why would a woman living in a million dollar home for decades with her husband just threaten divorce to her husband and not follow through with the legal filing? To me, that makes no sense.

JMO

She may have “threatened” for years, but he never believed she would leave him. IF her disappearance was caused by a visit to an attorney or the filing of a divorce, it is being kept very quiet. Maybe he just believed she would actually leave him this time because of something she found out that he had done? I think most people realize when someone means what they saying ... there’s a change in tone and stance, a confidence and strength. I could be way off, it could be simply because he wanted a new life but he didn’t want to go through all the messy stuff or give up anything he had so ambitiously worked for all of his life. Greed is actually the root of evil, not money. IMO.
I’m just speculating.

 

[radish]

I a

I think its fairly predictable that a woman married for many years to a successful man isn't going to stay married if she is unhappy and she sure isn't going to stay silent. I know too many couples in that position and their husbands were surprised when served with the divorce papers.

If charges are brought against the husband in this case, I think there will be evidence SM confided in someone whether it be attorney, friend or family.

JMO

I agree. This might be the piece we feel is missing in the story. If LE was aware of converstations of this type with friends/family or that Suzanne had actually had talked to an attorney, it might explain some of their early actions regarding the investigation. MOO

 

[vaporlass]

IMO, it's a sign that as the investigation progressed, things just weren't as he was led to believe in the beginning.

TN makes my “hinky meter” (as I’ve seen it called on here) go off, with red flags waving ... I can’t explain my reaction to him, I just don’t believe what he’s saying when I’m listening to him and I haven’t seen his face and I know nothing about him. I was not surprised he was BM’s nephew and I wasn’t surprised her family didn’t know him. JMO.

 

[Boxer]

Let me put these two photos together with a thought. This photo is from the beginning search, juts after she was reported missing. Wasn't BM wearing that shirt while he was also searching - the day after MD? He met LE at the home maybe?

Also, if the bike was found the same day or immediately the next day - it could be Suzanne's bike being taken in for evidence. JMO

MOO doubt the deputies or sheriff would put the bike on an open bike rack. I hope not. Its suspicious circumstances from the outset.

 

[Hatfield]

JMO
Hoping LE solves this case soon.

I have a general question about the term "Crime of Passion" if anyone knows. I think I have heard where Crime of Passion can be used as a defense strategy to sometimes get a lesser sentence.

I have never really understood it. The example that always comes to mind when I hear about Crime of Passion is an example like this.

A person comes home to find their partner in bed with someone else and then that person ends up killing someone.

My question is would a regular big verbal fight about any subject between a husband and wife that escalates into physical violence and death also be considered "Crime of Passion"?

If not, then what if the subject of the verbal fight started with allegations of infidelity, then would it be considered a Crime of Passion?

I dont know when it can be used as a valid defense strategy in the eyes of the law.

 

[Truecolors]

I mean suddenly found out by whatever means that her husband was not true to the marriage. I feel like the move, her battle with cancer, raising two nearly adult daughters probably has caused her to grow ~ if she suddenly found out about unfaithfulness, she may have confronted him about if first. It may have been a crime of passion. My theory is that BM is controlling, she has always been complacent. IMO this may have suddenly changed and he couldn't control her. That this happened so fast that she didn't get to see a lawyer yet. Long-term marriages amongst people you and I know often end much differently. Just MOO.

My theory is that, with the girls out of the house, she was faced with her marriage as it is. Just her and him. And as a woman who has grown through challenges and life, she was standing stronger against him than he may have been accustomed to. Maybe she was talking about divorce. Maybe confronting him about a perceived indiscretion. When he saw that he’d lost control of her, he lost control of himself.

Just speculation, MOO.