Found Deceased CO - Suzanne Morphew, 49, did not return from bike ride, Chaffee County, 10 May 2020 #8

[kay74]

Ummmm....we dont hear about ANYONE being investigated. Not even BM.
Of course the house would be under investigation. LOL. That is where the victim lived. His work site? That was a tip called in - and followed up. Pretty sure other tips have been followed up - w/out media presence.

This is not a Law & Order type TV show where we, the viewer, sees every step made by the perp and LE. This is real life.

LE is doing their job. The Sheriff is HIGHLY experienced. Obviously, there is no threat to other citizens - or that would have been released...therefore; we are not entitled to any information. Nobody knows what is going on - because, thankfully, LE is being tight lipped so there will be a highly successful prosecuted case.

BTW...mods have repeatedly said to not use full names. BM is what should be posted.

mea culpa

 

[perception≠reality]

Does anyone have a photo of what her bike looks like?

None that I have seen posted or discussed by LE or in MSM, sadly. Not a single plea from family or LE saying “If you have seen this woman or this bike please call the tip line.” No discussion of what she would have been wearing when she was last seen, no info regarding known trails she might frequent, nothing. No pleas from anyone looking for people who may have seen her out on a ride that day.

I suspect there are reasons these pleas have not been made, and I speculate she never went for another ride and the bike was staged, LE is aware, and they know she never went for a ride on Mother’s Day. Maybe. Only speculation-I believe they know this type of information will not help find Suzanne.

IMO JMO MOO

 

[Nikynoo]

Thread is open again.

ADMIN NOTE:

Off topic and miscellaneous posts have been removed.

As usual, if an individual has not been officially named a POI/suspect, do not sleuth out their background information and post about it on Websleuths.

Discussion of BM as a POI (NOT sleuthing) is allowed because it is publicly obvious LE is treating him as such. Do not insinuate, cast suspicions toward, or make accusations or derogatory comments against other innocent people not named as a POI/suspect by LE (i.e. nephew, fire chief, etc).

Do not disusss details of other cases that have no known connection to this one.

Other than a Verified Anthropologist, there are no other verified experts or professionals that have applied for VI status.

but we can discuss what a person has said, yes?

 

[pocketaccent]

Another option: a random passerby could have "staged" it. They could have seen a bike in the ditch and arranged it where someone coming along would notice it. This random person could have assumed it dropped off a car and someone would certainly come looking for it. And, voilà, there it is.

It doesn't matter if the bike is expensive or inexpensive type, whether it was moved later to a different location by a random passerby, whether the bike was found in damaged or pristine condition, ...

The relevant essence is that someone may have staged the bike scenario. If true, this is most likely a premeditated murder. This person thought of everything including how to evade being a suspect.

And I wonder why would anyone harm or make disappear a mother on a Mothers Day?

 

[Sillybilly]

but we can discuss what a person has said, yes?

Yes, as usual anything they've said in MSM or what has been said about them in MSM is allowed.

 

[Nikynoo]

CO - CO - Suzanne Morphew, 49, did not return from bike ride, Chaffee County, 10 May 2020 #6
@Dave F. I found your post interesting. Are you saying that if Suzanne had an accident on her bike, it is possible that she (and not the bike) could have fallen off the bridge? I've edited this as I misconstrued your post. I take it that the trail would have gone under the bridge, is this correct?

 

[Nikynoo]

Yes, as usual anything they've said in MSM or what has been said about them in MSM is allowed.

Thanks. Back to the media thread I go

 

[LietKynes]

None that I have seen posted or discussed by LE or in MSM, sadly. Not a single plea from family or LE saying “If you have seen this woman or this bike please call the tip line.” No discussion of what she would have been wearing when she was last seen, no info regarding known trails she might frequent, nothing. No pleas from anyone looking for people who may have seen her out on a ride that day.

I suspect there are reasons these pleas have not been made, and I speculate she never went for another ride and the bike was staged, LE is aware, and they know she never went for a ride on Mother’s Day. Maybe. Only speculation-I believe they know this type of information will not help find Suzanne.

IMO JMO MOO

THIS ^^^^

I think LE have one or more significant leads they're following up on.
The details of which we're not privy to.
But their actions speak loudly.

 

[Fireflize]

The two scenarios are not problematic in my opinion.
Supposing that the bike and items are all staged, and I do suppose this, i think it was done at the same time. someone wants it to appear that an abduction took place. Like clues are strewn along the path as the abductor left the scene, however unlikely that would be, right? But how can LE deny it? Cause there the bike, there's the whatsit, there's the gaget. He musta went that way. Perhaps after the searchers arrived, the idea of a mountain lion was mentioned and that idea sprouted wings briefly. Like sure, that sounds good. Then back to original plan when it fizzled out. Possible . Moo

I really find it interesting, if the bike was staged, that someone (we don't know who) apparently relayed to BM/SMs church in Indiana that it was "crashed" and that a mountain lion was seen in the area (details not reported anywhere else that I'm aware of). If her personal items were also staged (I think that's the most likely scenario if, indeed, the bike was staged), it's odd to me that those were found 4-5 days later, not very far away, and seemingly very close to a major intersection (I'd love to know if that area had been searched prior to the date(s) they were found). Was the animal attack narrative an innocent assumption (combined with a misunderstanding of the facts) or was it part of a planned cover-up? I lean toward the latter, but we just don't know. JMO, MOO.

 

[Sillybilly]

BTW...mods have repeatedly said to not use full names. BM is what should be posted.

<rsbm>

We recommend and prefer initials, but it's also okay to use the first name only. WS just tries to avoid a person's full name being used so that they don't show up in google searches on a crime website until the end of time.

 

[citygirl]

I agree. But I don'

I don’t think the lack of an arrest necessarily means anything. As we saw in the Stauch case, they had mountains of evidence against Letecia. Despite that, it still took over a month to make an arrest.

I’ve followed countless cases where they have even had a body, but charges are a long time in coming.

It takes time to receive lab results, analyze phone and computer records, and explore countless other avenues. When Suzanne’s body is found, I expect an arrest to occur in short order.

I think this will take a while.

I agree. But I hate this part. The waiting. MOO.

 

[Steelslady]

Here is a compartment I have painfully searched for and found that works for me (I am just an advocate). I have a background in biology and chemistry; If you look at the human omnivore brain you can see for many eons we have been both prey and predator. Our civilizations (rules and regs) have changed over time and place but it seems our brains are a little slower with change.Upon observation of the human and other species, I see that there is a dominance behavior that is intermingled with a predatory behavior in certain species, why? Because it works. Predation for dominance works. In our complex society everything appears to work okay on the outside, but you go into homes or look up close anywhere, where rules and regs don't apply and that's where our primitive nature gets expressed if we value dominance, competition over cooperation and coexistence. We really do have a brain that can go there to that primitive place for survival purposes. However when a human is having issues with their perceived dominance at home or in society at large, the predator can come out. Our civilized brains are just really fragile and get broken and go to bad places really easy. I used to think we operated mostly from our frontal cortex, but I don't think that so much anymore, especially when stress abounds, we are very primitive and can make a habit of just being content with not thinking but reacting. So now after learning more Evolutionary Biology I see such predation to be the result of a work in progress. Glass half full I look to a time in the far future, where our genetics and our environment will help us to select more for cooperation instead of predatory competition. I look at history and other modern cultures, (even some aspects of modern American culture) and seen heinous rationalizations and denial, excuses. Know thyself. We are both predator and prey from times past, but can be so much more. I shall always hope for more. And with self awareness, hopefully work for more. And work for my sister's safety, because it is often the woman who is dominated and controlled when a man feels broken.

I love this post. That old saying that " everyone is capable of committing murder" rings true with what you wrote above. I remember a psychology teacher telling us many times that there is a fine line between sanity and insanity, and certain triggers and traits can cause a person to go one way or the other in their actions.

 

[Seattle1]

None that I have seen posted or discussed by LE or in MSM, sadly. Not a single plea from family or LE saying “If you have seen this woman or this bike please call the tip line.” No discussion of what she would have been wearing when she was last seen, no info regarding known trails she might frequent, nothing. No pleas from anyone looking for people who may have seen her out on a ride that day.

I suspect there are reasons these pleas have not been made, and I speculate she never went for another ride and the bike was staged, LE is aware, and they know she never went for a ride on Mother’s Day. Maybe. Only speculation-I believe they know this type of information will not help find Suzanne.

IMO JMO MOO

And without the pleas and/or discussion of what SM was wearing when last seen, etc., there's no reason to ask for public help or public searching.

I hope LE is being more forthcoming with SM's dad. I'd need some reassurance if I was in his position.

MOO

 

[MassGuy]

It doesn't matter if the bike is expensive or inexpensive type, whether it was moved later to a different location by a random passerby, whether the bike was found in damaged or pristine condition, ...

The relevant essence is that someone may have staged the bike scenario. If true, this is most likely a premeditated murder. This person thought of everything including how to evade being a suspect.

And I wonder why would anyone harm or make disappear a mother on a Mothers Day?

Personally, I lean towards this being a crime of passion, with a sloppy coverup.

The staging works in both scenarios, especially if the perpetrator has time to work with.

The reason I’m leaning towards this being spontaneous, is that it looks on the surface as if law enforcement was never fooled. I’d expect a non premeditated crime to have more mistakes than that of something that was planned.

Of course people who commit premeditated murder make some glaring errors as well, so the door is obviously open to that.

I just lean the other way.

 

[RickshawFan]

CO - CO - Suzanne Morphew, 49, did not return from bike ride, Chaffee County, 10 May 2020 #6
@Dave F. I found your post interesting. Are you saying that if Suzanne had an accident on her bike, it is possible that she (and not the bike) could have fallen into the ravine?

This would definitely be possible. For instance, in loose gravel under the back wheel, for instance, you could apply the brakes and have the bike catapult you off. I have been catapulted into a beaver bog after my front tire went over the edge of a narrow boardwalk.
The "easiest" way to make this happen is if you apply your brakes incorrectly. If you jam the front brake, you can go flying over the handlebars.

 

[Ontario Mom]

JMO
Im stuck on the bicycle again.

If we go with what LE thinks or thought the other day with the recent search, then it indicated either BM or one of his workers may have been involved in putting her remains in the dirt before the cement was poured.

So if we go with that one possibility , then that pointed to the bicycle must have been staged unless the perp was lying in wait as she drove by. I have a tough time believing someone was waiting for her to drive by, so that makes me lean to staging of the bicycle.

So instead of asking who took her, I was wondering if the better question is who had the opportunity to stage the bicycle? That really limits it down but only if the staging of the bike is what happened.

Gosh we really dont have much in the way of facts given to us by LE do we.

That wretched bicycle.

Just to bounce off your thought provoking comments...

People who stage crime scenes, are people who
a.) committed a crime, and
b.) know the police will show up eventually and
c.) want the police to believe an alternative version of what really happened.

They're covering their tracks, and pointing over there, saying "oh, look at this over here!"
So that LE doesn't look directly at them.

Ransomy kidnappers (assuming of course, one of those actually existed after like, what, 1972?) stalking people in the forested hills of Colorado,
can't be bothered with all that, since they don't care about staged scenes, they're after a payout. Apparently.
Most usually ask for 100k, I guess.

So who does that leave?
Someone with motive (yet unknown)
& opportunity (hmmm, SM's home alone for the day, if not the whole weekend).
Someone who knew she was alone & could get away with it, at least at first.
So someone known to her, that likely knew her routine and even her schedule that weekend.

To me, that narrows the suspect pool down to… well, not a whole lot of people, that’s who.

And all of this is entirely speculation on my part, based on the way LE has handled this from the very beginning.
I could be completely wrong, but to me it's the only thing that makes sense of what we're seeing with the investigation.

jmo

 

[MyBelle]

I don’t understand that. Why would $210,000 be so much better than $200,000? Safe return. If she’s returned safe, the person returning her will not get any money and they will go to prison. The police were digging through concrete... the reward should say “For Suzanne’s exact location” if she’s alive and being held, great if they release her. But if she’s not alive you still want her remains.

Nearly $400,000 was pledged in Mollie Tibbetts case. I see nothing wrong with people pledging money for a safe return. The money will be returned if SB isn't found alive. LE is still asking for tips in this case. A tip leading to an alive SB is going to receive the reward.

JBO

 

[10ofRods]

Keep in mind a few things:

• LE will not arrest someone until they've conferred with the DA and have determined there's enough evidence to prove the criminal charges--and what would those criminal charges be right now?
• In a criminal case the state only gets one bite of the apple, so they don't want to arrest and try someone if they don't have enough evidence to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt to a jury. The DA works with LE on determining this.
• While case followers think 2 weeks is a long time, it's really not long at all.
• Forensics and other tests take time. Sometimes a lot more time, depending on what it is, how backed up the crime lab(s) are, and which experts are needed to do the testing.
• LE just released the home, they haven't even had time to sort through everything, there's urgency but it's not a rush.
• Without a body it can be more challenging to achieve a criminal conviction. It's optimal to find the body of the missing person.

This is the part I like thinking about the most. I keep pondering what possible category of evidence could exist that would convince LE that there was no need for a BOLO, no abduction, no danger to the community.

Whatever it is, there would be lots of evidence processing. If it's the case that the house is now released back to the family, then I don't think there was a lot of blood evidence (if any). Perhaps there was, but it was in a small area and it's now being examined by various experts. First step, obviously, is to figure out whose blood. I'd think they'd have Suzanne's DNA profile by the Friday of that first week - but maybe not, PCR machines are not everywhere, perhaps they had to send away - maybe it was sometime in the week of the 18th. Lab workers who were working weekends due to CoVId have started getting back to normal routines, even taking days off.

Then, there would be the matching of that DNA to evidentiary body fluids and blood (if any). I would suspect that they took samples from drains, septic tanks, etc.

It's only May 25th. As all these different pieces of lab work get done, then a team has to assemble a timeline and basically, a storyboard and discuss all the permutations.

If they did find anything forensically valuable at the concrete digging site, it might take a couple of weeks to bring it to the attention of the D.A. Then more talks and storyboards, etc.

I do believe that the wording regarding the dig was ambiguous ("at this time" no connection to the case).

 

[Hoosierfan72]

I don't know why a person trying to create a cover up would bother with talking to someone in a church not even in that state? Pretty unlikely any gossip coming from those people would be important to LE.

I agree that it's unlikely this is an intentional red herring. But I also think it is reasonable to assume that initial narrative most likely came from someone very close to BM/SM. Given it includes information not found elsewhere (crashed bike, mountain lion sighting) that has never been confirmed and the theory was dismissed quickly by LE, it does make me wonder anyway. Maybe its church gossip at its worst, but if it went out via email you'd think it was deemed reliable. While its circumstantial evidence at best, if there was an embellishment of facts to further an animal attack narrative, that is interesting, JMO, MOO

 

[MyBelle]

Completely agree.

MOO but a 5% increase in the reward money isn't going to solicit a new tip.

What COULD bring in new info is removing the stipulation for SM being returned unharmed. If someone other than the perp knows even a little bit of what happened and they think they can get some of the money by sharing that info even if she's deceased there is a chance there. MOO

If SB is being held against her will, removing the stipulation she must be returned alive would be an incentive for her abductor to kill her.

JMO