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

[Fireflize]

BBM - 2. I asked one of our lawyers and in the context of estate planning you can do whatever you want with your assets as long as there is no pending litigation (you haven't been served with a lawsuit) or judgment against you. I'm going to guess that he may have set up a new trust (pure speculation) where he is the sole trustee (SM would have been the co-trustee if she wasn't missing in a normal Trust set up in my state) but I cannot imagine him disowning his heirs - possible? unlikely IMO. I am now considering another angle - perhaps he wanted to be the only one loved in his immediate family? Is jealousy a part of this? could be IMO
all JMO and not legal advice

I think you may be right. I don't think BM can tolerate anyone else having the spotlight.

Suzanne's mother made sure that she had the security of her inheritance. Mothers sense things when it comes to their children. I wonder if she saw an inequality in the marriage and hoped that an inheritance would make Suzanne more valuable to BM and better treated.
I wonder if she specifically gave her instructions that she would like for her to provide part of it as an inheritance for the daughters. At any rate, Suzanne may have wanted to do that. Or at the very least, make sure that they were able to have a first class education.

I don't see BM as someone socking away money for the daughter's future, just my opinion. But I do see him resenting Suzanne and her family getting credit for caring enough to do that. He might feel disrespected, instead of feeling gratitude.

Control. Now he will have control of the wealth <modsnip: Leave the daughters out of this > except for the fact that he is looking at a murder charge.
All just moo.

 

[Dave F.]

Don't remember a search at the city garbage dump be mentioned . If thy knew about the trash search from the worker, what would stop them from going to the dump and looking? Or > imo

Chaffee county has several trash pickup services. It looks to me like both the green dumpster on Puma Path and the green dumpster at the convenience store in Poncha Springs are provided by Waste Management company, which does not publish information linking trash pickup area to a specific facility. The nearest one (and most likely) is the Chaffee County Landfill located 13 miles north of Poncha Springs on Highway 285.
As we learned in the Berreth disappearance, checking a current operating landfill is a logistical challenge. In that case, a search warrant was issued based on sworn testimony from the key witness that the defendant, who had been charged, had specifically stated that he was going to dispose of the remains either in a dumpster or in a river. That search cost the City of Woodland Park $80,000 and took about five weeks. Nothing of evidentiary value was discovered.
IMO

Trash, Garbage and Recycling Services in Salida, Colorado and Surrounding Areas
ArcGIS Web Application
Chaffee County Landfill | Salida, CO

 

[Madeleine74]

When I watched the drama on Monday play out, I was frankly concerned and surprised. Why did the Sheriff not provide the support to AM’s search that he promised? Why were the sites of cadaver dog hits not secured? Why were video footage that may be important to the case not collected by LE? Of course now I know that some of the reporting was not true or incorrect, that hit sites were being analyzed, and that CCSO continues to do a massive amount of work together with their partners, principally the CBI and the FBI.

S&BBM

This is the challenge because when reporting isn't accurate, it's easy for those reading or viewing the reporting to want to do something *immediately* to fix what they perceive is an injustice. A lot of triggering occurred as a result.

We do not know what locations are significant to LE at this time. We don’t know where they may still be searching based on gps or cellular data. We now have hundreds of well-meaning folks who could potentially destroy or corrupt potential evidence. We have the problem of contamination or planted evidence.

Thank you for saying this, as coming from a retired cop the reality is well-highlighted.

I, like most others here on WS, wish I knew more of what LE has for evidence. It is particularly frustrating to me because I was the one who used to get that evidence to analyze. It makes me want to be an “insider” again. Knowing what goes on behind the scenes gives me confidence in the efforts of LE so far in this case.

It's tough being in the dark. It illustrates why the fallacy, "if I can't see what's going on and I'm not being told, it must mean nothing is going on" is a common one.

I’m not surprised at how things became derailed on Monday. There was so much hope when the search started. Everyone was high on hope. It was easy to become angry, defeated, depressed, and deflated when we didn’t get the outcome we wanted. It is common to lash out under these circumstances. “Look at all we’ve done. We’ve tried as hard as we could. Why didn’t we find the answers we needed?”

For sure. And once Andy left to go back to Indiana, it was like all the air went out of the proverbial balloons. Then the perception emerges again that no one cares about the case, no one is talking about the case, and LE isn't doing anything.

 

[Dave F.]

This is where I stand. At first I was so upset. Like others it irked me that AM had to guard an area. But in reality, "If LE actually had hidden surveillance, perhaps they were hoping a spooked mountain liar would slink into the picture..." This makes total sense.

The CCSO obviously disagrees with PE's claim that it was necessary for AM to guard the search site:

"Our investigation team, immediately upon being notified, secured the scene and provided around the clock security until investigators from the Chaffee County Sheriff’s office, FBI and CBI arrived."

Suzanne Morphew - Chaffee County Sheriff

 

[DizzyB]

The CCSO obviously disagrees with PE's claim that it was necessary for AM to guard the search site:

"Our investigation team, immediately upon being notified, secured the scene and provided around the clock security until investigators from the Chaffee County Sheriff’s office, FBI and CBI arrived."

Suzanne Morphew - Chaffee County Sheriff

Not trying to get into a debate, but it does appear that the CCSO addresses public opinion in their press releases. I do think they need some PR training; I know budgets are tight and this is a small town with a huge investigation but a woman is missing and the public is concerned.

 

[skyvoyager]

To me he doesn't look like a mountain bike rider. They are typically lean. He would have to expend an awful lot of energy climbing those hills on a bike with the extra weight he carries. jmo

you obviously haven't seen the group i ride with - LOL - ;-)

 

[steeltowngirl]

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

Awesome post Megnut!

The only thing that scares me is the “One tip away.” Those of us that follow the Abby and Libby case have been waiting for that “one tip” for 3.5 years. Praying Suzanne’s case is solved much sooner.

 

[Dave F.]

Not trying to debate, either; but one of the huge frustrations in following this case is that there is almost no local reporting. I really have no idea what public opinion is in Chaffee county. IMO

 

[GordianKnot]

This is where I stand. At first I was so upset. Like others it irked me that AM had to guard an area. But in reality, "If LE actually had hidden surveillance, perhaps they were hoping a spooked mountain liar would slink into the picture..." This makes total sense.

I was never upset, because I knew that LE would never leave a potential crime scene unsecured.

It always made sense to me that LE would maintain a covert presence there, in case the bad actor decided to return to the area.

The mistrust of LE that's been expressed in this case is completely unwarranted.

JMO.

 

[LandManatee]

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/

I just wanted to add for consideration:

-the location of the little tree
-the location of the bike helmet

 

[Knox]

Not trying to get into a debate, but it does appear that the CCSO addresses public opinion in their press releases. I do think they need some PR training; I know budgets are tight and this is a small town with a huge investigation but a woman is missing and the public is concerned.

You got a special mention on Tricia's show last night, way to go DizzyB

 

[Dave F.]

Isn't the purpose of Rossmo's Theory to locate a serial killer's probable residence location based on locations where the prior murders (minimum of five) were committed?
I'm just not following how this is applicable here. IMO

 

[steeltowngirl]

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.

Are the costs covered by the Mandatory Victims Restitution Act of 1996? (I don’t know, I’m not a lawyer.)

 

[GordianKnot]

Not trying to debate, either; but one of the huge frustrations in following this case is that there is almost no local reporting. I really have no idea what public opinion is in Chaffee county. IMO

I'm not worried about what public opinion is in Chaffee County, because in my experience, the public often gets it wrong, and by "it" here, I mean, the facts of the case.

Feelings aren't Facts.

Public sentiment often clouds reason, as evidenced by the knee-jerk reactions we've seen from members of the public over the past couple of days. Reactions based not on proven facts, but on opinions.

The only opinions I'd be interested in hearing from Chaffee County are those of the Sheriff's Office.
Unfortunately, none of us are going to be privy to LE's opinions, because it would be extremely unprofessional and reckless for the CCSO to share those with the public.

We didn't learn the facts in the Kelsey case until there was an arrest.

We didn't learn the facts in the Gannon case until there was an arrest.

I don't expect that we're going to learn the facts in this case until there's an arrest.

JMO.

 

[Tate123]

you obviously haven't seen the group i ride with - LOL - ;-)

Haha!

 

[GordianKnot]

Isn't the purpose of Rossmo's Theory to locate a serial killer's probable residence location based on locations where the prior murders (minimum of five) were committed?
I'm just not following how this is applicable here. IMO

BBM:

I don't think it is applicable here.

But I seriously stink at math, so I don't know Rossmo's Theory from Pythagoras' Theorem.

It's all Greek to me.

JMO.

 

[Hair of the Dog]

While I think that Suzanne is close to home, IMO the physical evidence was disposed of in a Broomfield area dumpster(s) to distance it from the home/crime scene Gone to a landfill in another county away from Chaffee. If he put it in the trash in the Salida area and it was discovered, it would be too quick and easy to connect it to him. Broomfield served 2 purposes for him: 1)distance for him and his crew and 2) a safe somewhat far away place for clean up and disposal.

IMO he was hiding some small thing he forgot about in the trash at the Poncha Springs Market when he left the list.

JMO

 

[Dave F.]

BBM:

I don't think it is applicable here.

But I seriously stink at math, so I don't know Rossmo's Theory from Pythagoras' Theorem.

JMO.

I have failed more math courses than many people have ever taken. IMO

 

[Hair of the Dog]

I have failed more math courses than many people have ever taken. IMO

Makes my head hurt just thinking about it

 

[Madeleine74]

Math is easy.
2 + 2 = meow

And when it comes to criminal cases the equation doesn't change.

Evidence is the only thing that counts to get to an arrest and eventual trial.

(Circumstantial evidence + Direct Evidence) = See You In Court.
(Enough Circumstantial evidence + 0 Direct evidence) = See You In Court.
(Feelings ± Thoughts ± Speculation ± Public Opinion) = Not Evidence

Consider the vast majority of cases are circumstantial only, and that evidence can be and often is the most powerful of all. All forensic evidence (like DNA) is circumstantial.

IMO