Found Deceased CO - Suzanne Morphew, 49, did not return from bike ride, Chaffee County, 10 May 2020 #50

[Hair of the Dog]

Location of Remains. Septic Tank?
@Hair of the Dog sbm Yes, I understand inspection/pumping the septic tank at a residential property before closing is a common practice or best practice, but have not find confirmation that CO. requires it. I just did quickie searches and skimmed,* coulda missed it.

If someone placed a dead body in a home septic tank, I wonder --- would an ordinary, routine pumping or inspection detect the presence of the remains? Over the years I recall several homicides w bodies found in septic tanks, but IIRC, they were located after LE had specific reason to search tanks, like a killer's confession or a witness who saw signs of freshly opened tank. my2cts.

________________________________
* CO: Seller's Prop. Disclosure* form, page 8, used in Colorado home sales has blanks for seller to disclose date of latest septic inspection and date of latest septic system pumping. Sellers Property Disclosure (Residential) (SPD19) writable.pdf
This CO. Contract residential form does not seem to require septic dumping in a specific pre-closing time period.
Contract to Buy and Sell, Residential.pdf

BTW, I'm aware of one state, NM, requiring septic tank to be emptied w'in 6 mo's before sale closes. Still leaves open the question of whether routine pumping/emptying would detects remains. Septic System Contingency form's pages 1 & 2 (p. 79 of pdf). https://nebula.wsimg.com/78a3fc225a...C0F9D704834C33B7D1&disposition=0&alloworigin=

Good point @al66pine! Prudent to have the well and septic inspected but not required.

Apparently people do put remains in septic tanks. The story at the link is about a company pumping a septic tank as part of a repair. "The truck began to get clogged and the bones were found." The article cites a few other instances of remains being found in septic tanks.

Human bones found in septic tank

I believe they checked the septic tanks and wells at property owned by Fotis Dulos, looking for Jennifer AND they dug up and removed the tank at the Frazee home in the Kelsey Berreth case.

MOO

 

[Hair of the Dog]

There are cameras that can be used to inspect the septic tank and drain field lines.

Inspection Camera Verifies Septic Tank Condition | Pumper

 

[al66pine]

Detecting Remains in Tank?

An ordinary routine pumping would be very very unlikely to turn up human remains. I think it would take specific tests to find human remains and separate them from other by-products of human waste. I don't think LE has to have specific reasons to look into a septic tank if they can get a general search warrant. We don't know if they have done that or not.

@10ofRods sbm

IIUYC, you're saying, because LE got S/Wts (2x) for PP, they would have had an opp at those 2 times to search tank, w ea gen S/Wt for the prop? Ok. agreeing w you.

IIUYC, you think-
1. LE may not have searched the tanks w June(?) S/Wts?
2. LE may not have ordered the specific tests for HR remains?
3. If those tests were run, results were negative for HD?

If tests were run, & results were positive for SM's remains, would LE still hold back on publicly announcing that?

Not disagreeing. Just wondering what your thoughts are specifically re ^ Q's. And thoughts of other posters? TiA.

 

[Trocroc9]

That wording "ordered" always bothered me. He wasn't dependent on Barry for his living. Nor was there any reason to be beholding to Barry. They had only just met that Saturday, as far as we know. How does someone "Order" someone they hardly know to do something? Barry might have pressured JP. If that's the case I would believe that JP was being "Set up" as a fall guy. Things didn't go as planned.

It’s just another strange thing that I think CCSO Sheriff, FBI and CSI are like whoa hold up. They must know a whole lot about what that hotel and the video shows. I look forward to hearing what those videos show someday in the future.

 

[al66pine]

Remains, Tanks.

Good point @al66pine! Prudent to have the well and septic inspected but not required.
Apparently people do put remains in septic tanks. The story at the link is about a company pumping a septic tank as part of a repair. "The truck began to get clogged and the bones were found." The article cites a few other instances of remains being found in septic tanks. Human bones found in septic tank I believe... they dug up and removed the tank at the Frazee home in the Kelsey Berreth case. MOO

@Hair of the Dog sbm Thx for your response & kind words. And yes, a big dig for tank and big mess at Frazee's prop.

^ FL. story says "The bones were discovered Monday when a septic tank company came to repair a septic tank at
[address], which the homeowner said was having issues."

Link also references a couple other cases of body or HR extracted from septic tanks, and those were in addition to the cases I recall.

 

[al66pine]

There are cameras that can be used to inspect the septic tank and drain field lines. Inspection Camera Verifies Septic Tank Condition | Pumper

Oh, yes, inspection cameras. If intact remains were placed in tank in May, then seems an inspection cam could have detected it for at least a few months. jmo.

From story you linked about bones in tank, they may have been placed there years before that discovery. Maybe a shorter time if corrosive chemicals were added.

 

[10ofRods]

Detecting Remains in Tank?
@10ofRods sbm

IIUYC, you're saying, because LE got S/Wts (2x) for PP, they would have had an opp at those 2 times to search tank, w ea gen S/Wt for the prop? Ok. agreeing w you.

IIUYC, you think-
1. LE may not have searched the tanks w June(?) S/Wts?
2. LE may not have ordered the specific tests for HR remains?
3. If those tests were run, results were negative for HD?

If tests were run, & results were positive for SM's remains, would LE still hold back on publicly announcing that?

Not disagreeing. Just wondering what your thoughts are specifically re ^ Q's. And thoughts of other posters? TiA.

Really really hard to say.

Personally, I believe if they found human body parts anywhere on the property, there'd be an arrest. I don't know if they searched the well or the septic tank. If they did, it would still not be proof of crime unless it was more than just DNA. They need body parts.

If they did find evidence of body disposal and are not releasing it yet, that's great news for Justice. But body parts, alone, do not point to a murderer.

They don't have to announce anything, especially of such a technical nature.

 

[kittythehare]

The outgoing DA specialized in defending police from lawsuits. I am sure either would be good if the evidence is there.

My biggest fear and I'm trying to be glib and keep it at bay, is that there is simply insufficient evidence at the present time.
I'm wracking my brains trying to figure out what exactly it is they are lacking and I cannot even take a wild guess at it.
I just do not know.

 

[kittythehare]

If bleach is discovered in the septic tank, it may give them a reason to investigate it.
Bleach is antithetical to septic tanks.

 

[Charlot123]

The drains flow into a holding tank, the solid materials stay in the tank and the liquid goes into a drain field aka leech field via perforated pipe which looks like the tines of a pitchfork turned on its side, although only one line is active at a time. Every few years the solid waste is pumped out of the tank.

So if the organic matter is small, pouring bleach, or bleach/acetic acid/copper mixture, would potentially clean the pipe? Or serve to clean the pipe?

 

[swedeheart]

So if the organic matter is small, pouring bleach, or bleach/acetic acid/copper mixture, would potentially clean the pipe? Or serve to clean the pipe?

Does Chlorine work the same way as bleach?

 

[Deleted member 102539]

I'd think maybe his hunting place. But not in the area where people might easily start digging. And this he, as the contractor, knows, where and how people decide to renovate and remodel. I'd cross them out. Other things, what to do with the body, where to hide it, how to ...mmm...process, he may not know this well. After all, I doubt it is his n-th escapade. So he might make mistakes. I also think he studied some cases, maybe KB's.

If he studied KB-case, he would know: landfills are safe.

 

[Deleted member 102539]

“Jeff Puckett, described in the report as Barry Morphew’s co-worker, told the Daily Mail that Barry ordered him to go to Broomfield as Morphew had to return to Chafee County for a family emergency. Puckett, who lives in Salida, Colorado, told the news outlet that when he arrived to the hotel room where Barry Morphew had been staying, he found towels and a pile of mail, and said the room smelled of chlorine.”

Missing Suzanne Morphew’s husband Barry Morphew stayed at hotel the weekend she disappeared; room left full of towels and smelled of chlorine [REPORT]

So strange that BM ordered him there. I still can’t get over the resemblance of JP to BM at least from afar and from a camera angle. I think many of us thought it was a smaller version of BM when we first saw JP and bells started going off.

This still kinda bothers me that he chose him and ordered him to go to the hotel. Could he have done this in preplanning just in case to make sure a BM look alike was in the hotel if exact times didn’t coincide or to blame him if something wasn’t exactly right or someone got caught doing something along the way. I don’t know maybe I’m way off here but it seems so strange to me. He just looks so similar like he was chosen for this task .. maybe even “ordered” to do it.

Did BM tell JP to cover his arm tattoos? Otherwise there would be a problem, IMO.

 

[kkdj]

Did BM tell JP to cover his arm tattoos? Otherwise there would be a problem, IMO.

I wondered about the tattoos on his arm too. Those would definitely distinguish one from the other.

 

[Megnut]

Are there other chemicals that smell like bleach/chlorine? If chemicals are added to a septic tank, is it possible for the smell to snake into the house?

If I smelled chemicals, I might assume something was poured into the drains but could smell have come through pipes from the other direction?

Of course that wouldn't explain the chlorine smell at the hotel, and that smell was noted by MG and JP, and confirmed by BM himself.

And it doesn't account for the 3.5 hours.

JMO

 

[kittythehare]

Are there other chemicals that smell like bleach/chlorine? If chemicals are added to a septic tank, is it possible for the smell to snake into the house?

If I smelled chemicals, I might assume something was poured into the drains but could smell have come through pipes from the other direction?

Of course that wouldn't explain the chlorine smell at the hotel, and that smell was noted by MG and JP, and confirmed by BM himself.

And it doesn't account for the 3.5 hours.

JMO

It would depend upon which route it took. e.g. if the kitchen sink ran to septic tanks and bleach was poured in that way, unless pipe was partially blocked, it's highly unlikely a smell would remain in the kitchen.
The tanks are quite a distance from the houses and there are laws in Europe, anyways, stating distance required from both wells , water sources, trees.
I have never experienced a back smell unless pipe to tank became blocked and resulted in a backflow which would bring everything back.

 

[steeltowngirl]

My biggest fear and I'm trying to be glib and keep it at bay, is that there is simply insufficient evidence at the present time.
I'm wracking my brains trying to figure out what exactly it is they are lacking and I cannot even take a wild guess at it.
I just do not know.

My wild guess is they may lack physical evidence that she is deceased. Conversely, it’s reasonable to believe she’s gone: no contact, no access to financial assets, no signs that she left voluntarily. So they can prove the negative - no sign of life = presumed death.

They still need to prove that she died via homicide (how), on or about a certain date (when), in a particular jurisdiction (where), and by a specific person or persons (who).

I believe it will be a circumstantial no-body case, and although a motive is not legally necessary, it will help explain the reason for the murder.

LE is getting there - gathering the pieces and “filling the envelope”. They have to get it right. As posters have been reiterating, prosecution gets “one bite of the apple.”

The new DA takes office in January, and she has already stated that she will be looking into pending cases. She has also said she doesn’t believe things need to be tied up perfectly in a bow in order to proceed, and for some victims the only justice is the trial itself.

I think we will see movement on this case in early 2021. It will happen.

And I look forward to seeing someone in pink handcuffs.

jmo

 

[Ontario Mom]

That wording "ordered" always bothered me. He wasn't dependent on Barry for his living. Nor was there any reason to be beholding to Barry. They had only just met that Saturday, as far as we know. How does someone "Order" someone they hardly know to do something? Barry might have pressured JP. If that's the case I would believe that JP was being "Set up" as a fall guy. Things didn't go as planned.

The link has been previously posted, but there was a mention by LS I believe, that BM and JP did know each other from previously working with the same contractor - although the Broomfield site was the first job they ever worked on as employer/employee.

 

[Blue Amethyst]

As you celebrate your Thanksgiving today and Christmas is right around the corner, I would think the girls and other family missing Suzanne would become more unbearable emotions during the holidays.

It seems to be a time when emotions are at their peak. The whole world is turned upside down with Covid never mind having such a personal tragedy to deal with.

I hope the new year brings resolution to this case.

 

[Hair of the Dog]

Detecting Remains in Tank?
@10ofRods sbm

IIUYC, you're saying, because LE got S/Wts (2x) for PP, they would have had an opp at those 2 times to search tank, w ea gen S/Wt for the prop? Ok. agreeing w you.

IIUYC, you think-
1. LE may not have searched the tanks w June(?) S/Wts?
2. LE may not have ordered the specific tests for HR remains?
3. If those tests were run, results were negative for HD?

If tests were run, & results were positive for SM's remains, would LE still hold back on publicly announcing that?

Not disagreeing. Just wondering what your thoughts are specifically re ^ Q's. And thoughts of other posters? TiA.

IMO if they had any evidence whatsoever that Suzanne was placed in the septic tank, they would not have hesitated to dig it up immediately.