Found Deceased CO - Suzanne Morphew, 49, Chaffee County, 10 May 2020 #62 *ARREST*

[Knox]

I could easily see Suzanne meeting and bonding with someone from the Al-Anon group. As Melinda said, Suzanne did the hard work and was benefiting from what she was learning there - SM telling a friend it was "the best decision she had ever made".

Question- Would LE be able to interview people from her group and use any statements she made about Barry at trial? Find an Al-Anon or Alateen Face-to-Face, Phone, or Online Meeting

 

[MsBetsy]

Thank you for transcribing it. For me, the core of what Melinda discloses is the "two husbands who were so much alike." Doesn't she also say, "I got out, but Suzanne didn't"? And Suzanne was at AA to try and learn to cope with her issues with Gene (was he similarly abusive? while drinking, perhaps?)

I think Barry (and Melinda's husband) were controlling and occasionally abusive. We can see the outlines of financial and emotional abuse from Barry, but I believe there was also physical abuse. Suzanne knew that, of all her family, Melinda would understand. Melinda still does the "God will make it better" kind of response and is trying to use Job to cope with her own grief and sense of helplessness, which must be awful.

Barry wasn't physically abusive on the daily and that by praying and by invoking the techniques of Al-Anon (in regard to Barry, not because of alcohol but because of abuse issues)...just seemed like the prudent path. Leaving a marriage is a very big deal in the Christian community. Whatever Suzanne told Melinda, I believe it will help establish DV, which then escalated when Barry found out Suzanne had "squealed" to Melinda (which he didn't see coming, because they didn't communicate on an intimate level much, according to Melinda).

Melinda must have been shocked and alarmed. Her intuition was telling her that things were much, much worse than Suzanne was indicating (as is common when women first reach out about abuse - she might not have detailed bruises or other evidence of a physical injury).

I do think that this was the trigger that led to the murder.

Something happened, Suzanne texted, Barry found out about the text, situation escalated, Suzanne (who had already been bullied and perhaps physically threatened by Barry before Friday morning) ended up being harmed physically in a manner that could not be hidden from the rest of the family.

If this did indeed happen, both Barry and Suzanne were in a lot of emotional turmoil. Melinda's response on Friday morning shows that the prior events transferred some of that turmoil to her - but it hadn't peaked yet.

This is indeed the moment when women are most vulnerable to femicide. That moment when emotions are high, the reason for leaving is obvious, and the abandoned spouse is terrified of legal and financial repercussions (not to mention loss of his good image with children and loss of control over the other spouse).

I don't think there was another man.

I do think that Suzanne had visible marks on her body - and there were only two paths forward from that moment. One was to come clean with the daughters, admit Dad had a tremendous problem and then state what was to be done about it. So, they could have sought out a counselor (I bet Suzanne had already done that several times, pastors, groups, etc). Now Barry would have to be the focus of that (and there is obvious a lot of super dark thoughts Barry is having that he doesn't want to share with anyone and which he fears will be discovered, along with affairs, etc)

The option Barry chose was a gamble, but he felt confident because he usually "won" in any dispute within his family. He had carefully crafted an image to cover the darkness and Suzanne had helped him do that. He didn't calculate all the ways in which her disappearance would ruin both his façade and his entire life.

I don't think this murder was planned for very long. I think he had merely thought about it (probably repeatedly) over the years, that his. thoughts often went in the direction of "If only I wasn't married," "If only I wasn't married to Suzanne." But it became imperative because otherwise he might face DV charges, terrible damage to his reputation as a result, his daughters finding out, both families finding out, etc.

He will never convince me (or most jurors) that he thought there was an affair going on, because while he left that avenue open for speculation in his staging, his words and the staging pointed to "mountain lion" or "stranger abduction." No one runs off with their secret lover while they're on a bike ride.

Well, Barry did say someone close to Suzanne may be responsible for her disappearance. I don't think there was any physical abuse in the marriage. I think that would be something Suzanne would have told her sister during the final conversation. According to Melinda, she was finally ready to open up and I don't see any reason why Suzanne would have held back at that point. Having had her own experience, Melinda would have known Suzanne was in grave danger if she had told her he was physically violent. I doubt she would have said she would pray on it.

I also doubt that Barry had thoughts of killing Suzanne or not wanting to be married to her over the years. I think it was the thought of her no longer being under his control, or leaving him, that enraged him.

IMO

 

[Puzzles]

I could easily see Suzanne meeting and bonding with someone from the Al-Anon group. As Melinda said, Suzanne did the hard work and was benefiting from what she was learning there - SM telling a friend it was "the best decision she had ever made".

Question- Would LE be able to interview people from her group and use any statements she made about Barry at trial? Find an Al-Anon or Alateen Face-to-Face, Phone, or Online Meeting

BBM

Confidentiality of what is shared amongst members of Anon groups is inviolable, IMO.

I could build a house with "fix yourself up" books I've purchased over the years, and support a small village in a developing nation with money spent on courses and psychotherapy in attempts to heal from childhood wounds.

All was for nought, until I joined Nar-Anon, and was blessed to find a sponsor who guided me through the intense and profound work of the Twelve Steps.

Step Four, which initially took me almost two years to complete – and now is an ongoing part of my daily practice – brought me healing I would not have believed possible.

I would never answer any questions about what members may have disclosed in an Anon meeting, no matter who posed them.

For me to do or say anything which may diminish the inestimable value of Anon programmes would be tantamount to treason, IMO.

 

[jakat]

"Tips" are not going to be in the AA (much less in court). I believe Spezze said they did 400 search warrants? We don't know how many formal interviews. I suspect that some of the search warrants turned up nothing.

You certainly can count that time he signed as witness to Suzanne's ballot (thereby stating he witnessed her sign it) and then readily admitted to the FBI agents that was not true, he did not witness her sign it.

Are you suggesting that the Court had no probable cause to arrest Barry? Because it appears that half of the Affadavit was statements by Barry. I think most of them were made to LE (guessing from what his attorneys said in court).

I also count the fact that he used past tense to speak of Suzanne, while maintaining to the Court of Indiana that she was merely indisposed/missing.

Also, giving contradictory variants to the "where is Suzanne" question (see his youtube) when there's enough evidence for probable cause for his arrest seems to beg the question. There was no mountain lion and he knew it. And he told a reporter he took a polygraph, whereas LE says he did not.

If Barry is sitting quietly in court, but secretly believes Suzanne is still alive, he ought to have mentioned that to the FBI at Franz Lake and his attorneys ought to have filed a motion immediately. That leads me to believe that Barry is not and will not dispute that Suzanne is dead. Hmmm. So no "very close" person who "has her," no mountain lion, no stranger abduction - because if there were not evidence that Barry Morphew committed the crime, the Court would have not signed off on the arrest warrant.

From the Judge's order:

“These young women are in an unimaginable situation and should be given time to process what has occurred and the time to review, or decide not to review, the evidence alleged against their father,”

Now, if the Court does not believe Suzanne is dead, and that the AA establishes this, then the Court has gone mad. Obviously, the Court is holding Barry on Murder 1, so the Court believes the affadavit establishes her death and that this fact will cause the daughters trauma - and that they may decide they don't want to know the (alleged) details. But there *are* details.

The biggest lie? That Barry acted on several occasions as if Suzanne was alive. This is a HUGE lie.

Excellent post!

 

[Scootie98]

Well, Barry did say someone close to Suzanne may be responsible for her disappearance. I don't think there was any physical abuse in the marriage. I think that would be something Suzanne would have told her sister during the final conversation. According to Melinda, she was finally ready to open up and I don't see any reason why Suzanne would have held back at that point. Having had her own experience, Melinda would have known Suzanne was in grave danger if she had told her he was physically violent. I doubt she would have said she would pray on it.

I also doubt that Barry had thoughts of killing Suzanne or not wanting to be married to her over the years. I think it was the thought of her no longer being under his control, or leaving him, that enraged him.

IMO

While I tend to agree that it was not premeditated.....the camping trip for the girls muddies up the water a bit on that score. Might have been a coincidence....and Barry was in a volatile phase of the marriage I think. The girls being gone might have been the window of time that the couple were confronting each other without worrying about the daughters hearing or witnessing arguing, accusations, etc. That lack of third party might be how Barry went over the line, and hurt her beyond repair. Possibly snapping her neck or something, which can't be fixed...then either watching her die, or smothering her to end it. We will soon find out...but I think had the girls been there...the confrontation might not have happened.

 

[Skigh]

While I tend to agree that it was not premeditated.....the camping trip for the girls muddies up the water a bit on that score. Might have been a coincidence....and Barry was in a volatile phase of the marriage I think. The girls being gone might have been the window of time that the couple were confronting each other without worrying about the daughters hearing or witnessing arguing, accusations, etc. That lack of third party might be how Barry went over the line, and hurt her beyond repair. Possibly snapping her neck or something, which can't be fixed...then either watching her die, or smothering her to end it. We will soon find out...but I think had the girls been there...the confrontation might not have happened.

As you say , we will hopefully soon find out more about what really occured. Until then we are discussing what we think happened using the information available to us.

I will be interested in learning more about the camping trip; who arranged it and when it was organised.Was it a last minute trip or was it originally planned as a whole family trip but ended with just the two girls going.

 

[Boxer]

If we believe Suzanne’s sister, she has said in media interviews that Suzanne was looking forward to the move and picked the Puma Path home. It does have similar interior feeling to the home they built in Indiana.

While I tend to agree that it was not premeditated.....the camping trip for the girls muddies up the water a bit on that score. Might have been a coincidence....and Barry was in a volatile phase of the marriage I think. The girls being gone might have been the window of time that the couple were confronting each other without worrying about the daughters hearing or witnessing arguing, accusations, etc. That lack of third party might be how Barry went over the line, and hurt her beyond repair. Possibly snapping her neck or something, which can't be fixed...then either watching her die, or smothering her to end it. We will soon find out...but I think had the girls been there...the confrontation might not have happened.

MOO the impending loss of assets was his motive.
Losing money and losing property is a huge reason for bad acts.

 

[SouthAussie]

Well, Barry did say someone close to Suzanne may be responsible for her disappearance. I don't think there was any physical abuse in the marriage.
<RSBM>
IMO

There are people who don't really recognise the physical abuses against them. I imagine that there may have been times when Suzanne may not have so willingly complied with BM's control ... particularly if it involved their daughters, and things the daughters may have wanted to do/buy/see/experience.

"Oh, he just grabbed my upper arms/wrists (and caused bruising) as he was yelling at me in frustration"
"Oh, he just threw a book at me, it is not as if he slapped me"
"Oh, he only pushed me up against a wall, he didn't punch me or anything like that"

I think it is a huge step from 'no violence' to 'murder in the first degree'.

 

[10ofRods]

Well, I'm surprised that a number of you think it's possible that killing Suzanne was Barry's first act of physical violence.

Also, you'd be surprised how people react when you tell them about DV. Many of us do choose someone whom we see rarely, and the last thing we want is for that person to become overly involved.

It's very hard for me to believe a scenario in which Barry, never violent before, suddenly looses it and suffocates or strangles Suzanne.

And it is my strong opinion that neither of the daughters were living in the parental home at the time. I believe PE reported about this. I also think that Suzanne's very good friend in Indiana will substantiate this at trial. IMO. Strong hunch.

 

[Skigh]

There are people who don't really recognise the physical abuses against them. I imagine that there may have been times when Suzanne may not have so willingly complied with BM's control ... particularly if it involved their daughters, and things the daughters may have wanted to do/buy/see/experience.

"Oh, he just grabbed my upper arms (and caused bruising) as he was yelling at me in frustration"
"Oh, he just threw a book at me, it is not as if he slapped me"
"Oh, he only pushed me up against a wall, he didn't punch me or anything like that"

I think it is a huge step from 'no violence' to 'murder in the first degree'.

I think his control over her was more likely to have been mental rather than physical . I can see him constantly undermining her as far as the girls were concerned.

 

[EggSalad]

I am going to preface this with MOO and IMO. It is also not a statement of judgement or disparaging SM's character. I think she was the epitome of kind, compassionate and empathetic.

The text that MM received from SM on Friday was alarming but not in a way of SM's life being threatened? She was not afraid (according to MM), she did not fear for her life or she would have done something. She said it was lengthy, transparent, honest, revealing... MM's response was "I need to pray about this". Why would she delete it? Why would she be so concerned about it getting into the wrong hands? She didn't speak to BM. Really think about that.

To me, maybe SM had met someone that she had interest in. Her marraige had eroded so vastly and her health had just begun to turn around. Maybe she finally believed she deserved better. I believe she deserved to have someone that cherished her. To me, this explains so much about the text. No cause for immediate alarm, giving it strong consideration by her big sister, deleting it as to ensure nobody else sees it. Rage by BM after uncovering something that threatened him, the girls not really speaking out, the Motion by the Judge claiming the girls are victims. I am not saying there was infidelity on her part. The interview certainly spells out there was on BM's part. However, maybe she met someone that she had interest in...

Again, please don't shoot the messenger. It's simply an opinion based on all of the pieces of the puzzle. Much of this case makes no sense, this would explain many of those things. One of many possible scenarios.

It certainly seems more than likely on BM's part but I had never considered the other side as well.


79:48
was sensing
79:50
before all of this even occurred yes
79:54
i'd be happy to chris um
79:59
it was friday
80:03
may the 8th um suzanne
80:06
that morning had sent me a very lengthy
80:08
text
80:10
i won't go into the content that is um
80:12
given
80:13
over to the authorities but i can give
80:15
you a general sense
80:17
of um the text and and what it said to
80:20
me
80:21
uh it was a very lengthy text you know
80:23
when it comes in those chunks and it
80:25
just keeps rolling
80:26
and it was significant i
80:29
uh it was it kind of came as a surprise
80:32
um because there was nothing of our
80:35
conversations that led up to this so it
80:37
was just
80:37
kind of like boom and uh i read the text
80:41
that morning
80:42
and i was um
80:46
i wasn't shocked i've always known i
80:48
mean suzanne and i
80:50
let's let's just say this
80:54
let's say it this way i'll use my
80:56
mother's words
80:59
my mother used to say over the many
81:02
years
81:02
she'd say i'd never believe i'd have
81:06
two daughters who would marry men who
81:08
were so much alike
81:10
i'll just leave it at that okay so
81:13
suzanne and i
81:14
had a a journeys together
81:17
we had intuitive journeys we had
81:20
unspoken journeys
81:23
um we identified a lot
81:26
we identified a lot that morning i got
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this
81:30
text and
81:33
[Music]
81:36
i was i was not surprised because i felt
81:40
the secrecy the the quietness the
81:42
isolation i could see these things
81:45
developing and i knew that suzanne was
81:48
doing her work in eleanor
81:49
she continued and and she she had told
81:53
a friend of ours that it was the best
81:55
decision she ever made and she was so
81:57
glad i had
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encouraged her to do that you know it
82:00
was good work
82:01
good work for her yeah definitely um
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so that that i'm i'm so grateful for um
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but that morning that text was was so
82:12
transparent
82:13
it was raw uh there was there
82:16
was not a cry for help there was no uh
82:19
i'm in danger there was none of that
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you know i would have immediately gone
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into action
82:25
but it was it was a very transparent
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text
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which told me and and has told the
82:31
authorities her state of mind
82:33
that morning it's very clear uh it's a
82:37
powerful text
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and it was so powerful at the time
82:41
that this was going to sound funny but
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i have accidentally in the past
82:47
forwarded the wrong text to the wrong
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person have you ever done that
82:50
thinking you're forwarding this to that
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person and it goes to the wrong person
82:55
you should see me drive we are okay okay
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so
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so that was the one of the first things
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i thought of i thought
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oh i i can't leave this on my phone
83:06
i could accidentally text that to the
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wrong person
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and i don't want that to fall in the
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wrong hands so it went into my heart
83:14
and i decided i would delete that text
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and but
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before i did i had texted her
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immediately back
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and i had said to her i need to pray
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about this because i want to respond
83:25
correctly
83:26
it wasn't going to be shoot from the hip
83:28
big sister it was going to be
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you need some real wisdom here you know
83:33
on how to
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help her navigate and like i said it
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wasn't wasn't she wasn't in danger
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that would have been easy to do but i
83:42
wanted to be thoughtful in my
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response to her and and respectful of
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who she is
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so um she's she said i'll read you the
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last text she sent me because i still
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have it on my phone
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her response back to me just a minute i
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want to say it exactly i don't
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i don't want to what time did the text
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come in that morning if you remember
84:07
just a minute i'll tell you because i've
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got the um
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her response um
84:14
i responded to her at 11 35 a.m
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that was tennessee time and uh
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it came she immediately came back um
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i told her i said i'm going to pray
84:25
before responding further i care
84:28
and she responded immediately within one
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minute she said i appreciate your love
84:33
and transparency always and that was the
84:36
last thing
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my sister ever said to me
84:40
and i keep that text i cherish that text
84:43
from her
84:44
and i texted her one day at a time i
84:47
said one day at a time
84:49
so that was that was the only thing i
84:52
responded to her at that moment
84:53
and i i really didn't have a response
84:57
for her
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um and it is my it is my belief as her
85:01
sister
85:02
uh saturday was a very hard day for me
85:06
uh that night when i went to bed i had
85:09
an unbelievable grief that came over me
85:12
and i did and i didn't know why i i did
85:15
not
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know why and my my devotion for that day
85:20
was from the book of job uh which i read
85:24
that night and it says the lord the lord
85:27
giveth and the lord taketh blessed be
85:29
the name of the lord
85:31
and it was all all about learning to
85:34
praise god when things are not the way
85:36
we want
85:37
you know not just when we get it the way
85:39
we want it but
85:41
sometimes we learn to we learn to thank
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god and be grateful when we don't get
85:44
what we want
85:46
and and it was um that night was very
85:48
difficult and
85:49
another friend of hers had a similar
85:51
experience on saturday night
85:53
and it is my belief that my sister went
85:56
on to be with the lord on saturday night
85:58
and um that's that's what i feel in my
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heart
86:02
and saturday night or friday night
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well i believe
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saturday but
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we'll wait to see we'll wait to see
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we'll wait to see
86:16
all right we intuitively

Linked to MM interview.

An interesting note is that the last text between SM and her sister was at 9:30 that Saturday. That lines up with a nugget of info many months ago that SM last texted that Saturday morning.

But if SM had texted her sister that, I can only imagine what she had been texting her best friend that Saturday.

I think the last text info, was two separate events.

9:30am with her sister
Sometime Saturday night with her best friend that sent her best friend into a panic.

I bet the texts with the best friend will be some of the strongest evidence.

 

[10ofRods]

I would be interested to know just how much time LE actually questioned BM. We know it wasn't 30 hours. We also know that at some point he either lawyered up and stopped talking...or just stopped talking. A deputy alluded to his "lack of cooperation" in talking to Andy....but I am curious just how much or how little Barry participated in an interview. His interview responses are going to be a critical piece of prosecution evidence. If he lied to Andy, Lauren, etc...then he also had to lie to LE.

If he did lie to LE, then the Supreme Court's "trustworthiness" doctrine goes out the window. If LE lied to him, I'll bet many donuts that his lawyers will argue (on appeal) that this is a form of coercion, so I sure hope they didn't.

I too assume Barry exaggerated - but then again, maybe not. From 9 pm Sunday until the next morning, LE was there and Barry was presumably there. That's 12 hours right there, which he was probably counting. Another 8 hours on Tuesday would not be unusual, and given that Suzanne was still missing on Wednesday, I suspect by. then, LE had way more questions for him.

Spezze said at the first press conference that "Barry was cooperating," and that he hoped it would continue. An ordinary deputy who ran into Andy would have almost no way of knowing - except he probably heard that Barry refused a polygraph. Where he heard that, though, I don't know, but it was reported on PE and is definitely what is believed by Salidans.

We wait until August to find out. The lies to LE would have come way before the lies to Lauren and Andy, and surely, Barry did lie to LE in those first few days.

 

[katydid23]

There are people who don't really recognise the physical abuses against them. I imagine that there may have been times when Suzanne may not have so willingly complied with BM's control ... particularly if it involved their daughters, and things the daughters may have wanted to do/buy/see/experience.

"Oh, he just grabbed my upper arms/wrists (and caused bruising) as he was yelling at me in frustration"
"Oh, he just threw a book at me, it is not as if he slapped me"
"Oh, he only pushed me up against a wall, he didn't punch me or anything like that"

I think it is a huge step from 'no violence' to 'murder in the first degree'.

That^^ was what my cousin used to say. ' Oh, he just shoved me, he didn't try to hit me or anything.'

'He slapped me but didn't use his fist, he was just angry... I shouldn't have sworn at him when he was mad.' [she eventually left him, thank goodness]

 

[windrower]

bbm
First bolded : I believe the person Barry moved in with, was his next door neighbor who is identified in the media only thread as the initials G.D. ?

Second bolded : No, afaik this was the Mayfield/Salida fire chief who was initially outspoken but later went silent after revealing that the family member who said Barry was on a fire training exercise was mistaken. In addition, Barry perpetuated this myth .

Third bolded : We don't know for certain. When the nephew of Barry was asked by a reporter who was living at the house at the time of Suzanne's disappearance, he couldn't say.
This is important as part of Barry's explanation to LE was that he last saw Suzanne at 5am that morning and thus implying that he was living there at the PP house, and not with someone else.

Imo.

According to the Chafee County Assessor website, GD is not a neighbor to the previously Morphew Puma Path property, unless it’s within an LLC ownership (which I think is unlikely). I searched Monarch River Estates I, II, and III, as well as some other properties.

The search function on the assessor site allows property searches by name, address, and subdivision name, as well as a few other options.

 

[Scootie98]

An interesting note is that the last text between SM and her sister was at 9:30 that Saturday. That lines up with a nugget of info many months ago that SM last texted that Saturday morning.

But if SM had texted her sister that, I can only imagine what she had been texting her best friend that Saturday.

I think the last text info, was two separate events.

9:30am with her sister
Sometime Saturday night with her best friend that sent her best friend into a panic.

I bet the texts with the best friend will be some of the strongest evidence.

where did the best friend live? The sister lived in TN, two hours time differrence. The GF may have been a different time zone. That is relevent as SM was communicating with two people who may have been on totally different time schedules. Timelines are quite relevent.

 

[TKG]

An interesting note is that the last text between SM and her sister was at 9:30 that Saturday. That lines up with a nugget of info many months ago that SM last texted that Saturday morning.

But if SM had texted her sister that, I can only imagine what she had been texting her best friend that Saturday.

I think the last text info, was two separate events.

9:30am with her sister
Sometime Saturday night with her best friend that sent her best friend into a panic.

I bet the texts with the best friend will be some of the strongest evidence.

Small correction but an important one. Respectfully done by me to keep the only details we know accurate:

The text exchange was Friday the 8th NOT Saturday the 9th.

Also in the video shared above, (thank you) Lauren admits she received threats during investigating. 1:00:40. That's a new detail.

 

[TKG]

where did the best friend live? The sister lived in TN, two hours time differrence. The GF may have been a different time zone. That is relevent as SM was communicating with two people who may have been on totally different time schedules. Timelines are quite relevent.

The lifelong friend lives in Indiana.

 

[TKG]

Everyone is worrying about how the daughters will be able to handle the AA. That really isn't the issue for me. They are fact witnesses who can, and will be compelled to testify in their father's trial. Let that sink in....they will be on the witness stand, with Dad sitting in front of them. Think about the questions the DA will ask them...and in what tone. "Have you ever witnessed your parents arguing" When was the last time they were arguing..and what were they arguing about". There could be a special arrangement where they testify separately from him...with his defense attorneys OK. But the AA vs. daughters isn't the big deal...it will be their testimony....and that will be a big deal.

And...
Who organized the camping trip?
Why were you running late on Mother's Day?
Why weren't any of you planning to be home on Mother's Day?
When was your last conversation either by phone or in person with your mom?
Why did you have the neighbor call the police?
Had you ever witnessed your mom and dad arguing?
On and on.
I think the AA will be a shock and hard for them but I agree testifying will be an emotional train wreck.

 

[Scootie98]

The lifelong friends lives in Indiana.

2 hour difference. This is important imo......what Suzanne is doing isn't necessarily the same as what the friend is doing at that moment. Planning a wedding....on two time zones...the communication might reveal some nuggets.

 

[Scootie98]

And...
Who organized the camping trip?
Why were you running late on Mother's Day?
Why weren't any of you planning to be home on Mother's Day?
When was your last conversation either by phone or in person with your mom?
Why did you have the neighbor call the police?
Had you ever witnessed your mom and dad arguing?
On and on.
I think the AA will be a shock and hard for them but I agree testifying will be an emotional train wreck.

The daughters can, and likely have hired an atty to handle the AA...i.e read, process and vett it....to provide them with what they need to know....pertinance info. That filter would be very beneficial to them.