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

[Momofthreeboys]

State doesn't need to - even for pre-meditation. A classic example of pre-meditation is strangulation. It takes about 10 minutes to kill a human with this method - and many a jury (or judge) has characterized this as plenty of time to realize what one is doing and cease doing it (as opposed to throwing something at someone in fury when you see them doing something awful or provocative). Going to get a gun, as opposed to already having one on one's person when the passion-inducing event occurs, is pre-meditation.

Going to buy bleach or some other needed component of a cover-up = pre-meditation. Motive is not the key factor in pre-meditation/deliberation.

Going to do a "mechanical thingie" to a Bobcat that is about to be used as part of a murder/cover up = pre-meditation.

I think there's a lot more, as well. As to jury's perceptions, well, if the DA loads the "premeditation bucket" with a bunch of stuff that only Barry could counter (that Barry created an opportunity for murder by sending the girls away, that Barry bought bleach ahead of time, that Barry set elements of his fake alibi in motion on Friday and Saturday morning...pretty bleak for Barry). If in addition, it turns out to be true that security cameras were turned off or that an extra bike was purchased for the staging...wow...jurors are going to look at that pile of stuff and I wouldn't be surprised if they conclude it's enough. If it turns out that Barry was mostly not living at home until that fateful weekend, that's bad too. There's so much that could come out - I'm confident in the DA's assessment of pre-meditation and think they have more than enough.

Yes and no. Buying chlorine tabs in a normal amount that they typically purchased might be circumstantial and it might be reasonable to assume he bought it for his hot tub. Now if he bought triple the amount of chlorine tabs… we’ll that is different. If something broke on the excavator and it broke while someone else was around hmmm…now if he left the jobsite and the next morning it was broken that’s different. I believe the prosecution will pick and choose very very carefully what they use. Too much “stuff” with a reasonable explanation and they could sink their case. They may have put everything but the kitchen sink in their arrest warrant but they may not need or want all of it during trial. I think we will get a pretty good idea of the nuts and bolts of the case at the preliminary though. They need to have enough to get him bound over for trial.

 

[10ofRods]

agree with this...one point of order, however...I tend to think the bleach was purchased after the fact. I don't think he needed it, or even thought about it, until the damage was done..and he decided...I need some bleach for this mess. But I speculate.

Well, maybe. I keep puzzling over the timeline. AM said there was a 3.5 hour window and AM believed the sighting of Suzanne in Salida at around 6 pm on Saturday (Barry bought the salt early in the afternoon, according to JP).

Someone starts using Suzanne's FB around midnight to send friend requests to AM's school buddies (who are mostly 15-18 years older than Suzanne and I don't buy for a minute that this is anything other than a ploy by Barry to muddy the timeline and paint Suzanne as a loose woman...)

So I think Suzanne was murdered between 7 pm and 11 pm or so on Saturday. The bleach was purchased earlier that day.

What's your timeline?

 

[SouthAussie]

..


Oh dear, that just reminded me that trials will not be streamed in CO post COVID IIRC. I wish that these COVID exceptions on media/public access during trials lasted post COVID.

Is it 'post covid' now in the US? I would have thought that streaming is still the way to go for quite a while yet.
Has trial streaming in CO now ceased?

 

[Scootie98]

Well, maybe. I keep puzzling over the timeline. AM said there was a 3.5 hour window and AM believed the sighting of Suzanne in Salida at around 6 pm on Saturday (Barry bought the salt early in the afternoon, according to JP).

Someone starts using Suzanne's FB around midnight to send friend requests to AM's school buddies (who are mostly 15-18 years older than Suzanne and I don't buy for a minute that this is anything other than a ploy by Barry to muddy the timeline and paint Suzanne as a loose woman...)

So I think Suzanne was murdered between 7 pm and 11 pm or so on Saturday. The bleach was purchased earlier that day.

What's your timeline?

Because Barry was spotted around town Saturday after he said he was going hiking or biking and left the worksite at 11am Saturday...I tend to believe Suzanne was already dead. I think she died late Friday or early Saturday am before BM went to the worksite and was "acting weird". If BM needed to take the wife hiking or biking...why did he bother to go to work for 2 hours then, out of the blue, announce...."gotta go".....makes no sense...especially when he was seen without the wife afterwards, but at no time with her. I think she was already dead and stashed, during the cover of darkness very late Friday, or early Saturday am. Extreme clean up followed the purchase of chlorine. That would allow home clean up Saturday evening...and Brookfield cleanup on Sunday am...right before Barry's nap. I know that SM was texting her friend about the wedding Saturday...but was it SM? Where was her phone when that texting was going on?

 

[MassGuy]

Because Barry was spotted around town Saturday after he said he was going hiking or biking and left the worksite at 11am Saturday...I tend to believe Suzanne was already dead. I think she died late Friday or early Saturday am before BM went to the worksite and was "acting weird". If BM needed to take the wife hiking or biking...why did he bother to go to work for 2 hours then, out of the blue, announce...."gotta go".....makes no sense...especially when he was seen without the wife afterwards, but at no time with her. I think she was already dead and stashed, during the cover of darkness very late Friday, or early Saturday am. Extreme clean up followed the purchase of chlorine. That would allow home clean up Saturday evening...and Brookfield cleanup on Sunday am...right before Barry's nap.

If you look at counts 1 and 2, which are the murder and tampering with a body charges, the dates are Saturday and Sunday.

Andy believed that Suzanne was still alive into early Saturday afternoon, and personally, I think that’s going to be the case.

I think Barry was acting strange at the job site because he knew what he was about to do. If true, that means he went home and murdered Suzanne, and then perhaps had to run out and buy cleaning supplies, and begin assembling his alibi.

It’s all going to come down to when she last definitively communicated with that friend of hers.

https://www.courts.state.co.us/user...8/21CR78 Morphew Amended Complaint 051821.pdf

 

[MassGuy]

Is it 'post covid' now in the US? I would have thought that streaming is still the way to go for quite a while yet.
Has trial streaming in CO now ceased?

It’s not quite at that point yet, but I think there’s a very good chance that will be the case come trial. Who the hell knows though?

We don’t ever get to see the preliminary hearing live in Colorado, as it is not covered by the Expanded Media Coverage rules.

I can’t imagine they are going to allow a full gallery by August though, so that will likely be remedied by WebEx.

I’d be surprised if we didn’t get to see this one.

 

[Scootie98]

If you look at counts 1 and 2, which are the murder and tampering with a body charges, the dates are Saturday and Sunday.

Andy believed that Suzanne was still alive into early Saturday afternoon, and personally, I think that’s going to be the case.

I think Barry was acting strange at the job site because he knew what he was about to do. If true, that means he went home and murdered Suzanne, and then perhaps had to run out and buy cleaning supplies, and begin assembling his alibi.

It’s all going to come down to when she last definitively communicated with that friend of hers.

https://www.courts.state.co.us/userfiles/file/Court_Probation/11th_Judicial_District/Chaffee/cases of interest/21CR78/21CR78 Morphew Amended Complaint 051821.pdf

This may well be the case....however, no one saw SM on Friday or Saturday, outside of BM. There were texts, that is true. But, no verbal phone calls? No snapchatting, live? Only texts from SM to friend and sister...which must be authenticated....and that includes checking the location of the phone, and likewise location of BM, during the texting. Can it be verified that BM, and his cell phone, were elsewhere, while SM was texting sister and friend?

 

[MsBetsy]

Yes and no. Buying chlorine tabs in a normal amount that they typically purchased might be circumstantial and it might be reasonable to assume he bought it for his hot tub. Now if he bought triple the amount of chlorine tabs… we’ll that is different. If something broke on the excavator and it broke while someone else was around hmmm…now if he left the jobsite and the next morning it was broken that’s different. I believe the prosecution will pick and choose very very carefully what they use. Too much “stuff” with a reasonable explanation and they could sink their case. They may have put everything but the kitchen sink in their arrest warrant but they may not need or want all of it during trial. I think we will get a pretty good idea of the nuts and bolts of the case at the preliminary though. They need to have enough to get him bound over for trial.

Chlorine can also be used to clean brick or concrete so it may be hard to determine how much he normally purchased, or specifically what it was used for.

 

[Scootie98]

This may well be the case....however, no one saw SM on Friday or Saturday, outside of BM. If SM biked every day..why didn't neighbors report seeing her biking on Friday or Saturday? She was last seen on Thursday. There were texts, that is true. But, no verbal phone calls? No snapchatting, live? Only texts from SM to friend and sister...which must be authenticated....and that includes checking the location of the phone, and likewise location of BM, during the texting. Can it be verified that BM, and his cell phone, were elsewhere, while SM was texting sister and friend?

 

[DizzyB]

It would depend on if Suzanne had insurance and how she set up her beneficiaries. If Barry is found guilty I would assume through the slayer laws that insurance would pay out to whomever she listed second I would think. She may have something from the couple years she taught if they kept up the policy. I'm not too worried. Both those families, the Morphews and the Moorman's are going to be there for those girls and will help them sort through everything if their father goes to prison. The oldest finished college so theoretically would have been striking out on her own anyway. We really didn't financially "help" our kids once they graduated college and many parents do not "support" adult children once they graduate from college. The younger one will need help to get through college if only moral support and help with financial aid paperwork and perhaps some financial support from the families.

Life insurance is expensive, if there is a large death benefit. It’s cheaper when you are young. It is doubtful that Barry obtained a policy recently, given Suzanne’s health issues. Suzanne was not a high earner, which can be a reason to purchase a large policy. Barry just does not strike me as paying a big annual premium for a lot of years to insure Suzanne. I wonder if he even has a policy for himself as the breadwinner of the family. He just seems more a fly by the seat of your pants guy. Sure this could be about money, without it being about life insurance. Whatever assets they had could have been halved.

 

[Scootie98]

Well, maybe. I keep puzzling over the timeline. AM said there was a 3.5 hour window and AM believed the sighting of Suzanne in Salida at around 6 pm on Saturday (Barry bought the salt early in the afternoon, according to JP).

Someone starts using Suzanne's FB around midnight to send friend requests to AM's school buddies (who are mostly 15-18 years older than Suzanne and I don't buy for a minute that this is anything other than a ploy by Barry to muddy the timeline and paint Suzanne as a loose woman...)

So I think Suzanne was murdered between 7 pm and 11 pm or so on Saturday. The bleach was purchased earlier that day.

What's your timeline?

Was it not sketchy or speculative that Suzanne was spotted in Salida on Saturday? My understanding was that was not confirmed. Could be wrong.

 

[Scootie98]

Life insurance is expensive, if there is a large death benefit. It’s cheaper when you are young. It is doubtful that Barry obtained a policy recently, given Suzanne’s health issues. Suzanne was not a high earner, which can be a reason to purchase a large policy. Barry just does not strike me as paying a big annual premium for a lot of years to insure Suzanne. I wonder if he even has a policy for himself as the breadwinner of the family. He just seems more a fly by the seat of your pants guy. Sure this could be about money, without it being about life insurance. Whatever assets they had could have been halved.

You are perceptive. Many people don't object to owning life insurance...they just object to paying for it.

 

[MassGuy]

Was it not sketchy or speculative that Suzanne was spotted in Salida on Saturday? My understanding was that was not confirmed. Could be wrong.

Yes, I was incredibly skeptical of Andy’s sourcing of that information. I don’t exactly remember why, but I remember thinking “I definitely don’t believe that’s true.”

 

[MsBetsy]

This may well be the case....however, no one saw SM on Friday or Saturday, outside of BM. There were texts, that is true. But, no verbal phone calls? No snapchatting, live? Only texts from SM to friend and sister...which must be authenticated....and that includes checking the location of the phone, and likewise location of BM, during the texting. Can it be verified that BM, and his cell phone, were elsewhere, while SM was texting sister and friend?

I think LE probably knows his whereabouts that day from both his GPS and phone data. Suzanne was reportedly communicating with her friend over several hours throughout the day on Saturday. It will be interesting to know at what point BM arrived back at the house and exactly what time the conversation suddenly ceased.

 

[Scootie98]

I think LE probably knows his whereabouts that day from both his GPS and phone data. Suzanne was reportedly communicating with her friend over several hours throughout the day on Saturday. It will be interesting to know at what point BM arrived back at the house and exactly what time the conversation suddenly ceased.

I'm just curious that no one saw SM riding her bike on either Friday or Saturday, since she was "an avid rider who rides every day on streets and trails". Thats 48 hours, and no one saw her...just nags at me...though could certainly be the case.
One would think that LE is tracing SMs phone from her last visual sighting on Thursday through Sunday.

 

[SouthAussie]

I think LE probably knows his whereabouts that day from both his GPS and phone data. Suzanne was reportedly communicating with her friend over several hours throughout the day on Saturday. It will be interesting to know at what point BM arrived back at the house and exactly what time the conversation suddenly ceased.

I also wonder if communications with the daughters (Friday/Saturday) come into the picture. One might think that one or both of the parents might have had some kind of daily contact with them while they were away.

At the moment we don't know all other communications that may have happened in the relevant time period(s).

 

[Wendyb1063]

Yes and no. Buying chlorine tabs in a normal amount that they typically purchased might be circumstantial and it might be reasonable to assume he bought it for his hot tub. Now if he bought triple the amount of chlorine tabs… we’ll that is different. If something broke on the excavator and it broke while someone else was around hmmm…now if he left the jobsite and the next morning it was broken that’s different. I believe the prosecution will pick and choose very very carefully what they use. Too much “stuff” with a reasonable explanation and they could sink their case. They may have put everything but the kitchen sink in their arrest warrant but they may not need or want all of it during trial. I think we will get a pretty good idea of the nuts and bolts of the case at the preliminary though. They need to have enough to get him bound over for trial.

I know I really stocked up on chemicals for our hot tub early in the pandemic because I feared that chlorine-based products would become difficult to get with all the extra sanitation going on. Selfish of me, I know!!! But possible defense for BM if he is shown to have purchased large quantities.

 

[SouthAussie]

We have a case here that finally achieved a conviction yesterday .... after 7 years. Purely circumstantial case with no DNA, no blood, no incriminating CCTV, no eye witness. And Carly's (victim) weathered remains being stumbled on after 2 years of being missing - with 46 fractures to her skull and back.

The prosecutors were able to establish the murderer's guilt through piecing together many things.

Some of those things were:
Not being seen where he said he was during the relevant time period.
Making suggestive sexual comments to other females, by text, immediately after Carly disappeared and when he might have been expected to think that his girlfriend (Carly) would be found.
Making other incriminating comments when Carly was found two years later, and the police purposely said that Carly was found elsewhere - in a different place to where he dumped her.

My point being, there are many circumstantial factors that can paint a clear picture - when put together - of who did what to who.

Sayle Newson found guilty of Carly McBride cold case murder

 

[CGray123]

Colorado law does not refer to "premeditation" as an element of First Degree Murder After Deliberation. Some may think deliberation and premeditation mean the same thing, but Colorado seems to have rejected the idea that you can deliberate in a matter of seconds. Here is the jury instruction, with a comment describing the history behind it. You can make up your own mind.

Definitions

F:10 AFTER DELIBERATION

The term “after deliberation” means not only intentionally but also that the decision to commit the act has been made after the exercise of reflection and judgment concerning the act. An act committed after deliberation is never one which has been committed in a hasty or impulsive manner.

COMMENT

1. See § 18-3-101(3), C.R.S. 2018 (homicide and related offenses).
   
   
2. Under this definition, some “‘appreciable length of time must have
   

elapsed to allow deliberation, reflection and judgment.’” Key v. People, 715 P.2d 319, 322 (Colo. 1986) (quoting People v. Sneed, 183 Colo. 96, 100, 514 P.2d 776, 778 (1973)). See Martinez v. People, 2015 CO 16, ¶ 11, 344 P.3d 862 (“The trial court in this case erroneously instructed the jury that ‘after deliberation’ means an interval of time ‘sufficient for one thought to follow another.’ The prosecution culled this language from an 1895 case, Van Houten v. People, that considered how quickly premeditation can occur in the first-degree murder context. 22 Colo. 53, 43 P. 137, 142 (1895). More recently, however, this court has rejected the Van Houten language as inconsistent with the element of deliberation that the current first-degree murder statute requires. People v. Sneed, 183 Colo. 96, 514 P.2d 776, 778 (1973). . . . [However,] because the record in this case reveals overwhelming evidence of deliberation, and the instructions as a whole adequately informed the jury of the law, the instructional error did not seriously impair the reliability of the jury’s guilty verdict. We therefore affirm the court of appeals’ holding that there was no plain error in the trial court’s jury instructions.”).

3. Evidence of voluntary intoxication is admissible to counter the specific intent element of first-degree murder, which includes “after deliberation” as an element. See People v. Miller, 113 P.3d 743, 750 (Colo. 2005); People v. Harlan, 8 P.3d 448, 471–75 (Colo. 2000).

 

[Momofthreeboys]

Well, maybe. I keep puzzling over the timeline. AM said there was a 3.5 hour window and AM believed the sighting of Suzanne in Salida at around 6 pm on Saturday (Barry bought the salt early in the afternoon, according to JP).

Someone starts using Suzanne's FB around midnight to send friend requests to AM's school buddies (who are mostly 15-18 years older than Suzanne and I don't buy for a minute that this is anything other than a ploy by Barry to muddy the timeline and paint Suzanne as a loose woman...)

So I think Suzanne was murdered between 7 pm and 11 pm or so on Saturday. The bleach was purchased earlier that day.

What's your timeline?

I have not figured out where Andy guessed the 3.5 hours. I know that is his opinion but I think given the points in time that are known I think the gap is larger than 3.5 hrs.