Found Deceased CO - Suzanne Morphew, 49, did not return from bike ride, Chaffee County, 10 May 2020 #6

[Pink2017]

IMO sifting implies to me they're not expecting to locate a full intact body. Sorry to be gruesome but that's what it looks like to me.

< no barnyard animal noises, I'm not cattle>

Right there with you on that awful thought.

 

[Love Never Fails]

Even though the home owner "hired" Barry, is it conclusive that he did the job himself? Any chance that he could have contracted out part of the job to employees?

Homeowner has said investigators are using x-ray equipment, so IMO they've seen something to warrant such an extensive use of manpower. WRT the sifting, could be there is an indication of a body buried deeper but they are sifting all dirt as it is removed in case there could be other evidence in addition to a body.

Absolutely. Good thinking Sillybilly.

 

[Boxer]

OT: WOW! Is that true? I'm currently researching a grave that can't be found of a Revolutionary War veteran. So cool what dogs can do.

On topic: I have a sinking feeling that the body might be found in more than one location. No evidence for that, just a sinking feeling. I hope I'm very wrong.

jmo

On dogs being keen detectives.
Dogs' discovery of Revolutionary War graves leads to preservation victory

 

[Backstroke10]

Well, it could have been a good idea. Assumed body wrapped in plastic or something. Bury deep the day/night before concrete pour. How bad would it smell?

Chances are if body is buried out in the forest, mountain, woods, etc., wildlife could get it out. Throw in the water and it could come to surface. There’s not too many places/methods that are 100% foolproof. And assuming the killer thought the bike ride story would sound legit, he probably didn’t think LE would even be looking at him.

Pouring concrete takes a truck and a group of workers. They have to smooth the dirt, then gravel and then rebar. Is it suspected that he went out there before this process started and buried her deep in the ground? I don’t understand how he wouldn’t have been seen out there burying a body in the dirt. If not seen burying her, surely his truck would have been seen parked there for awhile probably at an unusual time. MOO

 

[TristanP]

Can someone tell me for sure if the sheriff admitted they had found her bike, when he held that press conference? Or was all the bike info only released by nephew?

 

[Inthedetails]

On dogs being keen detectives.
Dogs' discovery of Revolutionary War graves leads to preservation victory

Thank you!

 

[Fireflize]

Maybe he also helps trucking in dirt to level the land before construction? We live on a hill in the mountains and the people who built the house had to truck in tons of dirt to get a level space in the rocky forest area.

Landscaping starts with a lot that's got a nice pad for the home and proper drainage. Have friends that "move dirt" for new construction sites. Sounds like that is what he does. MOO

 

[Pink2017]

IMO sifting implies to me they're not expecting to locate a full intact body. Sorry to be gruesome but that's what it looks like to me.

< no barnyard animal noises, I'm not cattle>

Right there with you on that awful thought.

My assumption is that LE suspects an individual associated with the jobsite as the perpetrator. Employer, employee, whomever. Do they expect to find a body? Maybe. Personal effects? Maybe. Anything that they can tie to the crime is a win. Evidence is evidence, and they need to build their case using any and all means. I’m still not sure if it’s just the dirt that was used or if concrete is a component. LE is keeping their case close to the vest and I have to commend them for that.

Adding to your comment about LE, Colorado has had their hands full these last few years. This is not the place to commit a murder, LE Adrenaline is high. Omo

 

[Dave F.]

Here are some generalities about the search. All are my opinion, based on years of experience:

(1) Many searches conducted by LE are done out of simple application of good sense. If the spouse of a missing person is a gravedigger, LE would certainly want to examine the work that he did in his cemetery during the appropriate time. LE doesn't need a giant "Aha!" moment to get a search warrant. They need to use common sense and gauge their application for a warrant accordingly.
(2) Property owners rarely hire workers directly, and have nothing to do with the scheduling. The owner deals with a general contractor, who in turn sub-contracts with firms of the trade, who then again sub-contract labor to independent workmen.
(3) Colorado recognizes that building conditions are radically different in the mountains, and therefore has a separate method of applying National Building codes to what is commonly called "mountain construction". It is useless to sit as I do in Montana, and say: "Gee, I've never seen that before and I know my codes. What we see can't be right. It's against code."

Now, within those parameters, my further opinion is:
(a) The sight appears to be flat in some pictures, but when you study it, there is a steep slope down to the river's edge. When you look at the pictures taken by news people with telephoto lenses from across the river, it becomes obvious that there is fill dirt mounded very high between the lower part of the house and the river. In one picture of LE sifting dirt under the canopy and there is a mound of dirt in the foreground......that is a telephoto shot from across the river. What you see is only the very top of a large mounding of dirt below the level where LE is located.
(b) When I look at the overall array of concrete, It is going to be a multi faceted, rambling structure. When I look for utility stubs, etc. I don't see ones that I would associate with a house. If you were to tell me it's going to be a restaurant, I would believe you. That hole where the canopy was erected does not look to me like it was cut by LE yesterday. It looks like it was part of the concrete pour..........for a void in the structure for architectural effect or for a more utilitarian purpose, like a sump well for to prevent seepage from the river in high water events. My point is that I don't know what it is.
(c) My rough guess of how much concrete has been poured so far is a minimum of ten full truckloads. That wasn't all done in a day.
(d) At no time does any version of the building code allow structural concrete to be poured over fresh backfill, even freshly compacted backfill. Being a river bank site, the rock base was probably not deep. A bulldozer was probably used to level up the site and remove the topsoil to expose the base, then the pads were poured and THEN a landscaper would have come in to backfill to the pad edges and contour the property. It appears to me that the landscaper was about half done with that job.
Conclusion: In a recent prominent case on WS, there were pages and pages of debate over what LE's purpose was in sifting through a large landfill for weeks. I posted before they even started that I believed that when LE ran out of other places to look, they had to do it. They wouldn't have been doing their job if they didn't try it. As samples went into their mobile lab, speculation as to each piece's effect on the case was rampant. When the actual trial was held, the landfill search was never mentioned. Not one shred of usable evidence, but the absence of landfill evidence certainly contributed to proving a theory of body disposal that I certainly never saw coming. Having been once burnt, I am prone to sit back and let this thing unfold on it's own schedule. IMO

 

[Hannah3105]

One thing to note is that if LE were comfortable that BM was not involved, then surely searching and digging at one of his job sites would be pointless? The current activities tell me that they’ve had a POI all along.

 

[Jmoose]

Well, it could have been a good idea. Assumed body wrapped in plastic or something. Bury deep the day/night before concrete pour. How bad would it smell?

Chances are if body is buried out in the forest, mountain, woods, etc., wildlife could get it out. Throw in the water and it could come to surface. There’s not too many places/methods that are 100% foolproof. And assuming the killer thought the bike ride story would sound legit, he probably didn’t think LE would even be looking at him.

The Ct authorities haven’t found Jennifer Dulos yet, and by comparison, she disappeared from a much more populated place. Both of these women could be anywhere, and neither may ever be found. I just hope that, if more than one person was involved in Suzanne’s disappearance, that the police can break them so they can find her

 

[Love Never Fails]

Can someone tell me for sure if the sheriff admitted they had found her bike, when he held that press conference? Or was all the bike info only released by nephew?

Good question. I heard this came only from the nephew.

 

[zecats]

Wouldn't it be easier to just use the river instead of a job that would link you right to it? I mean it is right there...

Any place where a suspect would drive could be pinpointed by cell activity. In case BM is involved, he may have thought to dispose of a body in a place he was expected to be, not somewhere farther off along the river. Easy to explain why his phone tracked to this particular place than some random spot. JMO

Of course it could also have played a part in knowing when he was there and have led to this investigation. JMO

 

[PaulaDC]

When the dirt is compacted, I'm assuming that is done by some sort of compacting machine? How is the process done, for those of us who don't know?

Ours was just a hand push vibratory plate compactor machine. I'm sure a home foundation uses a larger machine. It just taps the dirt down with vibrations.

 

[Poedelini]

As i really respect LE's integrity of information release. It would be nice to confirm or debunk some stuff to stop the rumor train.

 

[Knox]

Agreed, it’s likely a combination of things that adds up to probable cause. The purpose of a search warrant is establishing that LE has sufficient evidence to outweigh your Constitutional right to be free of unwarranted search and seizure. So any combination of the above plus the homeowner consenting would work.

Graphic: With the sifting I am wondering if they found evidence of a fire where her remains may have been burned and then disposed with the dirt. They would be looking for bone fragments.

Well surely there wasn't a fire at the property being searched now right? So where would such a fire take place? At the home? If so the neighbors would probably know if there was a brush burning party at the Morphew house recently.

Didn't neighbors talk about a fire in the Makensie Lueck case?

 

[Inthedetails]

Any place where a suspect would drive could be pinpointed by cell activity. In case BM is involved, he may have thought to dispose of a body in a place he was expected to be, not somewhere farther off along the river. Easy to explain why his phone tracked to this particular place than some random spot. JMO

Of course it could also have played a part in knowing when he was there and have led to this investigation. JMO

And ask people along the route between his home and the job site for video.

Is his vehicle seen on the route? If so, when? And do those times match up with the statements he gave LE?

jmo

 

[LietKynes]

One thing to note is that if LE were comfortable that BM was not involved, then surely searching and digging at one of his job sites would be pointless? The current activities tell me that they’ve had a POI all along.

Exactly.
LE seem to be in recovery mode.

 

[Boxer]

I dont think anyone reported dogs being used on the property. Maybe they discretley used them prior to digging evading media notice.

 

[watergirl62]

I believe the ground radar equipment is able to detect depth as well as disturbances in soil as well as shapes of objects. If that's so, then they may have detected disturbances in the ground that are slightly deeper than the actual dirt that was recently laid down. Just an idea, imo... Also, they will surely be looking for other objects other than a body in the dirt. Sometimes, when a murder victim is disposed of, many of the objects involved may be discarded with the body such as clothing, weapon(s) bullet casings, tarpaulins, bed linens, personal objects of the victim, cigarette butts, soft drink cans... murderers can be very foolish. However, I don't believe they'll find anything at this search site, Jmo.

I have used GPR to find subsurface caves and void areas. I think in this situation, they would use it to pinpoint areas that would appear relatively non-compacted, assuming the dirt was compacted prior to subsequent disturbance. Plus it can be used where there is concrete on the surface. See attached sample GPR image. My take.