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

[MimosaMornings]

Where in Idaho was the camping trip with family member?

Details are unknown. We are not allowed to sleuth family members, so can not be discussed in the thread.
Possessing clues or information regarding Suzanne’s disappearance? Most likely in my opinion.
JMO

 

[10ofRods]

If a suspect was the kind of a person who liked to exert control and lived their entire life in that mode and if they then decided to murder a person, how might that control ethos manifest in their chosen style of killing and afterwards in their disposal of the person's remains?

Would the instinct persevere when the person was dead and still demand to be maintained.
'I taught her a lesson'
What kind of burial site would be appropriate for the remainder of the lesson?

Well, I think the most important thing would be that the killer is the only one who knows where she is and can control all narratives far into the future.

As to actual disposal of the body in a specific locale, I think the place itself will lend itself to multiple narratives (deep underbrush on the mountain behind the house, for example, supporting the idea that Suzanne somehow ran off and died, that it's somehow still her fault, she just tumbled down a mountain; she was injured on a bike ride and had a concussion, wandered into the mountains, etc).

OTOH, I also think it's possible she's further up toward Monarch Pass, where the early searches appear to have taken place - but again, thrown into a place as if she were kidnapped and thrown out of a vehicle.

I think control is one element and another is the fantasyland in which the killer's mind resides. Anyone who murders a defenseless woman has things going on in their head (before, during and after) that the rest of us can only guess out. Control of this type is often rooted in constant blaming of the victim by the perp, for everything that goes wrong in the perp's life, combined with the perp's terrifying dependency on that person and a need to have that person nearby at all times.

So she's nearer to Puma Path (but not at the property), and not in landfill near Denver. IMO. Pretty much total conjecture.

 

[Dave F.]

Reality check:

Beverly England went missing in 1980. Her husband was immediately a POI, even though he had an alibi, because he found her car in Salida after searching.

England’s remains were discovered twelve years after her disappearance, in a ravine on the lower slopes of Mt Shavano (in 1992). The site is approximately 12.6 miles by road, or 7.0 air miles, from the M’s home on Puma Path

England’s bones were not identified until 2016. A complete set of forensic examinations failed to find a cause of death. This was first reported in 2017.

Neither the public or the husband was informed that he had been cleared early on in the investigation. That was revealed via news reports when the search warrants were unsealed in September 2018 (38 years after the disappearance). Their son, who was a La Junta, Colorado police officer for many years, has been quoted:
“You could always feel an atmosphere of suspicion around our dad.”
The husband died in September 2019.



The map was produced entirely in Google Earth Pro with no external editing.

Arrest might be close in 36-year old case of missing mom | FOX31 Denver

DA's Resignation Could Change Course Of Cold Case Murder Investigation

Investigation into Beverly England cold case yields new evidence | 9news.com

 

[10ofRods]

This is a very interesting idea and provocative question...if I am understanding it correctly you are suggesting the means of her death was the ultimate control for BM. Perhaps it was prolonged or drawn out to terrorize her and make her suffer more? For example, binding her hands and blindfolding her and taking her somewhere and taking off the blindfold and she is standing by a grave that has been dug in the woods and her husband has a gun pointed at her and says who knows what cruel evil things to her but possibly something like “You thought YOU could walk away and leave ME?!” And then BM shoots her in cold blood even after she is crying and saying she is sorry and begging for her life? Maybe she said don’t because our children need me and he repeated that in his 26 second video? I just gave myself chills so I’m sorry if that was too graphic.

RSnipped for focus

Another form of punishment & control might be putting her somewhere she didn’t like. For example, say she had a fear of water so he puts her under water...or a fear of heights so puts her high on a mountain or throws her off a cliff. Oh my gosh this question has got me thinking some awfully brutal thoughts tonight and I meant no disrespect to Suzanne or her memory by any of this speculation. I hope one day we will know the truth about what really happened and there will finally be justice for Suzanne!

Great post. Your last paragraph dovetails with my more clinical post. Since I believe BM wants to protect himself as much as possible, I think that consciously or unconsciously, he chose a place that suits both his stories (dragged off by mountain lion, abducted - the more stories the better, that's how I think he rolls) and his need to punish her. But I also think there's some unconscious component that she's in a "resting place." I thought water at first (maybe her phone is in water - maybe that's what he was looking for that day that TD saw him all wet). Now I think...mountains.

Suzanne chose mountain biking as a dedicated hobby. To me, such a hobby is deep play involving risk, mountainous terrain and the mental conquest of that terrain and of fear. As a small person, surely she had worried just a little about...pumas. My controlling ex used every method of instilling fear that he could, to control me (everything I ever wanted to do was recast by him as a very scary thing to do - often resulting in him going along to keep me safe, but in fact, this was a big form of control). The biking therefore symbolizes her freedom and her courage.

I'm not surprised that the bike got thrown into the ravine, he probably could not even restrain himself from attacking the bike, throwing the helmet. "So much for your biking, Suzanne! I told you it wasn't safe! You like your alone time? Well - then, you'll be alone for eternity!" He resented her biking alone, he resented her biking period. I am of course assuming that this relationship had longterm problems.

There's a lot more to say, culturally and psychologically, about BM's potential actions and I'm sure that the FBI has helped local LE try to understand the situation as well as anyone can.

 

[Ontario Mom]

Neither the public or the husband was informed that he had been cleared early on in the investigation. That was revealed via news reports when the search warrants were unsealed in September 2018 (38 years after the disappearance). Their son, who was a La Junta, Colorado police officer for many years, has been quoted:
“You could always feel an atmosphere of suspicion around our dad.”
The husband died in September 2019.

<snipped & RBBM>

It is indeed most unfortunate that neither the husband or the public were made aware that he had been cleared. Not at all fair in the moral sense, especially to the family, even if legal in the investigative sense (assuming it is).

As it pertains to SM's case, I would like to think that the CCSO wouldn't drag it out longer than need be, and if they've actually cleared BM of any connection to SM's disappearance, they'd make that clear. Of course we don't have any idea of they have cleared him or if they're just building a bigger pile of evidence against him. Their actions over the last 6+ months certainly point to the latter.

jmo

 

[steeltowngirl]

Reality check:

Beverly England went missing in 1980. Her husband was immediately a POI, even though he had an alibi, because he found her car in Salida after searching.

England’s remains were discovered twelve years after her disappearance, in a ravine on the lower slopes of Mt Shavano (in 1992). The site is approximately 12.6 miles by road, or 7.0 air miles, from the M’s home on Puma Path

England’s bones were not identified until 2016. A complete set of forensic examinations failed to find a cause of death. This was first reported in 2017.

Neither the public or the husband was informed that he had been cleared early on in the investigation. That was revealed via news reports when the search warrants were unsealed in September 2018 (38 years after the disappearance). Their son, who was a La Junta, Colorado police officer for many years, has been quoted:
“You could always feel an atmosphere of suspicion around our dad.”
The husband died in September 2019.



The map was produced entirely in Google Earth Pro with no external editing.

Arrest might be close in 36-year old case of missing mom | FOX31 Denver

DA's Resignation Could Change Course Of Cold Case Murder Investigation

Investigation into Beverly England cold case yields new evidence | 9news.com

Oh wow, the Mt Shavano site is much closer than I realized. Interesting.

What portion of the post are you highlighting as the reality check? I’m thinking you may be pointing out that the husband in the Beverly England case was eventually cleared. Wonder why it took so long, since it was known she had met the day she went missing with the wife of a man she was having an affair with.

jmo

 

[borndem]

Another late night thought...

Do we know if he immediately disposed of her body?

Typical late-night thought for me, too. How would we know? Musing...
If he didn't do it right away, it would certainly imply first-degree murder, IMO. Make a plan for the killing, locate a hiding place, do the deed, make a day-or-two show of grieving and the "poor me's," and get back to work/finish the operation.
Possible. SMH

 

[Dave F.]

Oh wow, the Mt Shavano site is much closer than I realized. Interesting.

What portion of the post are you highlighting as the reality check? I’m thinking you may be pointing out that the husband in the Beverly England case was eventually cleared. Wonder why it took so long, since it was known she had met the day she went missing with the wife of a man she was having an affair with.

jmo

This is strictly my own opinion:

The current POI was a supposedly a POI from day one, but that hinges on two conflicting sets of information:
(1) A witness said that BE was going to meet with the POI to discuss a "love triangle".
(1A) Several witnesses saw the POI and victim together many hours earlier that day, having coffee and in deep discussion. The victim was seen alive after that.

(2) A family member of the POI said that she asked him to clean blood off the passenger seat of her pickup, which he agreed to do because it would be used to transport her back from a premature birth after being life-flighted to Denver.
(2A) There has never been any evidence to refute a possible counter-claim that the blood was hers, since she was originally transported for medical help in that vehicle while in severely premature labor, or by her own statement that the victim had attacked her with a piece of broken bottle, severely cutting her leg.

My summary is that since public reveal in 2018, this has become a REALLY gripping story, but I just don't see the facts there yet to prosecute. Since the current POI is around seventy years of age now, I'm not placing any bets that it will EVER warrant prosecution.
No sources cited, as this is entirely my own opinion.
MOO

 

[MassGuy]

Absolutely agree with you.

Another puzzle piece here for me is the phone. An abductor would want it left there at the scene because an abductor would not usually be worrying about content stored on the phone and would know about phones being trackable. (I say usually thinking of Libby and Abby).

If an abductor didnt realise Suzanne had it tucked into her shirt, it would have been trackable.

If he found it on her, he would toss it asap but up to that point it would have been trackable.

To give credibility to the abduction theory, the phone could have been left at that scene but it wasnt. Because someone WAS worried about the content.

The phone was never at the ravine and nor was Suzanne.

JMO

Lol, exactly. What’s funny too is that this genius bizarrely left her helmet some distance away from the bike, yet the most important thing, her phone, never turned up (as far as we know).

Her helmet should be missing or next to the bike, the bike should be in plain sight, and her phone should have been found.

 

[Megnut]

Here's a thought:

What if LE DID recover her phone and has kept that close to the vest for investigative and prosecutorial purposes and that it was recovered from near the bike? Imagine a bike, positioned oddly (wheels locked?) as if placed there by garden faeries, only the phone, smashed to smithereens. That would be curious. Maybe someone has searched that area rigorously because he believes that LE didn't find it. Maddening to him if he thought it cemented his case for abduction, lion chase. Early smoking gun for LE if the bike look tossed, the phone look annihilated and no evidence of collision, injury or rider.

If the bike was staged, LE goes back to the house.

Even though someone's trying to sell it, it looks like LE hasn't left it. Locked down from Day 1.

I predict an arrest before Feb 1.

JMO

 

[Seattle1]

Well, the profile registered to Suzanne of Salida, CO (and I am not the only one who saw it last May), shows a woman who is thinking about starting a career as a life and fitness coach.

Are you saying that Suzanne could not have had any professional aspirations?

This Suzanne is listed as employed by Sunset Farms, an LLC registered to Barry Morphew. I find it difficult to believe it's not our Suzanne.

I'd very much like to think that Suzanne had professional aspirations as late as the date she vanished but I can't ignore that the profile you reference first cited Colorado Springs, CO on one day, and later changed to Salida, CO. IMO, this is a phony profile.

 

[Seattle1]

This is a very interesting idea and provocative question...if I am understanding it correctly you are suggesting the means of her death was the ultimate control for BM. Perhaps it was prolonged or drawn out to terrorize her and make her suffer more? For example, binding her hands and blindfolding her and taking her somewhere and taking off the blindfold and she is standing by a grave that has been dug in the woods and her husband has a gun pointed at her and says who knows what cruel evil things to her but possibly something like “You thought YOU could walk away and leave ME?!” And then BM shoots her in cold blood even after she is crying and saying she is sorry and begging for her life? Maybe she said don’t because our children need me and he repeated that in his 26 second video? I just gave myself chills so I’m sorry if that was too graphic.

Personally I believe it is more likely that it was an accidental killing in a fit of rage due to the poor planning of his alibi and all those theories he tried out. But I still think he was losing his control over her and that made him angry and then something happened that caused him to snap.

So to speculate on the second part...if BM felt like he taught her a lesson what kind of burial site would complete the lesson? Hmmm... if I was to speculate that there was a psychological reason for the chosen site and method of disposal I would still go with my first idea of a grave that had been prepared in advance and he let her see it so she had that horrifying moment when she realized what was happening. Then after he did his evil deed either by shooting her or hitting her with a heavy tool he dumped her in this grave in a location where he could visit often or even see it from his house so he will always be reminded that he took back his control over her. But then again he is selling the house so maybe the burial site is somewhere else he can visit.

Another form of control could be burying her on a lot that she would not agree to purchase so he killed her and did it anyway and then put her there sort of like she had said “No, over my dead body!” and he was like oh ok I’m sorry you feel that way but you went against me and I will have my way! When the cadaver dog hit on the LHR property I really thought Suzanne’s remains might be there. I’m still confused as to what exactly happened with that since LE barely scraped the surface when they did finally dig there and then it wasn’t even on BM’s actual lot. Not to rehash all of that again...just saying for this exercise it would be an option for a burial site.

Another form of punishment & control might be putting her somewhere she didn’t like. For example, say she had a fear of water so he puts her under water...or a fear of heights so puts her high on a mountain or throws her off a cliff. Oh my gosh this question has got me thinking some awfully brutal thoughts tonight and I meant no disrespect to Suzanne or her memory by any of this speculation. I hope one day we will know the truth about what really happened and there will finally be justice for Suzanne!

Relative to the assumption that LE did not respond or barely scraped the surface at the SAR dog hit at LHR development, I believe this was because it was obvious to LE that there was no evidence of disturbed ground within the division. I too was satisfied at the time after watching a very recent (i.e., Sept 2020) youtube "drive-by" of the entire subdivision.

 

[Knox]

Lol, exactly. What’s funny too is that this genius bizarrely left her helmet some distance away from the bike, yet the most important thing, her phone, never turned up (as far as we know).

Her helmet should be missing or next to the bike, the bike should be in plain sight, and her phone should have been found.

Genius was looking for the helmet and/or other items of Suzanne's in the trash can at Poncha Market, two days after she went missing. He wrote down three things for the store clerk to be watching out for.

LE found an "item" belonging to Suzanne near HWY 50 two days after Poncha Market. If not the helmet, phone, or an article of clothing, what else could the item be? Coincidence?

 

[Seattle1]

<snipped & RBBM>

It is indeed most unfortunate that neither the husband or the public were made aware that he had been cleared. Not at all fair in the moral sense, especially to the family, even if legal in the investigative sense (assuming it is).

As it pertains to SM's case, I would like to think that the CCSO wouldn't drag it out longer than need be, and if they've actually cleared BM of any connection to SM's disappearance, they'd make that clear. Of course we don't have any idea of they have cleared him or if they're just building a bigger pile of evidence against him. Their actions over the last 6+ months certainly point to the latter.

jmo

To be clear, I don't think there was anything intentional or immoral by CCSO or others to withhold clearing the late husband of BE given that her remains were not positively identified as belonging to BE until October 2015.

While the human remains were indeed recovered in 1992, a pathologist in Colorado Springs that received the remains wrongly assumed the remains were from a pioneer-era woman and more than 100 years old.

Then, these same remains sat on a shelf for 23 years at an unnamed College in Colo Springs until late 2015 when they were finally returned to CCSO who ultimately sent them to a Texas University lab for positive identification using DNA.

The CCSO wasn't even aware of these remains sitting in Colorado Springs but once they were identified as BE, investigators immediately went to the location where they were recovered and uncovered additional evidence. Only then was CCSO quoted as saying they believed the case was ready for the grand jury and an indictment (not the late husband but an unnamed suspect). The DA's office cited the case did not go to a grand jury for financial reasons.

Again, I think this shows the professional practice of Sheriff Spezze being thorough by following only the facts and the evidence.

Arrest might be close in 36-year old case of missing mom | FOX31 Denver

 

[10ofRods]

I'd very much like to think that Suzanne had professional aspirations as late as the date she vanished but I can't ignore that the profile you reference first cited Colorado Springs, CO on one day, and later changed to Salida, CO. IMO, this is a phony profile.

Do you have any sense of the date when that happened?

The profile is the same profile (regardless of the place listed) that I saw in the first two weeks after Suzanne went missing. So you're saying that someone (who?) put up a fake profile for Suzanne, delineating her interests as Christianity, exercise, fitness coaching, life coaching (and there was more at the time - and I am not the only one who remembers that there was more) and then changed only the town?

There may have been more than one profile, right? I will say that I do not remember what town was listed at the time I first saw it, but I do believe it was Salida (because I was expecting Maysville and it was not Maysville).

At any rate, that profile has been up since about 10-14 days after Suzanne went missing. So if someone changed the town (but nothing else), who would do that? Note that Suzanne's FB (then and now) lists fitness as a main interest, just as the LinkedIn still does.

BTW, the profile I'm referring to has both Salinda AND Colo Springs listed as its home base (depending on how you search on LinkedIn). When I search on LinkedIn, the profile says Colorado Springs, but when I click on the profile...it says Salida (IIRC, it's always been that way - and I tried to see if I could find some networks in common, since I have lots of Colorado relatives, but that didn't happen). It looks to me it's a lot like FB (where when you search for my profile, FB shows some things that I have since changed on my actual page).

The profile has definitely changed since I first viewed it (and someone sent me a screen shot of what they found on the same profile - and yep, it's the one I viewed, and it was viewed by another websleuther early on, as well). Some day I'll go back and see if I cut and pasted the exact things I saw - it's somewhere on an early thread. It's not all that important, except that it shows a woman who is reading a mix of literature on starting a fitness coaching business, being a visiting angel to people in need - and dealing with family issues regarding trust.

 

[nyvictoria]

This is a very interesting idea and provocative question...if I am understanding it correctly you are suggesting the means of her death was the ultimate control for BM. Perhaps it was prolonged or drawn out to terrorize her and make her suffer more? For example, binding her hands and blindfolding her and taking her somewhere and taking off the blindfold and she is standing by a grave that has been dug in the woods and her husband has a gun pointed at her and says who knows what cruel evil things to her but possibly something like “You thought YOU could walk away and leave ME?!” And then BM shoots her in cold blood even after she is crying and saying she is sorry and begging for her life? Maybe she said don’t because our children need me and he repeated that in his 26 second video? I just gave myself chills so I’m sorry if that was too graphic.

Personally I believe it is more likely that it was an accidental killing in a fit of rage due to the poor planning of his alibi and all those theories he tried out. But I still think he was losing his control over her and that made him angry and then something happened that caused him to snap.

So to speculate on the second part...if BM felt like he taught her a lesson what kind of burial site would complete the lesson? Hmmm... if I was to speculate that there was a psychological reason for the chosen site and method of disposal I would still go with my first idea of a grave that had been prepared in advance and he let her see it so she had that horrifying moment when she realized what was happening. Then after he did his evil deed either by shooting her or hitting her with a heavy tool he dumped her in this grave in a location where he could visit often or even see it from his house so he will always be reminded that he took back his control over her. But then again he is selling the house so maybe the burial site is somewhere else he can visit.

Another form of control could be burying her on a lot that she would not agree to purchase so he killed her and did it anyway and then put her there sort of like she had said “No, over my dead body!” and he was like oh ok I’m sorry you feel that way but you went against me and I will have my way! When the cadaver dog hit on the LHR property I really thought Suzanne’s remains might be there. I’m still confused as to what exactly happened with that since LE barely scraped the surface when they did finally dig there and then it wasn’t even on BM’s actual lot. Not to rehash all of that again...just saying for this exercise it would be an option for a burial site.

Another form of punishment & control might be putting her somewhere she didn’t like. For example, say she had a fear of water so he puts her under water...or a fear of heights so puts her high on a mountain or throws her off a cliff. Oh my gosh this question has got me thinking some awfully brutal thoughts tonight and I meant no disrespect to Suzanne or her memory by any of this speculation. I hope one day we will know the truth about what really happened and there will finally be justice for Suzanne!

I feel control is they key to everything in Suzanne’s disappearance. I’ve changed my mind umpteen times WRT premeditation and method but the one constant is my belief that Suzanne was left in a place that her murderer has some control over. It might be a property owned by the murderer or a corporation in which the murderer is a principal or property owned by a family member or very close friend. I don’t think she was left in a random, last-minute, rushed decision place.

 

[MassGuy]

I don’t know if this is the profile that’s being discussed, but I believe it belongs to Suzanne. It lists “Sunset Farms” in Salida. The last activity appears to be 8 months ago.

http://linkedin.com/in/suzanne-m-15aa77172

 

[Ontario Mom]

I don’t know if this is the profile that’s being discussed, but I believe it belongs to Suzanne. It lists “Sunset Farms” in Salida. The last activity appears to be 8 months ago.

http://linkedin.com/in/suzanne-m-15aa77172

Looks like you need to have an account and login to see anything.
Otherwise, nada. Just the login/sign up page.

 

[10ofRods]

I don’t know if this is the profile that’s being discussed, but I believe it belongs to Suzanne. It lists “Sunset Farms” in Salida. The last activity appears to be 8 months ago.

http://linkedin.com/in/suzanne-m-15aa77172

Yes, that's the one. However, I swear it had a booklist on it (and it looks like I may have to up my membership at LinkedIn to "professional" to be able to see it - so perhaps I had a trial membership at the time).

Thanks for confirming its age, though. That would be one month before Suzanne disappeared, right? My impression of the profile at the time was that it was fairly new. I marked it in my mind because...as we all know, change in work status for a woman in a DV situation is associated with DV. If Suzanne was striking out on her own as a fitness coach...just one month before she disappeared, I think it's at least of interest.

 

[Dave F.]

To be clear, I don't think there was anything intentional or immoral by CCSO or others to withhold clearing the late husband of BE given that her remains were not positively identified as belonging to BE until October 2015.

While the human remains were indeed recovered in 1992, a pathologist in Colorado Springs that received the remains wrongly assumed the remains were from a pioneer-era woman and more than 100 years old.

Then, these same remains sat on a shelf for 23 years at an unnamed College in Colo Springs until late 2015 when they were finally returned to CCSO who ultimately sent them to a Texas University lab for positive identification using DNA.

The CCSO wasn't even aware of these remains sitting in Colorado Springs but once they were identified as BE, investigators immediately went to the location where they were recovered and uncovered additional evidence. Only then was CCSO quoted as saying they believed the case was ready for the grand jury and an indictment (not the late husband but an unnamed suspect). The DA's office cited the case did not go to a grand jury for financial reasons.

Again, I think this shows the professional practice of Sheriff Spezze being thorough by following only the facts and the evidence.

Arrest might be close in 36-year old case of missing mom | FOX31 Denver

This article cites the man in charge of the investigation until 1993, which tells a slightly different story:

““Leonard Post was Salida chief of police at the time of Beverly’s disappearance. Now retired, he said the case still haunts him.
“We got the report from her husband, Dale, that she was missing at about 8 p.m. the evening of June 12, 1980,” Post said. “I wasn’t working that day, but I learned about it the next working day. I remember the cfs (cubic feet per second) of water in the river was at an all-time high, and we did an extensive search up and down the river. We found no body and there was no crime scene.
To this day all we have is stories. We learned Beverly had met with a woman at the park, but she was questioned and cleared. I would love nothing more than to be able to give some answers to her family about what happened, but we have to work with facts. We can’t work with speculation. I’m waiting for the day the police say they found Beverly or have some piece of evidence they can work with.”
Post retired from the Salida Police Department in 1993 and from the district attorney’s office in 2004, still hoping for an answer.””

Yet the husband was never publicly cleared until
search warrants were unsealed in 2018..........
IMO

Technology sparks renewed interest in cold case