Found Deceased CO - Suzanne Morphew, 49, Chaffee County, 10 May 2020 #59 *ARREST*

[Error505]

First post. Thanks to posters past and present for educating me about this case! Whether I agree or disagree, your posts shed light on the issues and make me think.

Since the public defender has not withdrawn from BM's case, I believe Eytan-Neilsen was hired by the PD, not BM. This is done in murder cases because regular PD staff already have more cases than they can handle and they can't be spared to focus on the professional responsibilities and sheer workload of defending BM. I believe the choice of attorneys was based solely on the E-N firm's track record as defense counsel and their willingness to accept the PD's pay rate. It doesn't hurt that the attorneys are former PDs.

The PD only represents indigent clients. BM would not be eligible if he had control over the proceeds of last year's real estate sales. If he has attempted to hide those assets, the continuing investigation should be able to find out and add this to the story as evidence of his motive.

But there may be other reasons BM can legitimately claim to be indigent.

A poster on an earlier thread pointed out that the proceeds of the real estate sales are not BM's to spend - he is accountable to the court to manage that money in SM's best interest. If the real estate was owned in joint tenancy, her interest is not limited to half the proceeds. Both parties own 100% of the property held in that form, and although BM as an individual has an identical interest, IMO BM as conservator owes a duty to SM, as the protected person, to conserve it all for her. He can't spend it on personal expenses like attorney fees.

I speculate that SM's family has intervened or threatened to intervene in the guardian/conservator cases to get an accounting of his stewardship of the money and now especially, to have him removed for cause as the conservator. The judges in those cases can take judicial notice of the filings in his criminal case, the possibility that he will be ineligible to inherit from his victim, and the fact that he is unable to function fully as guardian/conservator because he is in jail, ineligible for bond.

This money is unavailable to him as a practical matter. He has probably spent whatever cash he could legitimately spend. His business probably owns his truck, trailer, Bobcat, and other equipment - but it's probably bankrupt now.

So, he gets the public defender and whoever that office assigns to his case. He may have been consulted, but if there was any strategy in selecting women to represent him, it was the public defender's strategy not BM's.

All MOO, of course.

Great first post. Welcome to Websleuths. If you are an attorney, you might want to go through the verification process on WS. Glad to have you.

 

[Error505]

EBM delete double post

Probably unrelated but: Sheriff investigating dead body found near storage unit | 9news.com

Directions from the Holiday Inn: Google Maps

Agree, I don’t think it’s related. Our perp wouldn’t spring for the cash to rent a storage unit, but he’s dumb enough to! He’s a tightwad!

 

[LietKynes]

I believe the arrest affidavit will be tied up for quite a while as motions are considered.

First, the defense will want a chance to look closely at the evidence produced by searches or interviews and argue that any procedural errors require suppression of evidence by court order. Premature disclosure of evidence in the AA that is later suppressed would influence potential jurors unfairly, this argument goes. This will take a while.

Second, BM won't want gruesome or salacious allegations published before trial. He will argue that the intense public interest in this case will deprive him of an impartial jury pool - statewide - if such claims were made public before trial.

MOO.

I wonder if Barry will ask for a change of venue ?

 

[Momofthreeboys]

I think the slow drip of charges keeps him off balance. Keep 'em coming!

I happen to be one who disagrees. I wonder that if the defense can punch through some of the minor things it might influence the jury in the long run. I do not think his defense team is the type to sit back or let anything slide. But this whole thing has a road ahead and first they have to get him bound over for trial before we even get a sneak peak at the strategy.

 

[COHinkyMeter]

CM via Twitter
This picture is much more powerful today than ever. #justiceforsuzanne #suzannemorphew
https://twitter.com/187cjm/status/1395756193558065154?s=21
His cryptic tweets bug me! Anyone know what to make of this one? Lol

Maybe BM was trying to give an excuse as to why his DNA might be discovered there??

 

[Momofthreeboys]

I wonder if Barry will ask for a change of venue ?

I don’t think so. Everything has been buttoned up and attorneys and their staff have gotten very good at vetting jurors, looking at their backgrounds and social media so they are getting more informed as they go through jury selection. I have a friend who does that background checking for defense attorneys. I think they can seat a fair jury.

 

[CGray123]

The Public Defender did withdraw. MK of Profiling Evil got it wrong and then corrected himself the next day.

EBM to add the link where MK explains that he got it wrong. At 3:00

-------
Thanks very much for the correction. IMO, it is still probable the PD chose the E-N firm and the taxpayer is footing the bill. We'll see.

 

[Momofthreeboys]

I know that we can't wait to see the AA. I am wondering how much will be redacted and how much will be left out of it because I certainly don't think that the prosecution is going to show its entire hand before they are forced to do so.

JMO.

Typically it would not be everything it would just be enough to get the case not dismissed and Barry bound over for trial. But it should tell us tidbits of their most direct evidence I presume.

 

[Ssschu]

Ita.

Many people are now safer since Barry's @55 is cooling in jail.
This is somewhat reminiscent of the true crime case of Ken "Rex" McElroy.
'No One Saw a Thing': A town torn apart by 38 years of violence
Of course his reign of terror lasted much longer.

But the fear the townspeople endured at McElroys' hands were no less than Barry's !

The fact that one of Barry's employees may have been equally threatened and bribed (she was told not to allow LE to look at her phone ) with hush money is despicable.

It sounded as if the people the employee interacted with was not Barry himself ?

And by now LE know who they are and what was said !

I’m not the other woman’: Second contractor speaks out about Suzanne Morphew investigation | FOX21 News Colorado

She said, back in town, she was approached by two men, both linked to Barry, who told her, “We would give you your paycheck, but we don’t want it to look like hush-hush money. You have rights, but you don’t have to give CBI your phone.”
Still, Gentile reports she did cooperate with most of what investigators asked of her, including, she said, five interviews. She also turned over her phone, but said she declined a polygraph.

“I know my rights and I don’t have anything to hide,” she said.
She says she heard from Barry again, days after, through text.
“He fired me because I gave up my phone, I wasn’t staying quiet and I was complying with CBI,” she said of that interaction. “I feel like if he was innocent, he would have talked to me. I worked with him every day for a long time.”
“She’s a meth head,” Barry said. “She’s mad at me because I fired her and don’t let her work for me anymore. She’s mad. So they’re not gonna say anything good about me.”
“I’m scared of Barry,” Gentile said. “I don’t want to see him again, ever again.”

It sounds like someone who knows that this man, her former employer, is capable of murder.

From the same link :
As previously reported by KXRM, Gentile also admitted that the high profile case of missing Colorado woman Suzanne Morphew has broken up her family, forced her to relocate, and is keeping her from finding employment — all due to her working relationship with husband Barry.

I'd hope with Barry currently in prison and charged with murder 1; that she can now find work !

Terrible of him to prevent her from gainful employment. The true acts of a bully and narcissist.
As in ; "Obey me or face the consequences ! ".

Imo.

I love your comparison of BM to that SOB McElroy! Both dangerous menaces to the public.

 

[Sillybilly]

Probably unrelated but: Sheriff investigating dead body found near storage unit | 9news.com

Directions from the Holiday Inn: Google Maps

Just for the record, the article was updated to say "inside" a storage unit.

 

[Ssschu]

This pic was taken by one of Andy's friends from Indiana - when they came out to Colorado right after Suzanne went "missing" . The guys broke into search parties to look for Suzanne.

Andy's friend was with Barry. They were driving up the back side of the mountain when Barry stopped - got out and said he needed to look over a bluff. Then Barry instead laid on his back in the middle of a field. Andy's friend found it odd so he took a pic of it. IMO
The link is from PE - Chris was talking to Andy a little after 19 minutes in
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkQsQL1gkco

I think it was a "look here, not there" moment. I would search further up the mountain because IMO he was trying to divert attention away from another area they were heading to.

 

[Murphy1950]

This pic was taken by one of Andy's friends from Indiana - when they came out to Colorado right after Suzanne went "missing" . The guys broke into search parties to look for Suzanne.

Andy's friend was with Barry. They were driving up the back side of the mountain when Barry stopped - got out and said he needed to look over a bluff. Then Barry instead laid on his back in the middle of a field. Andy's friend found it odd so he took a pic of it. IMO
The link is from PE - Chris was talking to Andy a little after 19 minutes in
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkQsQL1gkco

Not sure if Crested Butte fits in anywhere, but CURIOUS. It is 90+ miles away and doubt Andy went there. My interest is because Suzanne, in a photo recently posted on MSM, is wearing a Crested Butte Sweatshirt.

 

[TKG]

He thought if he changed out attachments there’d be no evidence relating to SM on the main body of the Bobcat.

So happy to see you posting here!!

 

[Diddian]

I think it was a "look here, not there" moment. I would search further up the mountain because IMO he was trying to divert attention away from another area they were heading to.

I agree. It was like a "kildeer" moment. Those birds pretend they have broken wings, flop around on the ground, and make continuous noise to divert predator's attention away from their eggs and their young.

It'd be interesting to know where the group was headed next or what the group was talking about immediately before this happened.

 

[Nikynoo]

I read somewhere Patrick Frazee had the Domestic Violence on his AA. Could it had been an error?

I seem to recall that CW did too and it was explained by that DA, that a DV enhancement is always sought when a partner/spouse is murdered.

 

[Nikynoo]

Isn't this the DA's first case as the DA? She has to show she is hard on crime... ALL of the crimes.

I think they have a very strong and solid case. Jmo

All I know is that she is new and was a PO before studying law and becoming a prosecutor. I have no idea what cases she has prosecuted previously nor her track record. Anyone have this info?

 

[EggSalad]

I got a little bored and started wondering if the Chaffee County VFF Station #5 might have any vehicles that BM could have borrowed that wouldn’t have GPS.

Chaffee County Fire Rescue

As it turns out, their engine 5 (small, wild fire fighting vehicle) is based on a 1979 F150.

Now, I could see all FF vehicles being outfitted with GPs regardless of age, but I also doubt that CC VFD has tons of funds laying around to do that.

I wonder if that truck was ever searched?

 

[Nikynoo]

First post. Thanks to posters past and present for educating me about this case! Whether I agree or disagree, your posts shed light on the issues and make me think.

Since the public defender has not withdrawn from BM's case, I believe Eytan-Neilsen was hired by the PD, not BM. This is done in murder cases because regular PD staff already have more cases than they can handle and they can't be spared to focus on the professional responsibilities and sheer workload of defending BM. I believe the choice of attorneys was based solely on the E-N firm's track record as defense counsel and their willingness to accept the PD's pay rate. It doesn't hurt that the attorneys are former PDs.

The PD only represents indigent clients. BM would not be eligible if he had control over the proceeds of last year's real estate sales. If he has attempted to hide those assets, the continuing investigation should be able to find out and add this to the story as evidence of his motive.

But there may be other reasons BM can legitimately claim to be indigent.

A poster on an earlier thread pointed out that the proceeds of the real estate sales are not BM's to spend - he is accountable to the court to manage that money in SM's best interest. If the real estate was owned in joint tenancy, her interest is not limited to half the proceeds. Both parties own 100% of the property held in that form, and although BM as an individual has an identical interest, IMO BM as conservator owes a duty to SM, as the protected person, to conserve it all for her. He can't spend it on personal expenses like attorney fees.

I speculate that SM's family has intervened or threatened to intervene in the guardian/conservator cases to get an accounting of his stewardship of the money and now especially, to have him removed for cause as the conservator. The judges in those cases can take judicial notice of the filings in his criminal case, the possibility that he will be ineligible to inherit from his victim, and the fact that he is unable to function fully as guardian/conservator because he is in jail, ineligible for bond.

This money is unavailable to him as a practical matter. He has probably spent whatever cash he could legitimately spend. His business probably owns his truck, trailer, Bobcat, and other equipment - but it's probably bankrupt now.

So, he gets the public defender and whoever that office assigns to his case. He may have been consulted, but if there was any strategy in selecting women to represent him, it was the public defender's strategy not BM's.

All MOO, of course.

Excellent post, and welcome You make some very valid points and has given me (at least) food for thought. Thank you.

 

[Error505]

First post. Thanks to posters past and present for educating me about this case! Whether I agree or disagree, your posts shed light on the issues and make me think.

Since the public defender has not withdrawn from BM's case, I believe Eytan-Neilsen was hired by the PD, not BM. This is done in murder cases because regular PD staff already have more cases than they can handle and they can't be spared to focus on the professional responsibilities and sheer workload of defending BM. I believe the choice of attorneys was based solely on the E-N firm's track record as defense counsel and their willingness to accept the PD's pay rate. It doesn't hurt that the attorneys are former PDs.

The PD only represents indigent clients. BM would not be eligible if he had control over the proceeds of last year's real estate sales. If he has attempted to hide those assets, the continuing investigation should be able to find out and add this to the story as evidence of his motive.

But there may be other reasons BM can legitimately claim to be indigent.

A poster on an earlier thread pointed out that the proceeds of the real estate sales are not BM's to spend - he is accountable to the court to manage that money in SM's best interest. If the real estate was owned in joint tenancy, her interest is not limited to half the proceeds. Both parties own 100% of the property held in that form, and although BM as an individual has an identical interest, IMO BM as conservator owes a duty to SM, as the protected person, to conserve it all for her. He can't spend it on personal expenses like attorney fees.

I speculate that SM's family has intervened or threatened to intervene in the guardian/conservator cases to get an accounting of his stewardship of the money and now especially, to have him removed for cause as the conservator. The judges in those cases can take judicial notice of the filings in his criminal case, the possibility that he will be ineligible to inherit from his victim, and the fact that he is unable to function fully as guardian/conservator because he is in jail, ineligible for bond.

This money is unavailable to him as a practical matter. He has probably spent whatever cash he could legitimately spend. His business probably owns his truck, trailer, Bobcat, and other equipment - but it's probably bankrupt now.

So, he gets the public defender and whoever that office assigns to his case. He may have been consulted, but if there was any strategy in selecting women to represent him, it was the public defender's strategy not BM's.

All MOO, of course.

Great first post. Welcome to Websleuths. If you are an attorney, you might want to go through the verification process on WS. Glad you have you.

Probably unrelated but: Sheriff investigating dead body found near storage unit | 9news.com

Directions from the Holiday Inn: Google Maps

Agree, I don’t think it’s related. Our perp wouldn’t spring for the cash to rent a storage unit, but he’s dumb enough to! He’s a tightwad!

BAM!!

Hi, there @Warwick7 We need your Bams! Thank you!

 

[Deleted member 222031]

First time posting here but I've lurked since the Arias Trial. I don't often agree with some of the things posted here but I'll do my best to post clear thoughts and my logic to what I post.

Regarding the gun. I don't think it was the murder weapon.

First, BM is an avid hunter and gun guy. A sawed off-shotgun, and that is what I believe the gun is, makes an awful mess and LOUD noise. Not only would you have to contend with a lot of blood splatter but you would also have a lot of pellets to account for. A shotgun shell contains multiple projectiles. IF he was using say Double 00 buck shot that's at least 12-15 pellets a lot more if it was a smaller gauge. Furthermore, once fired from a short barrel the spread of the projectiles opens up a larger pattern in the air than a long barrel. Even at close range you could still find pellets that don't hit the target. That's taking a lot of chance that some pellets miss, go through or bounce off/ricochet into the the surrounding area of the crime scene. An experienced gun person would know this and look for a different option. One that is less messy, loud and leaves the less potential for evidence.

Furthermore, and I'm not a lawyer but wouldn't there be another charge on top of possessing an illegal firearm? A further charge of not only possessing an illegal firearm but also using that firearm to commit a crime or homicide would be tacked onto the charges. That's another felony on top of the one for just possessing it. If the DA was packing charges onto the AA I would think that that charge would be more serious and carry more weight. If they had the murder weapon, I think that would have been added to the charges. The way that the charge is worded leads me to believe that the firearm in question was found during a search hence just the possession charge.

-------
Thanks very much for the correction. IMO, it is still probable the PD chose the E-N firm and the taxpayer is footing the bill. We'll see.

I disagree (see bolded). Unless he could present very good evidence of prejudice or misconduct by the appointed public defender (and it would have to be aggregious), the private counsel was chosen by BM and is being paid for by him. I am not a lawyer but it is explained very well here:

Before You Fire Your Court-Appointed Lawyer

If the citizens of Chaffee County are paying for his private counsel, that would be a major hornswoggle, as we say here in Texas.