Found Deceased CO - Suzanne Morphew, 49, Chaffee County, 10 May 2020 #60 *ARREST*

[Ontario Mom]

Some quick thoughts (IMHO) after watching the hearing. Please let me know if I got anything wrong here, as I am not a legal expert and my hearing is not great.

• More than 1000 people were watching via WebEx.
• The defense attorneys tried, unsuccessfully, to make things more difficult for the prosecution by making numerous requests which seemed a bit unreasonable, including (1) requiring the prosecution to provide ALL of LE's and other witnesses texts and emails to the defense (I think), (2) to actively seek out any potentially exculpatory information or other information that might cast BM in a positive light, (3) to provide all of the discovery documents by tomorrow, etc. etc. The defense seemed to get shot down every time by the judge, though.
• When the defense asked that the prosecution turn over the discovery documents ASAP, they attempted to justify it by saying BM was "sitting in a cage", hence the need for speed.
• The judge seemed very reasonable, logical, competent to me, and had a sense of humor too ("we might be out here in the sticks, but...")
• There is apparently ~10,000 pages of discovery material, and "boatloads" of information. The prosecution plans to release this information Wednesday (which is actually much faster than legally required, but not as fast as the defense wanted it).
• The next hearings will be Aug. 9 and 10 and Aug. 23 and 24.
• The judge will be reviewing the pleadings from the prosecution and from the media to release the AA. Based on the pleadings, he will then decide if the AA should release the AA or if a hearing is needed prior to releasing the AA. If a hearing is needed, it sounds like it might take some time before any movement would occur in terms of the release of the AA because public notice of the hearing would be required.
• (As an aside, I was a little surprised by the casual nature of some of the comments that were made in the chat window of the WebEx... it's not entertainment, it's a pretty serious event).

All MOO here, and welcome corrections.

Thank you so much for taking the time to be so thorough with your notes - this is very helpful.

 

[ar3593]

If you want to win a jury trial, you better do some nitpicking at some point...IMO

During trial, completely agree!

 

[Ontario Mom]

The judge said both sides had to give him their arguments regarding the AA by end of business today. So I am hoping he will address it sooner rather than later. Maybe next week??

If he wanted the arguments by end of business today, maybe this is tomorrow's order of business for him?
I mean, "by the end of the day" is a pretty specificly soon time frame.

 

[Whiteorchids]

Does anyone know if the daughters went to any vigils for their mom? We know Barry didn’t. I believe there were a few and that Christmas tree event I remember seeing a tree with a few of Suzannes photos posted off the internet. There was a tree memorial for each family who had a lost loved one.

 

[Deleted member 222031]

If you want to win a jury trial, you better do some nitpicking at some point...IMO

Question for you @Cassady: Are we likely to see August proceedings in WebEx or do you think the court will reopen without Covid restrictions by then? I realize I'm partly asking for a medical opinion from you. I would hope "normal" access for media would be restored, if so.

 

[payitforward3000]

How and when would we know what the judge decides on unsealing the AA? Will it just pop up on the court website?

I’m thinking it will yeah just pop up

 

[ar3593]

I really liked the Judge!

Loved the judge, he was on to the ridiculous requests from the defense attorneys early on! He did a great job of reigning them in! MOO

 

[NuttMegg]

IMO, I thought CM corrected himself about recovering the statute and asked others to stand down from his initial request. At that point, it wasn't necessary for MM to ask him to leave the statute alone. That was my personal impression from the conversation. I also agree it's the right thing to do if the daughters were responsible for the memorial.

Well I finished with the impression that his wife corrected him, and after that the sister backed off too. But I don't have 2 hours to go back and listen again. Anyway, the whole point I'm making is that some youtubers forget their boundaries when championing the side of the family who befriends them. I'm positive he would be interviewing the girls if he could, but the sister has cooperated. Nothing against her because I as an agnostic was impressed with the way she feels her faith, but CM has to think a little before he jumps to the side of one victim against the other victims who have chosen not to speak.

 

[Cassady]

I disagree. I think many of the demands by the defense were overkill and not even the responsibility of the DA's office. I also believe that today was deemed as the legal clock starter and not May 5 which was the Advisement hearing where BM had not yet been charged.

The Judge agreed with the Prosecutor that today is BM's first hearing since charged, and the countdown clock begins today for the 21 days to produce discovery for the defense yet BM's defense wants to pick up the hard drive from their office on Wednesday, June 2. Not to mention we're talking an estimated 10,000 pages alone just for LE reports!

In my experience, DA's/prosecutors do not wait until the last day of discovery time limits to provide discovery, especially in serious cases that do not have a grand jury indictment and a preliminary hearing is scheduled. They should have their inititial discovery ready at the time of the arrest. Of, course they should also have their theory of the case at the time of arrest as well. I have never heard a prosecutor in a murder case tell the press that they "think" they know what happened, but that theory may change.

The government has to be totally transparent and clear in these type of cases or risk creating doubt in their case....IMO

 

[155etta]

If he wanted the arguments by end of business today, maybe this is tomorrow's order of business for him?
I mean, "by the end of the day" is a pretty specificly soon time frame.

Yeah, he said "by end of day which is in 5 minutes".

 

[Cassady]

During trial, completely agree!

IMO, most jury trials are won or lost long before the jury is picked!

 

[lonetraveler]

Accused killer Barry Morphew expected back in court, faces two new charges - KRDO
SALIDA, Colo. (KRDO) -- Barry Morphew, the man accused of killing his wife Suzanne Morphew, is back in court Thursday for the second time since his arrest on May 5th.

According to documents posted to the Colorado Courts website, Morphew now faces two additional charges; tampering with a human body and possession of a dangerous weapon.

These are all the charges Morphew now currently faces:

• Murder in the first degree
• Tampering with a deceased human body
• Tampering with physical evidence
• Possession of a dangerous weapon
• Attempt to influence a public servant

A legal analyst told our partners at 9News that the new charge of tampering with a human body, which documents say Morphew did between May 9th and 10th of 2020, could just be a suspicion by investigators. It could also mean they found a location where the body may have been at some point, and has been either hidden somewhere else or destroyed.

If Morphew is found guilty of tampering with a human body, he could face up to 32 years in prison for that charge alone.

The possession of a dangerous weapon charge means Morphew had to have a firearm silencer, machine gun, short shotgun, short rifle, or ballistic knife.

Morphew was also charged with forgery of a public record and election ballot defense for allegedly using his wife’s ballot to cast a vote for President Donald Trump in the 2020 election.

The arrest affidavit for the murder charge that Morphew faces is still sealed, and opposing parties have until May 27th to submit documents in response.

His virtual hearing starts at 4 p.m. Thursday in Chaffee County.
EBM add text

I really can't see Barry using a weapon on Suzanne. He is a very powerful man and could easily strangle Suzanne with no problem.

 

[Cassady]

Question for you Cassady: Are we likely to see August proceedings in WebEx or do you think the court will reopen without Covid restrictions by then? I realize I'm partly asking for a medical opinion from you. I would hope "normal" access for media would be restored, if so.

That is a really good question. Each state is handling it differently and I do not practice in Colorado.

I think the more interesting issue is whether webex and other remote video software will be continued once the courts go back to in person hearings. Video access to the courts during the pandemic has made it much easier for the public, attorneys and litigants to access the courts. IMO the Courts need to continue access to hearings through remote video. We need more people to pay attention to what is going on at the courthouses and what taxpayers are spending their money on with regard to all the criminal cases that are jamming up the judicial system in many jurisdictions. IMO

 

[Seattle1]

In my experience, DA's/prosecutors do not wait until the last day of discovery time limits to provide discovery, especially in serious cases that do not have a grand jury indictment and a preliminary hearing is scheduled. They should have their inititial discovery ready at the time of the arrest. Of, course they should also have their theory of the case at the time of arrest as well. I have never heard a prosecutor in a murder case tell the press that they "think" they know what happened, but that theory may change.

The government has to be totally transparent and clear in these type of cases or risk creating doubt in their case....IMO

Respectfully, they are not waiting until the last minute -- they're going to try and meet the June 2 date which is Wednesday. They understand the rule is 21 days or earlier, as is practical.

 

[Seattle1]

Well I finished with the impression that his wife corrected him, and after that the sister backed off too. But I don't have 2 hours to go back and listen again. Anyway, the whole point I'm making is that some youtubers forget their boundaries when championing the side of the family who befriends them. I'm positive he would be interviewing the girls if he could, but the sister has cooperated. Nothing against her because I as an agnostic was impressed with the way she feels her faith, but CM has to think a little before he jumps to the side of one victim against the other victims who have chosen not to speak.

I couldn't agree more!

 

[susiQ]

I keep liking the sound of this.

Orange striped jumpsuit and a mask.

AND, in a cage.....too bad, soooo sad, uh .....not really. No grillin’ peanut butter on the BBQ this summer.

Yup! Sounds good to me!!

 

[*Verdigris]

I recommend going here and hitting refresh every few minutes:
https://twitter.com/LaurenScharfTV

She seems to be putting out the important stuff. Every now and then, someone posts her tweets here 10 minutes later, but why wait?

Some of us are on old devices which can no longer access Twitter.
(But thankfully, can still access Websleuths.)

I very much appreciate those who are posting the Tweets.

 

[Itsapuzzle]

I was disappointed when CM told people in Salida to get the statue. Yeah, just go get it. I was relieved when SM’s sister said no, she was told the girls put it there for their mom, to leave it alone. IMO

Unfortunately, a statue lying on the ground is going to be taken by someone at some point, no question - a tourist, a passerby, not everyone is going to know the background story of the statue and show the respect it deserves. It's a family heirloom lying there to be picked up and carried off by anyone. Barry is a landscape gardener, he had the ability to mount it in concrete, make it a permanent fixture, but no, it's just lying there. And was the statue placed where Barry "threw the bike" .... really, I think there's probably a better place for a memorial in a public area, like a rose tree with a plaque, etc. Just my opinion of course, but yeah, I got where CM was coming from.

 

[Seattle1]

If he wanted the arguments by end of business today, maybe this is tomorrow's order of business for him?
I mean, "by the end of the day" is a pretty specificly soon time frame.

There was already an Order by Judge Murphy on this which specifically states May 27, 2021. See file upload on 5/14/21 on the public court site.

Colorado Judicial Branch

 

[steeltowngirl]

Based on today’s hearing, it feels like defense is going to take the “LE messed up, LE is framing Barry, everyone is a Meth head” approach. Unsurprising.

jmo