Found Deceased CO - Suzanne Morphew, 49, Chaffee County, 10 May 2020 #73 *ARREST*

[Scootie98]

Agreed. It’s the financials I’m most interested in.

It breaks my heart thinking Suzanne might’ve innocently melded inherited liquid assets into marital assets without wrapping them up into a trust payable to her daughters and bypassing her spouse.

Likewise I obsess about if BM dutifully paid into Social Security for him and Suzanne over the years or if he did a lot of under the table cash deals and tried to scoot out of paying into SS for him and Suzanne.

A divorce would expose financial shenanigans.

Didn't give that much thought.....Barry would have been terrified about divorce proceedings discovery by Suzanne's attorney. Having those shenigans discovered and examined in a civil proceeding could have led to criminal ones for Barry....or additional civil ones for that matter.

 

[Trackergd]

Could be, but it seems unlikely they would be comfortable with that unless there were more than the two of them, and even then possibly not. However -- regardless of how many rooms there were for sleeping, it seems reasonable to me that they both entered the one room -- to talk, eat or drink, see what tools/instructions the boss left, etc.
MOO

RSBM

CYA/Alibi pre-planning? "I was not the only person in/using that room". Not sure BM is that smart, but you never know...

 

[merrymary]

I’m going to go with more bad acting. I think he might of caught her sending nudes on the afternoon of Saturday the 9th. Probably was watching trail cams that were perfectly aimed at the back of the house where she happened to be sunbathing. Maybe he was aiming cams toward the house when he said he was looking for a turkey by the river when he stopped home for lunch.

This sending nudes thing in the preliminary hearing really makes me think this could be what drove BM into his final rage. It was kind of presented as read between the lines. This and his fellow workers saying he was constantly checking trail cams.

I think he knew that she was having an affair but he could not figure out whom with. Jmo

Will be interesting if they got any trail cam footage in evidence.......!!!

 

[Scootie98]

Scottie, I'm not a financial expert.
But I can offer my impression.

I think that Suzanne totally agreed to put her inheritance into the Puma Path home, with the stipulation that it would be returned to her when the Indiana home sold. She also helped buy the Puma Path home by getting an additional loan from her father.
She hoped that this fresh start would be a reset on their marriage, but soon found out different.

Her inheritance money represented the only power and independence that Suzanne had. I think that her having that drove him insane. He probably spent most of his waking hours fuming and plotting on ways to get his hands on that money. Once she put it into Puma Path, he determined that she would not get it back.

I think he also had a line of credit against the Puma Path home. So basically he was able to spend her inheritance.

Suzanne probably knew that the closing of the sale of the Indiana home, would be her only chance to get her money back. Barry knew that too. She had to be gone before.
Moo

Wouldn't it be a hoot if that 70k was Barry tapping into the home equity loan or line of credit?

 

[steeltowngirl]

Hi All, here is updated link with some corrections made. I am not sure why for a bit I gave daughters the initials MalB and MaB instead of MalM and MaM... I could speculate...

I want to mention that you should know that whatever my notes are, they are to the best of my understanding and ability. I am lightyears from being an expert.

I hope this works....

Link Sharing

@NoSI thank you! Your notes were fabulous! When I read them, I felt like I was sitting next to you in the courtroom watching the prelim unfold. Very appreciative of the notes, and grateful for the time and money you spent traveling to, and being our “boots on the ground,” in Salida.

 

[MrsWatson]

I'm also very interested in what a forensic accountant has to say at trial. I think there were a lot of financial irregularities. We already know he took out the fraudulent Covid loan for employees that he doesn't have and tried to vote for her, so I'm confident that BM is no stranger to cooking the books using various recipes.
MOO

 

[DizzyB]

I'm also very interested in what a forensic accountant has to say at trial. I think there were a lot of financial irregularities. We already know he took out the fraudulent Covid loan for employees that he doesn't have and tried to vote for her, so I'm confident that BM is no stranger to cooking the books using various recipes.
MOO

I did see in NoSi’s notes that Suzanne helped with the business billing. I’m not saying she had anything to do with financial shenanigans but it’s additional knowledge that is a puzzle piece.

 

[Scootie98]

I'd be interested to know how Barry managed to repay Gene....with that line of credit thingy....did Barry pay him back with his own money?

 

[MrsWatson]

I did see in NoSi’s notes that Suzanne helped with the business billing. I’m not saying she had anything to do with financial shenanigans but it’s additional knowledge that is a puzzle piece.

I agree. It could have been something as simple as BM telling Suzanne to make an invoice to x amount for (fill in the blank )work. Or she could have done all the billing, and had a lot of questions about it. I think the financials will be very revealing.

 

[Seattle1]

I am interested in the relationship between Barry and Gene Morphew (and likewise, Suzanne's relationship with her father at this same time)...especially around the time of the move to CO. We know there were issues about the loan, the payback, etc....But, Suzanne told JL, I believe, that 80% of the arguments were over money...and one of the last arguments centered around Suzanne's inheritance being put into the house, if I recall correctly. I get the impression that this may have been a tipping point for Suzanne....when exactly did she get the money, and then, when did that money get put into the house? I would have thought that Gene and/or Suzanne arranged for an account in Suzanne's name. Then Barry transferred it to the mortgage? This set of transactions is very interesting because it appears to have been very impactful on Suzanne. Any thoughts?

SM's $500K inheritance was from her mother -- long divorced from Gene. According to Andy, SM had to contribute these monies towards the purchase of PP after their Indiana residence did not sell as quickly as the couple anticipated. I always believed SM wanted to recover this money as her separate property from the Indiana balloon payoff which occurred just weeks after SM disappeared.

Allegedly, BM and SM had a 30-year history of informally borrowing from Gene, without incident. Due to the delayed sale of the Indiana residence, I think the couple found themselves "cash poor" during their first year in Colorado, and called on Gene for help. However, I think it was SM's siblings that made the last loan from Gene an issue, which put significant pressure on SM (and angered BM) when her siblings wanted BM & SM to produce a promissory note. Gene was older and in failing health where I think others had become aware/involved in his affairs. MOO based on info from Andy and later MBM.

 

[Fireflize]

I'd be interested to know how Barry managed to repay Gene....with that line of credit thingy....did Barry pay him back with his own money?

I've wondered that too.

 

[*Verdigris]

Thank you @NoSI for the document!

I don’t remember this.. "# Recording 3… September 2018: SO was visiting SM. BM was hunting in NE or AZ at the time. SO saw headlights coming up to PP. They stopped short of the house. Somebody moved about in the dark and appeared to look in the house. They learned that it was BM. "

Wow BM sure was paranoid. To “sneak” back home like that. To me this also confirms they didn't have working cameras if Barry didn't believe it was SO visiting.

In one of Lauren Scharf's videos, she talks about this. SM and SO were scared, and had actually called 911 (before they knew it was BM).
At first they must have been relieved to find out that it was him, but then were probably also freaked out all over again, knowing it was him.

 

[OldCop]

I can't imagine Suzanne's last minutes... or her last words.

But I do remember Kelsey's. (KB murdered by her fiance PF)

"Please stop."

JMO

Or Chris Watts’ 4 year old daughter, Bella, “Daddy, no!”.

 

[Fireflize]

I'm also very interested in what a forensic accountant has to say at trial. I think there were a lot of financial irregularities. We already know he took out the fraudulent Covid loan for employees that he doesn't have and tried to vote for her, so I'm confident that BM is no stranger to cooking the books using various recipes.
MOO

Pretty sure there were some interesting book cooking recipes, as you so cleverly noted. Because, after all, everybody does it, right BM?

 

[Seattle1]

Very good point.....And Did MG know she was going to Broomfield on Sunday before the early am phone call?

MG states she long knew about Broomfield but her knowledge never included where she'd be called on to pull together a crew and head to Broomfield on Mother's Day!

 

[10ofRods]

If he did take her Range Rover, there’s a major issue here according to @NoSI’s notes.

May 12, 2020: Search warrant for Verizon phone records, RTT data, F350. No human blood found in F350. Decomp dogs (2 different dogs, 2 different handlers) did not hit. An exhibit was shown: Image of inside of garage with 2 Range Rovers parked in it. Dogs did not hit.

That’s why I’m leaning towards another vehicle being in play here.

I think he took the older RR, and that the reason he tranquilized Suzanne is so that she would still be alive when they left the property.

 

[oviedo]

SM's $500K inheritance was from her mother -- long divorced from Gene. According to Andy, SM had to contribute these monies towards the purchase of PP after their Indiana residence did not sell as quickly as the couple anticipated. I always believed SM wanted to recover this money as her separate property from the Indiana balloon payoff which occurred just weeks after SM disappeared.

Allegedly, BM and SM had a 30-year history of informally borrowing from Gene, without incident. Due to the delayed sale of the Indiana residence, I think the couple found themselves "cash poor" during their first year in Colorado, and called on Gene for help. However, I think it was SM's siblings that made the last loan from Gene an issue, which put significant pressure on SM (and angered BM) when her siblings wanted BM & SM to produce a promissory note. Gene was older and in failing health where I think others had become aware/involved in his affairs. MOO based on info from Andy and later MBM.

I'm curious about the financial arguments from the hearing - couples that argue about money may argue because 1) there isn't enough to pay basic bills; or 2) one is a spender and one is a saver; or 3) one is secretly hiding money and it's discovered; or 4) one is using credit cards to the extreme .... what else? and why was this couple arguing about money? I've often wondered with the self employment/business of landscaping - was there any kind of steady "paycheck" or were they living off of savings after paying cash for the house? Since both names were on the PP deed - it's unlikely only one could take out a loan/line of credit without the other's signature from legitimate sources?
JMO

 

[OldCop]

Hi All, here is updated link with some corrections made. I am not sure why for a bit I gave daughters the initials MalB and MaB instead of MalM and MaM... I could speculate...

I want to mention that you should know that whatever my notes are, they are to the best of my understanding and ability. I am lightyears from being an expert.

I hope this works....

Link Sharing

Thanks for all your hard work, @NoSI!

 

[10ofRods]

If a cooler was used and fit inside another cooler and drenched in bleach- and if she was taken from the spa (presumably filled with bleach water) would that mask her scent and explain no dog hit? We’ve seen dogs miss bodies by inches so I’m considering this possibility- We need our SAR sleuthers to comment
@K9Enzo @Trackergd

Even the world's best cadaver dogs cannot smell products of decomp until the body has gone through rigor mortis (at about 3-6 hours), the enzymatic changes in the body cells of that process have ceased, and then, tiny amounts of cadaverine are usually detectable at about 12 hours. Typically, they start working with decomp dogs at 24 hours.

But if Suzanne was rapidly removed from PP or if she left PP alive, there would be no decomp. She wasn't lying around in one place for 12 hours. I believe he put her into a game bag or similar right away. He probably wrapped her in plastic too. Then the cooler.

All of this took place before rigor set in. Products of decomp would not be present at that time.

 

[MrsWatson]

I'm curious about the financial arguments from the hearing - couples that argue about money may argue because 1) there isn't enough to pay basic bills; or 2) one is a spender and one is a saver; or 3) one is secretly hiding money and it's discovered; or 4) one is using credit cards to the extreme .... what else? and why was this couple arguing about money? I've often wondered with the self employment/business of landscaping - was there any kind of steady "paycheck" or were they living off of savings after paying cash for the house? Since both names were on the PP deed - it's unlikely only one could take out a loan/line of credit without the other's signature from legitimate sources?
JMO

I can see BM telling the lender, Suzanne is recovering from cancer, and using Covid as an excuse to "take the paperwork home" for her to sign. If the lender was someone they had worked with before, the excuse many have been easily accepted.
MOO