Found Deceased CO - Suzanne Morphew, 49, Chaffee Co, 10 May 2020 #81 *arrest*

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@Love Never Fails, people have gone missing for various reasons (including foul play) since the dawn of humanity. Human predators have also been around since the dawn of humanity. The evolution of MSM and Social Media just makes us very aware of how prevalent it is. The thousands of cases here in the files of WS staggers the mind. We do what we can, solve what we can and move on. In the grand scheme of things, every little bit helps and we learn from every case and apply that knowledge to the next one.
 
I do not see a reduction in charges.

Without a body, the when and the where and the how are hard to pin down. So if the Judge were to say that the Prosecution hasn't met the burden because they haven't proved reasonably that a crime took place or that Barry did it, that would be one thing.

But it's not THIS thing --

The defense wants reduced charges IMO because it's The Best, maybe the Only real path to bail.

They get him out, they saturate the media with his "innocence".... and then they start talking to their client about pleas.

Seems that premeditated is the sticking point.

Suzanne is home. Barry gets home. Leaves his vehicle door open and moves in pattern around his property. Wielding, by his admission, a .22 which he is firing.

And Suzanne is never heard from again.

He had LOTS of opportunities to consider his actions and choose differently.

What do you call Murder 2 with multiple, contributing steps leading to violence? Murder 1.

The Judge just needs to get that all down in writing so the defense has no room for objection.

Barry missed summer in Salida. Barry's going to miss Mexico in January, I'm afraid.

I wonder if he's still winning at push-ups.

Just my thoughts....
 
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Nice work, @sk716. This is exactly the area where @Trackergd and I have suspected from very early on. I don’t how far south off the back road, (towards Pahlone), between PP and the RV Park that searchers ventured. I know they searched that dammed lake to the east of the RV park.
It’s interesting because on 5/9, cell info has him 1) walking by river at the back of his house, and/or walking near the RV park. If he walked along the river, he would eventually intersect with the dirt road that leads to the RV park.
Was that afternoon jaunt a scouting trip?

I've been thinking that afternoon stroll was more about staging. Making sure that he wouldn't leave tracks, dropping off some cleaning solution at the waters edge so he wouldn't track anything back up to the house, you know the basics. He's a reasonable clever guy, he laid out a plan and for the most part he managed almost everything he planned. It's the stuff he didn't plan for that's actually got him by the short and curlies.

The woods get really thick where the trail ends and it looks to me like it hollows down some. The hollow would make a lovely home for small animals and the predators that eat them. Looks to me to be about ten acres of thick forest. I wasn't sure which end she was on for awhile, there is a nice thick spot on the western spur, but I couldn't find any way for an ATV to get there without going the long way around.

I don't think the searchers made it anywhere up that mountain. Probably only as far south as the power lines. I got the impression that they did some searching on Monarch, to the west, just as Barry planned. I think I remember reading some drone searches were done, but I think they were to the north. We kind of need someone involved in the searches to mark off where they looked.
 
I've been thinking that afternoon stroll was more about staging. Making sure that he wouldn't leave tracks, dropping off some cleaning solution at the waters edge so he wouldn't track anything back up to the house, you know the basics. He's a reasonable clever guy, he laid out a plan and for the most part he managed almost everything he planned. It's the stuff he didn't plan for that's actually got him by the short and curlies.

The woods get really thick where the trail ends and it looks to me like it hollows down some. The hollow would make a lovely home for small animals and the predators that eat them. Looks to me to be about ten acres of thick forest. I wasn't sure which end she was on for awhile, there is a nice thick spot on the western spur, but I couldn't find any way for an ATV to get there without going the long way around.

I don't think the searchers made it anywhere up that mountain. Probably only as far south as the power lines. I got the impression that they did some searching on Monarch, to the west, just as Barry planned. I think I remember reading some drone searches were done, but I think they were to the north. We kind of need someone involved in the searches to mark off where they looked.
And that is a bit of a problem because so many searches were just caring people in the public. Not organized and necessarily documented by LE.
 
I think he's staying in jail and will be bound over but I am not sure about 1st degree. If they get 1st degree, I think jury selection will be critical for the state. There's a lot of information after the crime but not much before it which jurors will expect for 1st degree whether that's a correct interpretation of the law or not.
Plenty of evidence about setting up the alibi, in advance. To me under any standard, this is evidence of deliberation. Certainly under the probable cause standard and the PEPG standard. What am I missing in your view?
 
@Love Never Fails, people have gone missing for various reasons (including foul play) since the dawn of humanity. Human predators have also been around since the dawn of humanity. The evolution of MSM and Social Media just makes us very aware of how prevalent it is. The thousands of cases here in the files of WS staggers the mind. We do what we can, solve what we can and move on. In the grand scheme of things, every little bit helps and we learn from every case and apply that knowledge to the next one.

I agree with what you said. But why is your statement directed to me? What’s the point?
 
Just responding in general because I was worried you were getting bummed out by this case. :)

No. I like following cases and trying to figure out who the perp is and why. I do follow several cases. Most end up the same. I just can’t figure out to this day why anyone would choose to kill anyone else when they could walk away? Walking away may leave you poorer. It may leave you heartsick. But to kill takes a special kind of arrogance so it is important to me that justice follows.
 
@sk716 there aren't a ton of lifts on Monarch so it would depend on which direction this is looking. There is also a scenic tramway up in the pass. There have been quite a few searches of that area including the AM public search so perhaps someone can pinpoint this plateau easily if they participated in any of the searches.

It's not the tramway, the poles for the tram are a lot smaller and wouldn't be visible at that distance. I lean towards high tension power lines, but I haven't been able to find a place where the line turns to go up a mountain. If I can find that bend in the power lines, I can find the spot.
 
No, only the evidence that was introduced. You have to err on the side of inclusion. So every witness you'd possibly want to call has to be on that list even if you are not sure you will actually call them. This is to give everyone a chance to prepare. Only in extenuating circumstances and with the permission of the Court would you be allowed to call a witness you did not disclose (and you better have a good reason)

That wasn't what I was asking, exactly. The state wanted to present 18 witnesses and was asked to cut it down to 8. Then, when it became clear that the defense was going to use up 2 full days of the PH with objections and sidebars, it went down to 4.

I wasn't asking about calling witnesses - I'm asking about whether the 18 (or 8) witnesses would have submitted evidence. Every trial I've worked on, the exhibits were expected to be filed with the court in advance of the first day of the hearing - not on a rolling basis depending on which witness was to be called.

It wasn't clear until Day 4 that there would be only 4 prosecution witnesses. No one talked about calling witnesses that weren't on the list - but the prosecution had to give up calling some experts. Presumably, the cell phone and digital data experts - because the experts they did have couldn't always say what the exhibits really meant - they said that wasn't their expertise. I'm certain the State has those experts, they just didn't take the stand.

So can the cell records and digital data be used as evidence in the Judge's decision? We heard about "11 texts" from Barry to Suzanne on Saturday afternoon, but not their content. Wouldn't the judge have the content?

Some have said it was 11 phone calls - but no phone calls were played at the hearing, that I know of (but if there are records of them - could the Judge use them in his decision?)

So far, it seems to me most of what was presented was texts (Suzanne and JL, Suzanne and SO) and mention of (unplayed) surveillance videos (surely the Judge could look at the whole video for context?)

Truly. confused here.
 
I doubt that Barry's plan is to be convicted of M2. At his age...he would be quite elderly upon release. A conviction for M2 under the circumstances we are aware of is no defeat. However, we don't know what is in the AA and what additional evidence which supports M1 will be presented to a jury. I think alot of our opinions and speculations will change when we see the AA.

Murder 2, degree 3 in CO carries 4-12 years. Murder 2, degree 2 carres 8-24. Considerable difference.

If the Judge were to run all his sentences concurrently, he could be out in 2 years (parole) or 4 (no parole). If the Judge decides to be lenient.

He won't make a plea this Friday - he'll be arraigned (I think). By that time, he'll probably have served 5 months - and if the sentence is lenient, that's way way better than being in prison for 24 years (with parole possibility at, say 12 years).

I don't expect anyone to be this lenient with Barry. But psychologically, the defense will have aided their client immensely if they get the charges down to Murder 2, Degree 3 (crime of passion). Or if they claim he "accidentally" killed her with a tranq dart (Murder 2, Degree 2 IMO), he still gets a considerable sentence.

I think the jury should decide, I really do. They should look at the totality of the evidence and decide what happened to Suzanne.
 
@Love Never Fails, people have gone missing for various reasons (including foul play) since the dawn of humanity. Human predators have also been around since the dawn of humanity. The evolution of MSM and Social Media just makes us very aware of how prevalent it is. The thousands of cases here in the files of WS staggers the mind. We do what we can, solve what we can and move on. In the grand scheme of things, every little bit helps and we learn from every case and apply that knowledge to the next one.
Excellent post. Every little bit does help. A lot of people think it's a recent phenomena. It made me think about how many more resources are available for solving cases we have today. Resources developed just since DNA in 1987, which was a game changer. More importantly getting the right perp. I hate to think about someone serving time and their innocent.
 
No. I like following cases and trying to figure out who the perp is and why. I do follow several cases. Most end up the same. I just can’t figure out to this day why anyone would choose to kill anyone else when they could walk away? Walking away may leave you poorer. It may leave you heartsick. But to kill takes a special kind of arrogance so it is important to me that justice follows.
Murderers all believe they are victims.
 
That wasn't what I was asking, exactly. The state wanted to present 18 witnesses and was asked to cut it down to 8. Then, when it became clear that the defense was going to use up 2 full days of the PH with objections and sidebars, it went down to 4.

I wasn't asking about calling witnesses - I'm asking about whether the 18 (or 8) witnesses would have submitted evidence. Every trial I've worked on, the exhibits were expected to be filed with the court in advance of the first day of the hearing - not on a rolling basis depending on which witness was to be called.

It wasn't clear until Day 4 that there would be only 4 prosecution witnesses. No one talked about calling witnesses that weren't on the list - but the prosecution had to give up calling some experts. Presumably, the cell phone and digital data experts - because the experts they did have couldn't always say what the exhibits really meant - they said that wasn't their expertise. I'm certain the State has those experts, they just didn't take the stand.

So can the cell records and digital data be used as evidence in the Judge's decision? We heard about "11 texts" from Barry to Suzanne on Saturday afternoon, but not their content. Wouldn't the judge have the content?

Some have said it was 11 phone calls - but no phone calls were played at the hearing, that I know of (but if there are records of them - could the Judge use them in his decision?)

So far, it seems to me most of what was presented was texts (Suzanne and JL, Suzanne and SO) and mention of (unplayed) surveillance videos (surely the Judge could look at the whole video for context?)

Truly. confused here.

With the full and upfront disclosure that I don't practice in Colorado and 99% of my practice is in Federal Court, I understand this hearing was meant to prove that the evidence as presented in the AA is sufficient to prove probable cause and move on to trial.

The state will include everything it needs to support probable cause in the AA. The state knows the defendant has the right to waive the preliminary hearing so they can't rely on the hearing to be the place where they introduce new evidence.

I believe the first exhibit the state introduced was the full and unredacted AA. The first agents read from the AA and its exhibits and testified about texts from Suzanne to her friend SO and SO's comments about it. So we know the entire AA is in evidence and the judge can consider it.

The remainder of the hearing was essentially explaining, elaborating, and justifying information from the AA. Remember, this is a 126 page AA. When you have a 2 page AA you may need your agents to get on the stand and elaborate but here I can't imagine there's anything they didn't fit into the AA.

The state had a list of witnesses who were going to testify in support of the AA. Like I said in my previous post, they likely included everyone they could possibly think of so they were able to call them if needed. But it appears that the state felt they went through their entire case from the AA with only 4 witnesses. The state rested and did not complain so I don't think they feel they "missed" anything.

In an actual trial, each piece of evidence needs to be authenticated and introduced so you can't just have the FBI agent testify as to what someone else thinks or says. That's why you'd need 125 witnesses or whatever they are going to eventually have here. But in this hearing, with no rules of evidence, the FBI agent and local deputies walked through the evidence themselves.
 
Do you think that Barry is planning for a celebratory weekend at home, steaks with peanut butter on the side?
He could be, but I think he'll be having grits with a side dish of peanut butter while he still resides in his concrete cage.

Nothing wrong with grits, by the way. Just never ate them until I moved South.
 
With the full and upfront disclosure that I don't practice in Colorado and 99% of my practice is in Federal Court, I understand this hearing was meant to prove that the evidence as presented in the AA is sufficient to prove probable cause and move on to trial.

The state will include everything it needs to support probable cause in the AA. The state knows the defendant has the right to waive the preliminary hearing so they can't rely on the hearing to be the place where they introduce new evidence.

I believe the first exhibit the state introduced was the full and unredacted AA. The first agents read from the AA and its exhibits and testified about texts from Suzanne to her friend SO and SO's comments about it. So we know the entire AA is in evidence and the judge can consider it.

The remainder of the hearing was essentially explaining, elaborating, and justifying information from the AA. Remember, this is a 126 page AA. When you have a 2 page AA you may need your agents to get on the stand and elaborate but here I can't imagine there's anything they didn't fit into the AA.

The state had a list of witnesses who were going to testify in support of the AA. Like I said in my previous post, they likely included everyone they could possibly think of so they were able to call them if needed. But it appears that the state felt they went through their entire case from the AA with only 4 witnesses. The state rested and did not complain so I don't think they feel they "missed" anything.

In an actual trial, each piece of evidence needs to be authenticated and introduced so you can't just have the FBI agent testify as to what someone else thinks or says. That's why you'd need 125 witnesses or whatever they are going to eventually have here. But in this hearing, with no rules of evidence, the FBI agent and local deputies walked through the evidence themselves.

Thank you so much!

I don't know the rules of CO PH's. I understand the part about rules of evidence applying in future - I've just never known a judge who didn't consider everything submitted to the court up to the point when a decision was made. So whatever was given as exhibits, I would think, would be available to the judge no matter how disorganized either side was...or whether any specific witness referred to them in particular.

I feel like I'm not making sense.
 
Thank you so much!

I don't know the rules of CO PH's. I understand the part about rules of evidence applying in future - I've just never known a judge who didn't consider everything submitted to the court up to the point when a decision was made. So whatever was given as exhibits, I would think, would be available to the judge no matter how disorganized either side was...or whether any specific witness referred to them in particular.

I feel like I'm not making sense.

No you are making total sense. I just realized I think we are looking at the same information from different angles. I am assuming that anything that would have been (or WAS) entered into an exhibit at the PH by any witness was already included in the AA. My understanding is the PH walks through the information from the AA.

So you're right, they may have labeled and submitted Exhibits A through T but only introduced Exhibits A through L in public at the hearing.

But I think ALL of those exhibits will have already been included in the AA. Maybe? lol
 
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