Found Deceased CO - Suzanne Morphew, 49, Chaffee Co, 10 May 2020 #80 *arrest*

[Scootie98]

He ‘gave’ her cash. She did not have an atm card. This is a huge control issue.

The first visual I get in reading this...is of Ray Liotta in Goodfellas....as Henry Hill giving cash to his wife, Karen. Yes...that would be something that Barry emulates.

 

[Janeumayer]

From @NoSI

Skid Steer aka Bobcat: Based on GPS data “does not appear to be connected to SMs disappearance.” AA Page 41. Bobcat active at job sites on 5/9/20 in the morning (until around 11 AM).

This bothers me. Why not extend the date to include 5/6 onwards when Suzanne told Barry she was done?

 

[10ofRods]

This bothers me. Why not extend the date to include 5/6 onwards when Suzanne told Barry she was done?

How do we know which dates they checked? I'd assume that if they looked at the Bobcat's GPS, they would look at all the data it contained...

Where did you learn that they only started looking at GPS data from the 9th onward?

 

[Janeumayer]

How do we know which dates they checked? I'd assume that if they looked at the Bobcat's GPS, they would look at all the data it contained...

Where did you learn that they only started looking at GPS data from the 9th onward?

I’m just inferring from the notes and CBI activity at the job site. The job site cannot be the only “activity” registered on that bobcat. That bobcat had to be at other locations that may be of importance. Barry tugged that bobcat everywhere for a reason.

 

[MsBetsy]

Yes. The clothes he was apparently wearing that day were found in the dryer. Most people probably don’t immediately wash the clothes they were just wearing, unless there is more laundry to be done.

So it makes sense that Barry washed the clothes he was wearing after murdering Suzanne, and accidentally left the cap in his pocket.

Did LE find the dart cap initially when they found his clothes in the dryer or did they find the cap when they searched the second time?

 

[10ofRods]

Did LE find the dart cap initially when they found his clothes in the dryer or did they find the cap when they searched the second time?

Second time - on 19 May, IIRC. The first guy didn't check the lint trap.

 

[MassGuy]

Did LE find the dart cap initially when they found his clothes in the dryer or did they find the cap when they searched the second time?

It was discovered during that first search warrant. The first investigator missed it, but fortunately it wasn’t missed by the second guy.

 

[Boxer]

From @NoSI

Skid Steer aka Bobcat: Based on GPS data “does not appear to be connected to SMs disappearance.” AA Page 41. Bobcat active at job sites on 5/9/20 in the morning (until around 11 AM).

Thos does not aound exclusive of other dates, it sounds only the like simplified data they wish to reveal.

 

[Janeumayer]

Thos does not aound exclusive of other dates, it sounds only the like simplified data they wish to reveal.

Agreed but we do know that they did use that data to obtain a search warrant to break through the concrete slab and dig up the job site.

 

[Boxer]

Agreed but we do know that they did use that data to obtain a search warrant to break through the concrete slab and dig up the job site.

I did not realize that the Bobcat GPS was the basis for the search of the Salida worksite.

 

[Janeumayer]

I did not realize that the Bobcat GPS was the basis for the search of the Salida worksite.

That’s what it looks like. Plus the Ford truck and Barry’s phone data. MOO

 

[Curious_in_NC]

Im not sure how much of a bike crash expert her bike mechanic would be. I’m not a bike mechanic or an expert, but am a mountain biker who rides with lots of friends and has been with them when they crash (and crash a lot myself). Bikes end up in a lot of different ways, especially when using flat pedals that a lot of beginners use. With clipless pedals, the bike usually stays with the rider when you crash as you are physically attached with your shoes clipped into the pedals.

With flat pedals, the bike normally ends up down the hill as there is no physical attachment once your feet leave the pedal, your butt leaves the seat and your hands let go of the handlebars as you are flipping over them in a crash.

From what I’ve seen and experienced, on downhill crashes you almost always go over the handles bars and if not clipped in, fling the bike down the hill.

Did they say anywhere what kind of pedals or shoes she used?

 

[sk716]

If you cross over the water that runs behind the Puma Path house, what's on the other side?

Two mountains.

I made a Google Earth for this case since Google maps doesn't show the elevation. It really helps to see how insane the terrain around the Puma Path area.

 

[sk716]

I did not realize that the Bobcat GPS was the basis for the search of the Salida worksite.

That’s what it looks like. Plus the Ford truck and Barry’s phone data. MOO

Does that mean that the neighbor who reported the work in the middle of the night on the 9th was correct? I don't recall that being brought up in the prelim. Hoping the AA has that info, but it really throws a serious question into the mix, whose vehicle did he use to get there? It's a couple of miles from the Puma Path house.

 

[Bluebythec]

Two mountains.

I made a Google Earth for this case since Google maps doesn't show the elevation. It really helps to see how insane the terrain around the Puma Path area.

I was curious since he spent so much time behind the house but the consensus is that he couldn't have buried her in the water. I wondered if he could have walked to the other side and buried her there somewhere.

 

[sk716]

Thanks so much @NoSI! Beautiful river photo! It looks even narrower in this photo than what I've seen in others. I wonder what time of year this photo was taken, first guess autumn, but IDK.
I had been thinking that if she was in a container, cooler, barrel, etc. He would have moved rocks to make a hole and then replaced them atop the container in the hole and made sure the rocks covering the area would be heavy enough to not be moved down stream by the current.
He would have made holes in the container so that it would not be able to float and probably added rocks inside for weight. It could have been done and been easier to do) at the edge close to the shore. (Just covering some speculation regarding bodies or skeletal remains floating down the river or it being too rocky). MOO
That being said, I defer to the posters who are familiar with the river and the available river data.
And I still think it more likely (not decidedly) that she is in a container at the bottom of an abandoned mine.

Let me dispel any possibility of BM having dumped/buried SM into the Arkansas or it's run off in Salida:

Nobody controls the Arkansas except maybe the Army Corps of Engineers, but even they have serious issues with her from time to time.

I've spent the majority of my life within 20 miles of the Arkansas in Little Rock. Down here she's a nightmarish b**** that takes lives with reckless abandon. Up there she's thin, fast, and nothing but rocks and rock beds. Early on, I thought he chopped her up and tossed her in the Arkansas. But it's too rocky, parts would have hung on rocks and been discovered. Digging any kind of hole in those conditions requires way more equipment and people than Barry had. The Bobcat auger would have either snapped or gotten stuck trying to break through what I'm going to guess is a combo of sandstone/limestone and granite. Any progress he would have made would have been washed away because the water moves so fast up there.

She didn't go into the river, but I think he washed any DNA evidence away in her.

 

[sk716]

I was curious since he spent so much time behind the house but the consensus is that he couldn't have buried her in the water. I wondered if he could have walked to the other side and buried her there somewhere.

There was at least one four wheeler on the property at the time of the murder. I would make the search radius the distance he could get to and back on that four wheeler in about three hours. I need to study up on four wheelers and see what kind of speeds they can go up a mountainside.

 

[Boxer]

The Shell camera in Poncha Springs takes care of eastern in and out traffic on Hwy 50.
I hope there is a cam near Garfield Mine that took care of traffic on the west.


Every vehicle would need elimination, and that leaves BM inside an 11 mile stretch of highway 50.

 

[coastal]

A silver mine, maybe? It would be interesting to know more about BM's investment in silver. Where's the closest silver mine? Off to see...

Answering myself:

https://thediggings.com/places/co0152583265/mines

Maysville, Colorado has a population of 135 (based on numbers from 2010).
Claims Summary in Maysville, Colorado
17,395 Total
483 Active

16,912 Closed
311 silver mines
Mines Summary in Maysville, Colorado
570 Total
141 Occurrences
13 Prospects
5 Plants
411 Producers

Salida, Colorado has a population of 5,236 (based on numbers from 2010).
Located in Chaffee County, Colorado.
Claims Summary in Salida, Colorado
19,761 Total
374 Active
19,387 Closed
Mines Summary in Salida, Colorado
439 Total
106 Occurrences
14 Prospects
4 Plants
315 Producers

(It seemed like a good idea at 3 A.M.)

 

[10ofRods]

Does that mean that the neighbor who reported the work in the middle of the night on the 9th was correct? I don't recall that being brought up in the prelim. Hoping the AA has that info, but it really throws a serious question into the mix, whose vehicle did he use to get there? It's a couple of miles from the Puma Path house.

The only thing I heard at the PH mentions only that the Bobcat was at the beach site on Saturday morning - not at night. I doubt Barry would leave his precious Bobcat unattended at the site, but if he did, he took it with him to PP when he dropped MG off and went home.

Anyway, nothing about the previous night was mentioned in regard to the Bobcat. Presumably, Barry had it with him when he went to pick up MG.