Still Missing CO - Suzanne Morphew, 49, Chaffee Co, 10 May 2020 *arrest* #93

[Gardenista]

I'm actually surprised they are allowing the text messages in. There is a similar kind of case right now, WI vs Jensen, that has made it all the way to SCOTUS. In the WI case, the victim wrote a letter saying if anything happened to her, to look at her husband. She gave the letter to her neighbor. It was admitted at trial, the conviction was overturned on appeal and they've been fighting over it ever since. IANAL, but I think it's kind of the same. The gist of it is it's a violation of the 6th Amendment.

 

[sk716]

I would be interested to see her cell data. What other messages did she sent from about 1:30 on until 2:03. What was the time stamp on that 2:03 photo? Were the messages she sent from about 1:30 until that photo was sent fairly normal. What cell location did her phone ping at during the 1:30-2:03.

We haven't seen her cell data fully yet. We know her last ping, but we don't have locations from any of the other activity. If he did have a way to log in and send messages that appear to be from her phone, I'd be curious how those show up on location data.

I feel something was going on during his lunch. He wasn't home with her.. he parked down the road a little way just outside their actual driveway. Then he wandered looking for a turkey. He did something with the bobcat and then he called her repeatedly as he left to get the bobcat blade changed. Something is off.

I need to look again, but wasn't it at 11 something that day she texted "guess who is alone again".. yet she wasn't.. he was there wandering around and he told LE he was sunbathing and having veggie soup. He needed to leave abruptly from the work site to "go make Suzanne happy" yet he didn't let her know he was home. This was right after the FB password reset also.

It feels like we are missing something right in here during this time frame.

Also, he was already on the way to get the blade changed when he started making phone calls to them about it.. so did they know he was coming or was that their heads up?

He was pulling down his trail cameras.

He then went to DSI to start laying out his everything is fine alibi.

 

[Megnut]

Is the defense's argument that Suzanne didn't mention abuse in every single text, how bad could it have been?

Sheesh. Dr. Phil says "even serial killers don't kill every day."

One act of physical abuse is abuse enough!

(Then multiply by financial, emotional, body blocking abuse.)

Barry silenced Suzanne once. Let's hope her words get voice at trial.

JMO

 

[Cindizzi]

From the article: Defense attorneys said that in the more than 3,000 text messages between Suzanne and Oliver, Suzanne never mentioned the alleged acts of domestic abuse, even though they were best friends.

So was there or was there not text messages about abuse between Suzanne and SO?

I think they mean that there are no texts to back up SM telling SO about specific things like the gun to head. Nothing concrete showing a date.
JMO

From the article:


In another instance, prosecutors said Barry and Suzanne got in a fight and Barry pushed his wife into a closet, held a gun to his own head, and asked her, "is this what you want me to do?"

Prosecutors also revealed that one of Suzanne's best friends, Sheila Oliver, told investigators about alleged acts of domestic violence she believed that Barry committed toward Suzanne during a March 2, 2021 conversation with investigators.

Prosecutors did not provide any dates or specific times the alleged incidents took place, saying only they believe they all happened in the time since the Morphews moved to Colorado from Indiana. They also did not provide any circumstantial information about what led up to the alleged incidents.

 

[Momofthreeboys]

Regarding information that is "relevant and raises great suspicion," but that would be used "for a prohibited purpose"...

@MassGuy: In the Colorado trial of Harold Henthorn for the murder of his second wife (a case in which Grusing was brought in to assist the original investigators), the court admitted some unusual evidence involving past odd "accidents" involving Henthorn and wive's #1 and #2. That evidence demonstrated a pattern of HH arranging odd accidents that would seriously injure his wives in remote areas, where emergency help would take a long time to arrive, increasing the likelihood the women would not survive. As the beneficiary on significant life insurance policies carried on the wives, HH collected over $400,000 on wife #1 and was attempting to collect over $4 million on wife #2.

Could this judge be using this case to "rein in" Grusing on this technique of discerning such patterns to bring the past events in?

I think the judge is just going to be by the book....there are very clear legal rules about hearsay, characterization, past events. This judge, like Murphy, is just not wanting to open the door to appeal. But we knew this would happen. We knew it from the day the affidavit was released so none of it is surprising. I totally expected SO to testify. She was the one that bought the spy pen that revealed the affair that is some of the underlying speculation by prosecution. I'm sure defense has already been strategizing their cross of her.

 

[sk716]

Keep thinking about when BM was killing SM on Saturday afternoon, er, I mean, chasing chipmunks.
Borrowed from @sk716 ’s wonderful timeline:
14:44:02 – 14:44:05 Barry’s phone pings by the western back patio.
14:44:06 – 14:44:09 Barry’s phone pings by the sunning porch where Suzanne took the selfie at 2:03.
14:44:10 – 14:44:11 Barry’s phone is in front of the house
14:44:12 – 14:44:23 Barry’s phone pings inside the garage
14:45:43 – 14:47:43 Barry’s phone pings at the master bed room.

I don’t believe BM is capable of running through walls despite the he man that he (thinks he) is.
This is how I think it may have played out. Remember he is mad, he is pumped up. How dare she not answer his calls. He’s moving quickly.

Aw, shucks. Just built off of yours.

 

[eyeseestars]

I think two are Clorox pool chlorine stabilizers, easily identified with a Google search.

JMO

Which one, the bag or the other? I've googled the bag and it doesn't look like an exact match to me, at least of the 2022 version. Might be a difference in packaging since then though.

 

[HongKongPhooey]

I think the judge is just going to be by the book....there are very clear legal rules about hearsay, characterization, past events. This judge, like Murphy, is just not wanting to open the door to appeal. But we knew this would happen. We knew it from the day the affidavit was released so none of it is surprising. I totally expected SO to testify. She was the one that bought the spy pen that revealed the affair that is some of the underlying speculation by prosecution. I'm sure defense has already been strategizing their cross of her.

Also, SO as I recall messaged Suzanne saying she would be worried for her safety if she left the marriage. That is potentially huge. Prophetic, even.

 

[Cindizzi]

Judge denies motions in Barry Morphew hearing | 9news.com

"We don't believe that the allegations are true," said one of Morphew's defense attorneys.

Morphew's lawyers argued that the members of the jury should not hear prejudicial information when "there is no proof that the allegations are true."

"The court has a duty to protect Mr. Morphew's right to a fair trial," Barry's defense attorney said.

They made the argument that Oliver is not a credible source since she once wore a recording device to record a conversation with Barry.

 

[sk716]

I'm actually surprised they are allowing the text messages in. There is a similar kind of case right now, WI vs Jensen, that has made it all the way to SCOTUS. In the WI case, the victim wrote a letter saying if anything happened to her, to look at her husband. She gave the letter to her neighbor. It was admitted at trial, the conviction was overturned on appeal and they've been fighting over it ever since. IANAL, but I think it's kind of the same. The gist of it is it's a violation of the 6th Amendment.

It looks like a number of these 6th Amendment cases are arguing that you can't cross-examine a dead person. I'm editorializing a little because, well, defense teams are trying to get statements from victims of murder stricken from the record in order to overturn the conviction of the murderer.

 

[Momofthreeboys]

Is the defense's argument that Suzanne didn't mention abuse in every single text, how bad could it have been?

Sheesh. Dr. Phil says "even serial killers don't kill every day."

One act of physical abuse is abuse enough!

(Then multiply by financial, emotional, body blocking abuse.)

Barry silenced Suzanne once. Let's hope her words get voice at trial.

JMO

Defense is claiming according to the news articled linked earlier that there are no texts between Suzanne and SO. I don't know if that is accurate or not meaning the claim is SO saying "Suzanne told me" which is hearsay. SO can still testify to information that is first hand...like her purchase or the spy pen.

 

[FromGermany1]

I quoted my own post here because when I first read it, I remember thinking it an interesting coincidence that Barry called the daughter immediately after she attempted to call (and failed to reach) Suzanne.

I wonder if BM is (or at least at that time was) somehow monitoring the daughter's phones.

bbm
I also stumbled over this!!

 

[Seattle1]

I wonder if LE asked him why he needed the blade changed that particular day/time. It would be reasonable to assume that he needed it because he was heading to Broomfield to do this job and I think it actually could have made more sense for him to take it because he could say the last minute blade change was needed for the job.. but then he didn't even take it to the job. Why did he need to go do this blade change on the same day he was going to spend a lovely evening with his wife? Why the rush on this day just to leave it sit in the driveway while he was gone out of town for a big job for a few days? It just really doesn't add up. I think the wording on the AA is also leaving that door open that it actually was used.

LE recovered the old blade from the mechanic at DSi (I think he's referred to as Crib)?? It would not be difficult for an expert to confirm the blade needed replacement. A shop mechanic typically works on Saturday because it makes good business sense-- you don't want to take equipment away from a billable project or weekday hours and the mechanic will testify to the same (i.e., industry practice).

I believe somewhere in conversations between BM and Crib when talking about the attachment for sale BM asked if he had time to change the blade and he suggested noon. I also recall BM calls Crib on Saturday to tell him he's running late and will be there around 1 pm. This is from memory of months ago so it's MOO.

 

[sk716]

Judge denies motions in Barry Morphew hearing | 9news.com

"We don't believe that the allegations are true," said one of Morphew's defense attorneys.

Morphew's lawyers argued that the members of the jury should not hear prejudicial information when "there is no proof that the allegations are true."

"The court has a duty to protect Mr. Morphew's right to a fair trial," Barry's defense attorney said.

They made the argument that Oliver is not a credible source since she once wore a recording device to record a conversation with Barry.

Didn't I just say the defense doesn't want SO anywhere near the stand. Those folks are terrified of what SO will testify to.

 

[girlhasnoname]

Except I think they identified "the Justice Center" to include the entire property including the car park.

"C. This ORDER applies to the entire Fremont County Justice Center and county property surrounding the Justice Center. The Justice Center property is defined as the building and public parking area."

ETA: Add link
https://www.courts.state.co.us/userfiles/file/Court_Probation/11th_Judicial_District/Freemont/Morphew/Standing Decorum Order for Motions and Pre-trial Hearings.pdf

Oh darn @Seattle1 nooooooooo. It's a bit much, but wasn't the Frazee trial the same?

 

[sk716]

I quoted my own post here because when I first read it, I remember thinking it an interesting coincidence that Barry called the daughter immediately after she attempted to call (and failed to reach) Suzanne.

I wonder if BM is (or at least at that time was) somehow monitoring the daughter's phones.

bbm
I also stumbled over this!!

It's easier than that.

He expected the girls home by lunch time. He even said as much. Lunchtime comes and MM1 has not called in a panic because Suzanne is missing. Barry calls her from the wall, because he was expecting the call then so he could say he was working when he got the call.

It really is that simple. They screwed up his timeline.

 

[Megnut]

Which one, the bag or the other? I've googled the bag and it doesn't look like an exact match to me, at least of the 2022 version. Might be a difference in packaging since then though.

I believe the white bottle with blue/purple and the mostly blue bag are Cx pool shockers. I can't find anything like the yellow canister one. I found similar, with different coloring. I wonder if it was used as a holder for a cartridge. Bromide/mineral cartridge. Filters appear to large.

All JMO.

 

[Cindizzi]

Didn't I just say the defense doesn't want SO anywhere near the stand. Those folks are terrified of what SO will testify to.

Absolutely. She’s a rat and a liar. If SM can’t trust her with news of her secret affair, why should we trust her ?
( these are not my thoughts! My interpretation of what Defense will portray). JMO

 

[NothingSurprisesAnymore]

Judge denies motions in Barry Morphew hearing | 9news.com

"We don't believe that the allegations are true," said one of Morphew's defense attorneys.

Morphew's lawyers argued that the members of the jury should not hear prejudicial information when "there is no proof that the allegations are true."

"The court has a duty to protect Mr. Morphew's right to a fair trial," Barry's defense attorney said.

They made the argument that Oliver is not a credible source since she once wore a recording device to record a conversation with Barry.

BBM
This made me laugh!!! Does this argument have merit?
IANAL...understatement alert!

 

[Megnut]

Would anybody know if Suzanne had a safety deposit box? I'm thinking of years and years of journals, maybe some photographs...

Thank heavens SO is a vault --

JMO