Still Missing CO - Suzanne Morphew, 49, Chaffee Co, 10 May 2020 *arrest* #95

[MrsWatson]

It has nothing to do with whether Barry murdered Suzanne so probably won’t come into testimony even if they have first hand knowledge. LE stayed at the time of the arrest they had not found evidence of an affair on Barry’s part which could have played into their motive theory at the time.

I agree that it doesn't point to motive and is unlikely to be introduced by the prosecution, and I think it's a safe bet the defense can find no benefit to bringing it into the trial. Except to possibly point out, look, he had all these affairs and he didn't kill her then.

That doesn't mean it's not true, though, and is yet another indicator of BM's character and morality.

moo

 

[sk716]

I think we don’t know the origin of the scratches or the scrapes on his hands.

I cannot make out any marks on his hands in the body cam video, but the resolution is garbage. We can't see his upper arm in any photos or video we currently have of the 10th.

The marks on his arm are fingernail gouges.

With your dominant hand, reach over and push in and drag your nails down your other forearm just hard enough that you can see the red marks for a moment after. See how the marks are kind of rectangular. Real human defensive scratches are wide marks.
http://www./wp-content/uploads/2022/01/People-Exhibits-Prelim-Hearing_Page_83.png
These were probably made trying to pry his arm off of her throat. Her fingers would have dug in with all of her might struggling to get some air into her lungs. Drawing blood in hopes that his grip will loosen and the darkness will stop encroaching into her vision. MOO

 

[Cindizzi]

Interesting how SM's "testimony" that she shared the cousin at BM's request varies from the fact that she had cancer in her teens prior to marriage and not in between the birth of MM1 and MM2.

The cousin said this happened in 2012, so MM1 would be a newborn correct?
I think he just listed her statements out of order IMO.

The first born was the miracle baby, THEN the doctor told her she could not have another.
The struggle with Lymphoma and the remission was before the first baby.
Only way it makes sense to me. JMO

My Cousin Allegedly Killed His Wife and Cast Her Vote for Trump
Suzanne’s expression was that of a child ordered by her father to perform a daunting task. She pulled up her ottoman and dutifully recounted the story of her struggle with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, of her doctor telling her that she could not have another child, and of the remission and “miracle baby” that followed—all of it flowing from Suzanne’s unwavering faith in Christ.

 

[lonetraveler]

I cannot make out any marks on his hands in the body cam video, but the resolution is garbage. We can't see his upper arm in any photos or video we currently have of the 10th.

The marks on his arm are fingernail gouges.

With your dominant hand, reach over and push in and drag your nails down your other forearm just hard enough that you can see the red marks for a moment after. See how the marks are kind of rectangular. Real human defensive scratches are wide marks.
http://www./wp-content/uploads/2022/01/People-Exhibits-Prelim-Hearing_Page_83.png
These were probably made trying to pry his arm off of her throat. Her fingers would have dug in with all of her might struggling to get some air into her lungs. Drawing blood in hopes that his grip will loosen and the darkness will stop encroaching into her vision. MOO

I'm one who totally believes that this is exactly the way she died. I think he had to see the light go out of her eyes.

 

[LietKynes]

The cousin said this happened in 2012, so MM1 would be a newborn correct?
I think he just listed her statements out of order IMO.

The first born was the miracle baby, THEN the doctor told her she could not have another.
The struggle with Lymphoma and the remission was before the first baby.
Only way it makes sense to me. JMO

My Cousin Allegedly Killed His Wife and Cast Her Vote for Trump
Suzanne’s expression was that of a child ordered by her father to perform a daunting task. She pulled up her ottoman and dutifully recounted the story of her struggle with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, of her doctor telling her that she could not have another child, and of the remission and “miracle baby” that followed—all of it flowing from Suzanne’s unwavering faith in Christ.

Yikes, that's chilling. ^^^


From Barry's perspective only, a pseudo 'faith' that was only to be there to be utilized -- when it was useful to him?
Imo.

 

[O.Incandenza]

So far, I don't think any of the digital data, including texts have been ruled inadmissible. The ruling y'all are thinking of says that SO may not make any statements about abuse Suzanne told (verbally) her about unless they have a timestamp. I'm simplifying but any text/message from Suzanne about the abuse is admissible. If it has a time and date stamp and it was sent from a device known to be in Suzanne's possession, then it's as good as testimony from Suzanne herself. Anything else is hearsay unless SO saw it with her own eyes. That means if they find one in the data, it won't fall under that ruling.

Suzanne's grievances list, MM2s text, and Suzanne's voice on the spy pen telling Barry off for his controlling behavior will do a pretty good job of letting the jury know just how trapped Suzanne was. She wanted to leave and Barry wasn't going to let that happen. She was even afraid, just not afraid enough.

Toss in this run of images at the end of that...
http://www./wp-content/uploads/2022/01/People-Exhibits-Prelim-Hearing_Page_24.png
http://www./wp-content/uploads/2022/01/People-Exhibits-Prelim-Hearing_Page_54.png

http://www./wp-content/uploads/2022/01/People-Exhibits-Prelim-Hearing_Page_76.png
http://www./wp-content/uploads/2022/01/People-Exhibits-Prelim-Hearing_Page_83.png

BBM

Does Colorado have a domestic violence exception to hearsay? I don't see anything like that in the statute, but I've just done a quick search. If not, a text from Suzanne is still an out of court statement. If the purpose of admitting it is to prove the truth of what she's saying in the text, then it's hearsay and you would need to qualify it under one of the exceptions (like a present sense impression if Suzanne texted immediately after an incident with Barry). Or get it admitted for a reason other than proving the truth of its contents. Maybe some of them will be admitted to prove that Suzanne was telling other people that there was trouble in the marriage, for example, instead of as proof that there was trouble in the marriage.

The articles I can find about the judge's ruling say that he ruled the text messages themselves inadmissible, not just SO's testimony about what Suzanne told her (Barry Morphew case: Judge won't allow mention of alleged domestic violence; trial to begin in April, Judge: Domestic violence allegations not admissible in Morphew murder trial - KRDO). But it's hard to know how accurately the reporters are capturing what was said during the hearing.

What's also unclear to me from the articles is whether Barry's own testimony about 'clipping' Suzanne in the nose is included in what the judge is ruling inadmissible. Some of the recaps make it sound like he barred the prosecution from bringing up any previous incidents of domestic violence at all. Hopefully that's not true, although I guess it could be if he ruled it out on 403 probative/prejudice grounds or 404b. Scott Reisch seems to think it was all excluded because the prosecution couldn't meet the preponderance of the evidence standard under 404b, although that would seem odd to me with regards to Barry's own testimony:

 

[BeckyF]

Churches would be welcoming

Churches are attended by people. Those people can shun him if they believe he murdered his wife. Just because the members of the congregation are church goers doesn’t mean they toss their beliefs out the window when they enter the building.

 

[Seattle1]

Because he is perceived by some as overly aggressive…beyond the culture of man as the head of the household. He is perceived as physically aggressive while concurrently his spouse is seen as passive until recently. We don’t know the exact dynamics of their arguments… we do know that Barry reported that Suzanne had become more assertive. Man as head of household exists and there are families for which that is the perfectly accepted norm. As I said and some others this is thin ice for prosecution and not essential for the trial. Suzanne seems to have struggled and her affair supports her desire to leave her marriage and there is a suggestion that she wanted more equal say in their marital dynamics none of which support anything related to Barry other than Suzanne no longer wanted a marriage with those dynamics. Other than Barry claiming Suzanne has become more aggressive and that he was upset she was drinking and perhaps taking some medication there is very little evidence of him making denigrating statements about his wife.

I find this a blind perspective of the relationship. SM has described BM as a narcissist and if one understands the nature of a relationship with a narcissist they would understand how BM would never make statements about his spouse that he sees as an extension of himself. Hence SM's recorded allegations of being told what to wear, say, think, etc. And when BM did speak about SM's use of alcohol or medical cannabis, he blamed it on cancer. MOO

 

[Seattle1]

BBM

Does Colorado have a domestic violence exception to hearsay? I don't see anything like that in the statute, but I've just done a quick search. If not, a text from Suzanne is still an out of court statement. If the purpose of admitting it is to prove the truth of what she's saying in the text, then it's hearsay and you would need to qualify it under one of the exceptions (like a present sense impression if Suzanne texted immediately after an incident with Barry). Or get it admitted for a reason other than proving the truth of its contents. Maybe some of them will be admitted to prove that Suzanne was telling other people that there was trouble in the marriage, for example, instead of as proof that there was trouble in the marriage.

The articles I can find about the judge's ruling say that he ruled the text messages themselves inadmissible, not just SO's testimony about what Suzanne told her (Barry Morphew case: Judge won't allow mention of alleged domestic violence; trial to begin in April, Judge: Domestic violence allegations not admissible in Morphew murder trial - KRDO). But it's hard to know how accurately the reporters are capturing what was said during the hearing.

What's also unclear to me from the articles is whether Barry's own testimony about 'clipping' Suzanne in the nose is included in what the judge is ruling inadmissible. Some of the recaps make it sound like he barred the prosecution from bringing up any previous incidents of domestic violence at all. Hopefully that's not true, although I guess it could be if he ruled it out on 403 probative/prejudice grounds or 404b. Scott Reisch seems to think it was all excluded because the prosecution couldn't meet the preponderance of the evidence standard under 404b, although that would seem odd to me with regards to Barry's own testimony:

I believe BM admitted the incident of clipping SM in the nose but only because he was denying the domestic violence event as described in texts between SO/SM. He wanted to make clear that he never restrained SM. In other words, I don't think BM brought this up on his own.

 

[MassGuy]

Some say these scratches on him are from Suzanne attacking him. Read the Affidavit.

Except Barry himself never claimed that. Grusing attempted to give him an out at some point, saying that they knew that Suzanne would come after him.

Basically, "did she come after you this time too?"

Smart, but Barry didn't bite.

 

[mrjitty]

I interpreted the Court's decision on excluding texts between SO/SM discussing domestic violence differently than OP. I believe the texts deemed inadmissible were discussing prior acts of domestic violence and what's missing here is there's no time to reference when these acts actually occurred -- definitely making them hearsay. For example, from the texts, we don't know if the time BM allegedly pinned SM on the bed happened a week ago or 5 years ago. The texts that are admissible paint SM's state of mind near the date she vanished and that she was fearful of BM and did not want to be alone with him. I believe the Court is saying the alleged domestic violence doesn't include sufficient detail to overcome the hearsay rule. I think if the text discussion included SM saying the event happened after dinner on her birthday (i.e., a week before SM disappeared) it would be different. MOO

This was my understanding as well. The prejudicial effect outweighed the probative value. The probative value is low due to hearsay and lack of specificity.

The EIC of SO will be limited in this aspect.

Does anyone have a link to the summary of the Judge on that ruling? I believe the relevant case law test was cited.

Personally I think the law is an *advertiser censored* in this area. It is indeed the case that DV is not predictive of whether you will be murdered or not. Murder of women and children in domestic context remains rare thank goodness.

But given a domestic murder (i.e a much smaller data set), you will find probative risk factors like attempt to leave the relationship, abusive behaviours, firearms etc

So the ruling is correct under current law IMO, but this is an area needing urgent reform. Otherwise we are so often ignoring the elephant in the room

 

[MassGuy]

Isn't a "walk-on" position what happens when you don't get recruited?

My understanding is that BM passed on playing college sports because he sought an opportunity to go pro. I understood BM ended up on the 2nd team because he didn't make the A squad he was recruited for. He didn't perform at the expected level and was sent to the basement. Many players I've followed-- mostly pitchers get called up from the practice league to the pros. IMO, BM likely lost his spot or was soon to lose his spot on the roster.

Hey @MassGuy --need you to clarify.

He was drafted in the 42nd round of the draft, right after high school. I'm not sure how it worked in the 80s, but each team has multiple farm teams, ranging from A (lowest) to AAA (highest).

Barry played in some independent rookie league, which is below that.

He didn't last long, and his numbers were bad, (albeit with a small sample size).

 

[LietKynes]

Churches are attended by people. Those people can shun him if they believe he murdered his wife. Just because the members of the congregation are church goers doesn’t mean they toss their beliefs out the window when they enter the building.

Agreed.

 

[sk716]

Isn't a "walk-on" position what happens when you don't get recruited?

My understanding is that BM passed on playing college sports because he sought an opportunity to go pro. I understood BM ended up on the 2nd team because he didn't make the A squad he was recruited for. He didn't perform at the expected level and was sent to the basement. Many players I've followed-- mostly pitchers get called up from the practice league to the pros. IMO, BM likely lost his spot or was soon to lose his spot on the roster.

Hey @MassGuy --need you to clarify.

I'm may be wrong in using "walk on," I really don't follow baseball, my eyes glaze over and I want a craft beer and a hot dog (we can talk NCAA football all day, though.). I've been to a few Travs (currently a Mariner's farm team) games so I know farm teams exist and why, I just don't understand what to my eye amounts to a competition with the NCAA for young talent.

It speaks to Barry's psychology that he "failed" so early. As I understand it, he was the golden boy of Alexandria in the mid-80s. I don't know that playing college ball would have made a difference in his overall psychology, but I think Suzanne would probably still be alive today if he had.

 

[Cindizzi]

BBM

Does Colorado have a domestic violence exception to hearsay? I don't see anything like that in the statute, but I've just done a quick search. If not, a text from Suzanne is still an out of court statement. If the purpose of admitting it is to prove the truth of what she's saying in the text, then it's hearsay and you would need to qualify it under one of the exceptions (like a present sense impression if Suzanne texted immediately after an incident with Barry). Or get it admitted for a reason other than proving the truth of its contents. Maybe some of them will be admitted to prove that Suzanne was telling other people that there was trouble in the marriage, for example, instead of as proof that there was trouble in the marriage.

The articles I can find about the judge's ruling say that he ruled the text messages themselves inadmissible, not just SO's testimony about what Suzanne told her (Barry Morphew case: Judge won't allow mention of alleged domestic violence; trial to begin in April, Judge: Domestic violence allegations not admissible in Morphew murder trial - KRDO). But it's hard to know how accurately the reporters are capturing what was said during the hearing.

What's also unclear to me from the articles is whether Barry's own testimony about 'clipping' Suzanne in the nose is included in what the judge is ruling inadmissible. Some of the recaps make it sound like he barred the prosecution from bringing up any previous incidents of domestic violence at all. Hopefully that's not true, although I guess it could be if he ruled it out on 403 probative/prejudice grounds or 404b. Scott Reisch seems to think it was all excluded because the prosecution couldn't meet the preponderance of the evidence standard under 404b, although that would seem odd to me with regards to Barry's own testimony:

The way I’m understanding it, it’s not all texts and it’s not all claims of DV.

It’s any statements SO made to Investigators that don’t have a text from SM with a date and time.

Since the Judge has banned any live-tweeting from the Courtroom, there weren’t many tweets at the end of the day.

https://twitter.com/ashleykktv/status/1491858066320592909?s=21

Lastly- prosecutors asked to use evidence in the trial from comments Sheila Oliver made regarding what she says Suzanne explained as #BarryMorphew being "physically violent"

Judge ruled prosecutors can not use any statements Sheila made.

https://twitter.com/ashleykktv/status/1491858702411964421?s=21
Basically, Sheila told investigators Suzanne made comments about Barry being abusive.

No concrete evidence to prove this like texts or what not. So technically this would be hearsay.

Prosecutors are NOT allowed to use this. She is still allowed to be called as a witness.

https://twitter.com/laurenscharftv/status/1491861433281237005?s=21
BarryMorphew motions hearing is now in Fremont County. The judge ruled the evidence about prior domestic violence statements from #SuzanneMorphew to her friend Sheila Oliver will not be permitted in the murder trial in May. Text messages will be though.

 

[Auntie Cipation]

The cousin said this happened in 2012, so MM1 would be a newborn correct?


.

Anyone born in 2012 would only be ten now. MM1 is sixteen I think? So born in 2006ish.

I do think it's possible that SM being told she was unlikely to conceive could have happened early on, during/following her first cancer fight around 1990, and then maybe she was told that again after MM1's birth. Maybe related to the earlier cancer, maybe unrelated. So both girls could have been perceived as 'miracle babies'.

MOO

 

[Cindizzi]

Anyone born in 2012 would only be ten now. MM1 is sixteen I think? So born in 2006ish.

I do think it's possible that SM being told she was unlikely to conceive could have happened early on, during/following her first cancer fight around 1990, and then maybe she was told that again after MM1's birth. Maybe related to the earlier cancer, maybe unrelated. So both girls could have been perceived as 'miracle babies'.

MOO

Oh man was my math off lol. Thanks for catching that.


I was thinking 2012 was 20 years ago. But even that wouldn’t be the age of the firstborn MM1. I believe she was a college sophomore in 2018 when BM and SM moved to Colorado.
MM2 graduated high school last year so she’s older than 16.
SM always said they were both her Miracles.

 

[Auntie Cipation]

Oh man was my math off lol. Thanks for catching that.
Guess the cousin has his dates wrong… ?
I was thinking 2012 was 20 years ago. But even that wouldn’t be the age of the firstborn MM1. I believe she was a college sophomore in 2018 when BM and SM moved to Colorado.
MM2 graduated high school last year so she’s older than 16.
SM always said they were both her Miracles.

Ah I goofed as well, was thinking of younger daughter, when I guessed currently aged 16. MM1 is obviously older but I don't know exactly. Your guess of her being college sophomore/20ish in 2018, meaning 24ish today, is a reasonable one.

 

[Love Never Fails]

Will her texts be allowed in? How does the defense cross examine her statements? Doesn’t the accused have a a right to question the accuser?

I don’t know the answer. Hopefully an attorney can let us know.

IMO

Are you trying to be funny? How is it a murderer has a “right” to question someone he murdered?

 

[NothingSurprisesAnymore]

Barry moved her to Salida, Colorado in order to isolate Suzanne from all of her family and friends, iow, her support system. No doubt in my mind he had already extricated himself from feeling love for her well before the move took place. He was having affairs in Indiana. He wouldn't go to her treatment sessions.

Remember he joined the Volunteer FF almost as soon as they arrived in CO. He had no intentions of staying around the house with her. Barry was greedy. He wanted Suzanne's inheritance which is truly disturbing while knowing he could earn good wages on his own.

It is written in the AA, in one of her texts, that Barry's controlling behavior grew more intense after the move. Not a year after the move but Suzanne realized it straight away. She was caught up in the classic Double Bind. Her only salvation was to bow out secretively; to escape from his tight clutch.

You wrote: "It was sad to read his comment that things would have been fine between them if she just went back to who she used to be." This is a good example of the classic double bind. He's saying he doesn't love who she is and things would be better if she'd change which he knows is a lie. Things were not going to get better. He intended to press the pedal down in order to accelerate her demise by any means possible. "Whatever it takes." ~Barry Morphew

Being in a double bind relationship is stressful, frustrating, confusing, and anxiety producing. He was intentionally lowering her self-esteem. His erratic behavior was making Suzanne think she was crazy. She was seeking validation that she wasn't crazy, that her desires were real, when she reached out to JL. While I wish like anyone that he had not been married with children, she needed to be validated as a good and loving person because her husband was purposefully creating crazy making behavior with his secretive lifestyle and cruel, confusing words to her and their children.



#JusticeForSuzanne

Sounds like the Double Bind predicament is very much a Heads I win, Tails you lose or Darn'd if you do,
Darn'd if you don't...