Found Deceased CO - Suzanne Morphew, 49, Chaffee County, 10 May 2020 #78 *ARREST*

[Diddian]

I don't recall seeing that the other room smelled of chlorine.

I do remember the hotel stating they did not use chlorine to sanitize the rooms though.

JMO

The General Manager was saying (according to the defense attorneys) that there are two rooms in the hotel that tend to smell of chlorine from the pool and one of those two rooms was the room BM spent most of Mother's Day in.

 

[Momofthreeboys]

Me too, Suzanne had texted BM on Saturday around 10:30 am IIRC to 'pick up spa stuff"? I think the whole Spa Story is a bunch of bologna.

JMO

I think their hot tub plays no role in the case and is just a spot on the timeline both the text and the visit to the store. I knew store owners who were in their store everyday the actual store was closed taking phone orders and talking customers in the parking lot. Repair people in our state continued to do repairs also even though my state had lock down orders.

 

[Love Never Fails]

Agree and how does this relate to the case? I totally think Barry's comment meant he was the income producer....the bank machine.... which is somewhat true as none of the other family members were income producers on a day to day basis. I think too much is being read into that statement and there is zero evidence that he held all the money and doled it out one thin dollar at a time like a grinch. So many little comments by Barry are flip, innocuous and time wasters to try and figure out if they are real or not real and none of those comments really bolster the case at all. Just my opinion but alot people aren't going to believe some of those statements at face value anyway. Scott Reich made a great comment last night about the difference between "believing" and "knowing" and it's an important point now that the preliminary is over.

Point is: BM is flip in almost every instant. When a man claims he is the income producer, bread winner, it drives me crazy. And especially BM saying he was Suzanne’s ATM. The value of a woman cooking, cleaning and raising your kids 24/7 cannot be ignored. My husband works hard but my job at home doesn’t stop. After his supper and a shower and while he is resting, I’m still working. And our kids are grown. So how does his insensitive comment relate to the case? It was brought up in the PH. Maybe showing his mindset of being a bully. I’m just guessing but we will find out if this goes to trial.
ETA: my husband is the best and I am very blessed but he would never even think of making such a flip remark.

 

[girlhasnoname]

The General Manager was saying (according to the defense attorneys) that there are two rooms in the hotel that tend to smell of chlorine from the pool and one of those two rooms was the room BM spent most of Mother's Day in.

I was posting Lauren Scharf's posts, I didn't see that from her. It very well could have been from another tweeter. IDK

I do recall the statement that the room BM was in was above the pool.

 

[Diddian]

Judge bashing on various personal grounds seems to abound here. IMO, totally based on personal prejudice. Just FYI, here's what the Colorado Office of Judicial Performance Evaluation said when they recommenced him for retention by the voters in 2016 (BBM):

"Judge Murphy is the Chief Judge of the 11th Judicial District. Besides his administrative duties in that capacity, he presides over criminal, civil and domestic matters in his courtroom. Based on the survey results of attorneys and appellate judges, Judge Murphy received an overall combined rating which exceeds the combined rating of all district judges standing for retention. Judge Murphy's overall performance rated by non-attorneys responding to the surveys was consistent with the combined rating of all district judges standing for retention. Judge Murphy was perceived by non-attorneys to be more lenient in sentencing than the combined rating of all district judges standing for retention. Judge Murphy received high marks from attorneys for his case management and application and overall knowledge of the law. Judge Murphy’s calm and respectful demeanor in the courtroom was observed by the Commission during their observations, and he received positive comments for his patience and dignity by survey respondents."

You appear to have greater confidence in the lack of prejudice in that process than I do. Here's my post from when I brought the matter up some time ago here:
CO - CO - Suzanne Morphew, 49, Chaffee County, 10 May 2020 #62 *ARREST*

 

[24Brix]

I tend to agree. I suspect there is something morally reprehensible connected to BM (and at this point, would that really surprise any of us?) that's been uncovered in the course of the investigation into Suzanne's disappearance. I suspect that whatever that thing is, is what the judge was attempting to shield the M daughters from, with the sealing of the AA for now.

jmo

This exactly.

If you look at the bottom of page 2 of the linked court order to seal the AA, there is a single black line of redaction. I’m convinced that short black line, more than any other, is the tell-tale mark that’s protecting the daughters from some truly heinous information. (And IMO it may keep the AA sealed until trial, at which point everything will have to come to light.)

I’ve been playing a game with myself because I don’t want to go into that much conjecture here on WS: But read that redacted sentence, filling in the redaction in your own words using natural language that grammatically follows.

“These young women are in an unimaginable situation and should be given time to process what has occurred and the time to review, or decide not to review, the evidence alleged against their father <<…redacted…>>.”

For me, and IMO, the first redacted word is “by”. And it’s not “by the District Attorney’s office of the State of Colorado”. I think the court is protecting the girls from the very specific, very inflammatory, testimony of a very specific person. To me, personal information is the most logical reason for redacting this part of the sentence’s structure.

But who is it? And what is it they are alleging?

MOO.

https://www.courts.state.co.us/user...21CR78/21CR78 Order Limit Public Redacted.pdf

 

[steeltowngirl]

While I think that Suzanne's not even having an ATM card is weird and troubles me, I also think that people/families who get a lot of cash income probably don't often need an ATM card. I can see that BM could potentially be a source of cash there. JMO.

Good point. Barry may not have an ATM card either. He liked cash, and probably received payment for jobs in cash. That way he did not have to report income, and the bank couldn’t trace the transactions. I’m surprised they haven’t nailed him with a charge for tax fraud.

jmo

 

[HistoryNut]

Different standards for probable cause, likely different evidence presented at hearing.

I pray that I’m wrong, but the defense may have provided just enough doubt about the DNA in SM’s car to make the judge question the investigation. IMO, it didn’t help that the witnesses for the prosecution didn’t seem to be as prepared as I thought they would be, especially the guy who had only read about the first dozen pages of the AA. I understand that he was on leave until May, but that was four months ago. Again, I pray that I’m wrong because I believe BM is guilty.

 

[Love Never Fails]

Judge bashing on various personal grounds seems to abound here. IMO, totally based on personal prejudice. Just FYI, here's what the Colorado Office of Judicial Performance Evaluation said when they recommenced him for retention by the voters in 2016 (BBM):

"Judge Murphy is the Chief Judge of the 11th Judicial District. Besides his administrative duties in that capacity, he presides over criminal, civil and domestic matters in his courtroom. Based on the survey results of attorneys and appellate judges, Judge Murphy received an overall combined rating which exceeds the combined rating of all district judges standing for retention. Judge Murphy's overall performance rated by non-attorneys responding to the surveys was consistent with the combined rating of all district judges standing for retention. Judge Murphy was perceived by non-attorneys to be more lenient in sentencing than the combined rating of all district judges standing for retention. Judge Murphy received high marks from attorneys for his case management and application and overall knowledge of the law. Judge Murphy’s calm and respectful demeanor in the courtroom was observed by the Commission during their observations, and he received positive comments for his patience and dignity by survey respondents."

Hi CGray, No. I’m not judge bashing on personal grounds here. I’m also pro LE. But when detectives do their best and the DA does their best to get a perp convicted and you hear a judge lets them walk, and they rape or murder a second, third or fourth time you have to ask yourself WTH was the judge thinking?!
Happens every day in this country.

So we can respect a judge and still question a decision. We aren’t the bad guys here.

 

[steeltowngirl]

It’s been nearly 3 months since the arrest affidavit was sealed. Haven’t the daughters by now “processed what has happened and have reviewed, or decided not to review, the evidence alleged against their father?”

 

[fraudqueen]

We need to hear more about the DNA found on the glove box, that would put reasonable doubt in my mind alone. Just my personal opinion.

 

[MrX]

I think their hot tub plays no role in the case and is just a spot on the timeline both the text and the visit to the store. I knew store owners who were in their store everyday the actual store was closed taking phone orders and talking customers in the parking lot. Repair people in our state continued to do repairs also even though my state had lock down orders.

Right. When we "locked down," there was a huge laundry list of places that were deemed essential, and pool places were among them. I remember going to Home Depot, every day, just to be around people. It was funny - there would be couples looking at all of this construction material and I could tell they'd never touched a screw driver. It was like a big social club. I can see small Mom and Pop places staying open, all hours, for the same reason - a place to congregate so as not to go insane.

It does seem to be a problem for prosecution, though, as agent seemed pretty adamant that the owners have the time and day wrong.

 

[jondaba]

When a judge gets ready to screw an attorney, he goes out of his way to give the attorney every break first to avoid later accusations of bias.

 

[oviedo]

It's been years since I discarded my own spa and don't remember the quantity required but perhaps SM added two bottles on hand and still needed BM to pick up additional supplies?

My first impression was that the empty containers were inside SM's vehicle to be disposed of in the community dumpster located across the road outside their driveway.

I thought BM probably collected the spa chemicals on Saturday as SM requested in her earlier texts. BM would have passed the spa store to and from DSi. However, the storekeepers seem to insist that BM made no purchase during BM's late-hour visit.

MOO

Maybe she planned to recycle? It sounds like they deposit their trash in that dumpster and perhaps don’t have a recycle only collection bin? My pool store only allows refillable chlorine bottles everything else is either bagged or in a bottle. I’m left wondering…. jmo

 

[waldojabba]

^^rsbm

I think it's important to understand that there were two combined hearings and therefore two decisions Judge Murphy will rule on in Sept.

It makes no sense for the prosecution to withhold information at the preliminary when the defendant's release on bail is also at stake.

The first hearing, the preliminary, was to decide whether or not BM will be bound over for trial.

IMO, this should be a no-brainer: the defendant was charged with capital murder and has been held in jail since May 5, based on the probable cause arrest affidavit (AA), regardless of the page count and alleged inclusion of irrelevant data. This was the goal of the ongoing investigation for 12 months, and more than 100 executed search warrants!

For BM not to be bound over for trial, you would have to believe that an ordinary person, hearing the evidence, does not believe that SM was the victim of a crime committed by her husband.

That's essentially the standard of proof required for the preliminary -- what an ordinary person would believe. I think WS is a good measure of what ordinary persons think and we are still here because we believe SM was disappeared by BM!

It's going to trial!

The second decision relates to Colorado's unique statute where a Judge is allowed to refuse bail for a defendant accused of murder 1 (capital murder) when "proof is evident or presumption is great."

PEPG is not to be confused with the standard for probable cause!

PEPG standard requires something more than probable cause but less evidence than is required for conviction.

Does Judge Murphy believe the evidence is very strong and the likelihood of conviction is very high? If so, BM will be refused bail.

IMO, the defense did not believe that the state met the standard for BM to be refused bail and therefore wanted him released from jail at the conclusion of the preliminary hearing. They clearly know he's going to trial!

Bail release has been the objective of the defense at every hearing thus far! MOO

(“The mere fact that an information has been filed—or for that matter that the defendant has been bound over for trial—is not equivalent to a determination that the proof of guilt is evident or the presumption is great.”). First degree murder is a capital offense, even in a case where the death penalty is not at issue. See Tribe v. Dist. Court, 197 Colo. 433, 434–35, 593 P.2d 1369, 1370–71 (1979).

https://www.criminal-lawyer-colorado.com/overview-of-colorado-criminal-law.html#:~:text=The “proof evident/presumption great,defendant the right to bail.

Thanks so much for this information. Great post as always !

 

[marylamby]

I am starting to think that BM's killing animals' escalation heralded him killing a human. I was laughing at the attempts to connect him to other murders in Indiana, but I wonder if he was growing murderous.

It is a hard thing to discuss, because I am not against hunting; my grandfather was a hunter, I am not a vegetarian, and here many people provide for their families this way. So in general, I don't mind. But cutting off deers antlers (that has to be done by deer farmers and not just anyone living on this earth), plus this taxidermy, plus hunting animals from his house, to me signals escalation. Sooner or later, he would have killed a human. And here was his beautiful wife, who had fallen out of love with him, and loved someone else. He probably wanted to kill her lover, but as a coward, he was afraid of killing a person from another community and a different state. His own wife, easily, and to lawyer up. His daughters, who needed a mother, he didn't think much of.

MG, who worked with BM and moved out of state for fear of him, probably knew what she was doing.

I've said this from day one and yeah, some laughed I'm sure. I don't put anything past him. He LOVES the sport of the hunt, the kill, the skinning, all of it.
I look at it this way. If you have it in your psyche to intentionally kill another human being (no less your wife), no one knows how deep that depravity runs or what they're capable of - past, present and future.
Then he fired up the bbq...

 

[oviedo]

Point is: BM is flip in almost every instant. When a man claims he is the income producer, bread winner, it drives me crazy. And especially BM saying he was Suzanne’s ATM. The value of a woman cooking, cleaning and raising your kids 24/7 cannot be ignored. My husband works hard but my job at home doesn’t stop. After his supper and a shower and while he is resting, I’m still working. And our kids are grown. So how does his insensitive comment relate to the case? It was brought up in the PH. Maybe showing his mindset of being a bully. I’m just guessing but we will find out if this goes to trial.
ETA: my husband is the best and I am very blessed but he would never even think of making such a flip remark.

Exactly and I may add that they fought about money so why? I would like to know just what those fights consisted of - was he really producing any income ? If yes then what’s the fight about ? JMO

 

[Gardenista]

We need to hear more about the DNA found on the glove box, that would put reasonable doubt in my mind alone. Just my personal opinion.

Not me since it happens in so many trials. Random DNA is everywhere.

 

[Deleted member 222031]

Judge bashing on various personal grounds seems to abound here. IMO, totally based on personal prejudice. Just FYI, here's what the Colorado Office of Judicial Performance Evaluation said when they recommenced him for retention by the voters in 2016 (BBM):

"Judge Murphy is the Chief Judge of the 11th Judicial District. Besides his administrative duties in that capacity, he presides over criminal, civil and domestic matters in his courtroom. Based on the survey results of attorneys and appellate judges, Judge Murphy received an overall combined rating which exceeds the combined rating of all district judges standing for retention. Judge Murphy's overall performance rated by non-attorneys responding to the surveys was consistent with the combined rating of all district judges standing for retention. Judge Murphy was perceived by non-attorneys to be more lenient in sentencing than the combined rating of all district judges standing for retention. Judge Murphy received high marks from attorneys for his case management and application and overall knowledge of the law. Judge Murphy’s calm and respectful demeanor in the courtroom was observed by the Commission during their observations, and he received positive comments for his patience and dignity by survey respondents."

But don't most of those respondents have "skin in the game" so to speak. How does he stack up against other judges? Nice to know but is it probative re: this highly charged 1st degree murder case. As others have noted, describing himself as "not a robot" is interesting. His need for things to be presented in his style, i.e., very orderly, might be an issue in a case like this.

I do feel his bias toward closing proceedings to cameras, discomfort with WebEx, and comfort with ignoring the spirit of Rule 55.1 by giving specious refutations to everything in it as though he resents the rule forcing him to make his reasoning public make him questionable as the presider over this high profile case. He is static where dynamic would be of more benefit to all.

The criminal courts in Colorado have a known public record of finding daylight on their actions not to their liking (Denver Post investigation).

But we are living in an era where daylight is critical - the less the public knows, the greater the harm to the guiding legal principles of our nation.

A good judge in a general sense may not be the best judge on a case-by-case basis. But it looks like the power rests in his hands so those uncomfortable with his judicial temperament (like me) are just going to have to lump it if they don't like it.

MOO, of course!

I will stop pontificating now. This is a great forum to observe and learn. I find it of great benefit.

 

[Seattle1]

I pray that I’m wrong, but the defense may have provided just enough doubt about the DNA in SM’s car to make the judge question the investigation. IMO, it didn’t help that the witnesses for the prosecution didn’t seem to be as prepared as I thought they would be, especially the guy who had only read about the first dozen pages of the AA. I understand that he was on leave until May, but that was four months ago. Again, I pray that I’m wrong because I believe BM is guilty.

During a preliminary, the standards that apply are different than having doubt over additional DNA in SM's vehicle.

If the evidence is conflicting or the judge can draw any of several inferences, the judge must accept the prosecution's version. [Hunter v. District Court, 190 Colo. 48, 53, 543 P.2d 1265, 1268 (1975)].

The standard in the PH is whether an ordinary person could have a reasonable belief that the defendant may have committed the crime for which they are charged.

This was just a dress rehearsal. I'm not worried and I think SM will get justice.

"Preliminary Hearings" In Colorado Felony Criminal Court Cases