Found Deceased CO - Suzanne Morphew, 49, did not return from bike ride, Chaffee County, 10 May 2020 #14

[Curiousobserver]

I'm not trying to interpret or dispute your legal opinion here, but have to state my general observation that the threshold LE must reach to obtain a search warrant in a Colorado missing person case is not high. I believe that a sworn statement from a neighbor that he or she saw BLM working at the site of the day that BLM said he was 200 miles away in Denver, along with the property owners consent, would fly over that threshold.
Further, I can speculate that BLM's close friend and companion during the other searches could have been working at that site on that Sunday, as his name is on one of the permits for the Sunday work. As has been pointed out by others in this thread, BLM and his friend drive similar trucks. If there is any merit to my guess that LE my have had a bona fide tip, then it could be just a case of horribly timed mistaken identity, in my opinion.
I don't count this as an "Oopsie". My general belief is that any investigation is going to have some wrong turns. If LE only followed the guaranteed ones, we would have considerably more backlog of cold cases in this country than we do. IMO, IANAL

I think we are all agreeing-

I'm not trying to interpret or dispute your legal opinion here, but have to state my general observation that the threshold LE must reach to obtain a search warrant in a Colorado missing person case is not high. I believe that a sworn statement from a neighbor that he or she saw BLM working at the site of the day that BLM said he was 200 miles away in Denver, along with the property owners consent, would fly over that threshold.
Further, I can speculate that BLM's close friend and companion during the other searches could have been working at that site on that Sunday, as his name is on one of the permits for the Sunday work. As has been pointed out by others in this thread, BLM and his friend drive similar trucks. If there is any merit to my guess that LE my have had a bona fide tip, then it could be just a case of horribly timed mistaken identity, in my opinion.
I don't count this as an "Oopsie". My general belief is that any investigation is going to have some wrong turns. If LE only followed the guaranteed ones, we would have considerably more backlog of cold cases in this country than we do. IMO, IANAL

I think we all agree: There had to be a specific and credible, solid reason to dig up the foundation of that house. Not video evidence of a crime, just solid and credible that something weird happened.

Something like a signed statement from a credible person saying they saw BM there digging around when he said he was somewhere else.

If the search hadn't involved damaging property the threshold would have been much lower obviously. As low as "BM's phone was off all day and we can't verify his location, we want to search his car for signs of his wife".

 

[Wowno17]

Described a few threads in the past was a discussion about what's called the "Halo Effect." Studies done show people deemed attractive tend to be assigned positive character traits by those who find them attractive. It's in the category of cognitive biases.

Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halo_effect

Very interesting, thank you!

Honestly if photos online are true, I.e bear hunting....then that person for me is the furthest from what I would be attracted to. I also have a very negative reaction to animal trophies and the people who flaunt them. I really don't think the halo effect applies in my judgement of BM and if it does it would be negative.

I just don't get the vibe that has murdered his wife. I don't think he is lying in his statements. I think the whole way LE is presenting it to the public is strange and different to any case I have followed before.



MOO

We are all learning give yourself a break, the brain is built for bias it takes conscious effort to wire up the frontal lobe and put it to work, easier to put everything and everyone into categories. I started out this case with extreme bias, but you know what? It doesn't work. You just shut down your brain and never have a chance to learn how to sleuth.
Just think how fun it is to realize you have the chance to spark up those neurons again and learn something new. Know thyself. Get to know how you think, your biases, open up your mind. Were you one of those students who never got one question wrong on an exam? Do you always have to be right?
I like Gavin DeBeckers approach, he prompts us to learn what our unrealistic fears are so we can be better in touch with what may be a real fear and a real danger. Likewise, realize we all have judgement and bias because it is easier and the brain groups things first and analyzes later if you make it. But we do have the choice to broaden our minds and learn new things.
The human brain utilizes a lot of energy (compared to chimpanzees) if you use it. It can get lazy to conserve energy. It can also get distracted and manipulated.
So you want to get better at sleuthing? Just keep trying and have patience. Can my ego take it if I am wrong? I sure hope so, cuz I'd rather learn how to get it right eventually. So many interesting things I am learning along the way.

*** I go by my gut feeling too, and understand where you are coming from

BBM

Being biased isn't the same as gut feeling.
Also thank you for the advice as my brain must be shutting down

<modsnip: Please don't discuss other members>

I can make a gut feeling judgement in this case because there isn't much else to go on.

MOO

 

[Ontario Mom]

If this were any other investigation, I might be inclined to agree that LE might tell the distraught husband the condition of the found bike. Maybe.
I think it might depend on the lead investigator, the actual condition of the bike, and the disposition of the husband.

Loads of variables of course but if hubby were a hothead and a loudmouth, they'd likely not divulge that info.
If hubby was an inconsolable puddle of tears, and the bike was trashed with blood on it... I doubt they'd go into detail on that with hubby.
If the lead on the case normally doesn't hand over info like that to the close family, then no, he or she wouldn't in this case either.

But in this case, precious little is being divulged by the CCSO, and what they have revealed by way of searches, indicates to me they're looking directly at BM.
If that is accurate, there's no way they're going to disclose to him the condition of the bike or anything else about the investigation that he doesn't need to know at this point.

jmo

 

[Seattle1]

Just to clarify, we don't have a named source for the information about the condition of the brakes. We know the nephew wanted folks to ask LE about the condition of the bike, but he did not specify any details.

Jeez, I thought we were done with this one!

I'm quite certain this is one where we backtracked NG's actual statement to include: '.. the brakes were locked -- if it's true...'

It's a 694......

 

[abstr]

Do we know if there’s been damage to the bicycle?

Nope. The only fact we know is that she is missing. Period. MOO is very healthy to mark a post as opinion.

 

[oviedo]

Very interesting, thank you!

Honestly if photos online are true, I.e bear hunting....then that person for me is the furthest from what I would be attracted to. I also have a very negative reaction to animal trophies and the people who flaunt them. I really don't think the halo effect applies in my judgement of BM and if it does it would be negative.

I just don't get the vibe that has murdered his wife. I don't think he is lying in his statements. I think the whole way LE is presenting it to the public is strange and different to any case I have followed before.



MOO


BBM

Being biased isn't the same as gut feeling.
Also thank you for the advice as my brain must be shutting down

What I don't understand on this site is when someone has a different opinion, against the majority, they are offered advice on being a better sleuth, or not having been in the game long enough.
As if they the poster doesn't have enough understanding of things otherwise they would have come to the same conclusion.

I can make a gut feeling judgement in this case because there isn't much else to go on.

MOO

I believe in gut instincts - and mine was wrong recently in another missing persons case so I pay attention and am more cautious now. It's good to hear others have these instincts too
IMO

 

[CronesEye]

Thanks for supplying that link, @gitana!
Snipped from above article:

Moore said that in April 2018, he asked Frazee how things were going with Berreth, and Frazee replied: “I figured out a way to kill her."

Moore testified that Frazee grinned and said, "No body, no crime, right?"
_________________

I don't know why these evil morons don't do their research.
What, they don't know how to do a basic Google search?
For the record, a majority of no-body cases brought to trial result in convictions:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/loca...a0bffa-206b-11e7-ad74-3a742a6e93a7_story.html
SFA:
Since the early 1800s, about 480 no-body cases have gone to trial. Of those cases, about 89 percent resulted in convictions, DiBiase said.

Repeating for the benefit of all the asinine perps out there:

A majority of no-body prosecutions result in convictions.

JMO.

A majority of no-body prosecutions result in convictions.
Thanks! I didn't know that. That is my happy little piece of information for the day.

Why don't they do a google search? I think because they have a tendency to take the easy way out IMO

 

[Seattle1]

I tend to think police would tell the spouse those details, too.

Re the first point, I don’t think it was the location of the bike that was in question when the spokesperson was urging the public to lobby LE, just the condition. BM wanted the public to know
the condition of the bike.

I listened to the blogger video at least twice. I recall BM pointing out the ravine location and position of the tire when he quickly caught himself and pivoted to something else.

Did not hear anything regarding the [mechanical] "condition" of the bike -- except that it was allegedly touched 10 times.

MOO

ETA: add WS approved link to blogger video

CO - CO - Suzanne Morphew, 49, Chaffee County, 10 May 2020 , MEDIA,MAPS,TIMELINE *NO DISCUSSION*

 

[TxGidget]

Did they ID the body in the Arkansas river in Wichita yet?

Not that I have seen. It’s just not the missing Wichita woman.

 

[TxGidget]

Male.

Check again. I don’t think it has been identified. The article you posted about a different body, male, was from April 2020. Before SM went missing.

 

[Madeleine74]

OK, but if there is any chance she's still alive --- and obviously, there is still some chance, albeit slim --- wouldn't LE want to list the reward on their flyer? After all, this might coax someone into taking an action that might free Suzanne or save her life. I agree that LE thinks the chances of her still being alive are very slim, but the chances are not zero, and given that there is a $200,000 reward for her safe return, I would think they would put this on the flyer. Unless they have other intentions in mind with this omission.

You'd think BM would want to work *with* LE on finding his missing wife, but he's not worked with them or coordinated anything with them right from the beginning; he's been quite critical of them, as we witnessed in the TD YouTube video interview.

 

[Mimi in London]

I listened to the blogger video at least twice. I recall BM discussing the location and position of the tire where he quickly caught himself and pivoted to something else.

Did not hear anything regarding the "condition" of the bike -- except that it was allegedly touched 10 times.

MOO

That’s right. ‘Condition’ was the term used by his spokesperson.

 

[Truecolors]

Thanks for supplying that link, @gitana!
Snipped from above article:

Moore said that in April 2018, he asked Frazee how things were going with Berreth, and Frazee replied: “I figured out a way to kill her."

Moore testified that Frazee grinned and said, "No body, no crime, right?"
_________________

I don't know why these evil morons don't do their research.
What, they don't know how to do a basic Google search?
For the record, a majority of no-body cases brought to trial result in convictions:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/loca...a0bffa-206b-11e7-ad74-3a742a6e93a7_story.html
SFA:
Since the early 1800s, about 480 no-body cases have gone to trial. Of those cases, about 89 percent resulted in convictions, DiBiase said.

Repeating for the benefit of all the asinine perps out there:

A majority of no-body prosecutions result in convictions.

JMO.

I wonder how many “no body” murders just remain missing person cases with no arrests?

 

[Lilypad13]

Male.

I’ve been waiting for this thank you @RickshawFan. Well...that’s good news then if there is still any chance she is being held captive somewhere. Not so much for whoever that male was that got murdered.

 

[FelicityLemon]

LE stating that they'll be sharing information with community could be just that they're willing to answer some questions a resident might have.

Some questions (aside from the obvious ?s) LE might ask during a canvas for a missing person

If you had to pick someone, who do you think, worry or suspect might be capable
Did you see someone with fresh scratches or injuries
Any gossip about a local creep
Do you remember someone acting oddly that weekend – someone who did something out of their ordinary behavior

... cleaned their car
... wouldn't let anyone in their home or yard
... was out of communication for a few hours during the days SM thought to have gone missing -​

Have you heard of anyone in the community being stalked
Someone you've witnessed acting oddly just before or after SM went missing
Someone who's behaved inappropriately towards women
Someone who's made you feel uncomfortable
Someone who's asked you questions about SM before she went missing
Someone you avoid or have been afraid of and the reasons
Someone you've heard about who might be capable of harming someone

 

[Dave F.]

I recall the homeowner had temp power since Nov 2019 and may have been doing his own clearing and grubbing for months if not years before the demo work completed. It was not mandatory for the owner to hire a "landscaper."

BM may not even engage in residential construction and may have agreed to help get the area ready for the foundation because of other friends contracted and waiting.

We have no reason to believe that BM ever worked on the homesite prior to laying the dirt for the foundation work estimated around April/May 2020 or close to when the owner told the reporter he first met BM.

I would also not be surprised if the owner is managing his own project. I don't recall a general contractor associated with any of the submittals or permits.

Nothing is a given; it's all speculation. We should let this owner get his house built and enjoy his privacy.

MOO

I would not be surprised if HE doesn't enjoy any privacy at all in that new place, but I'm not surprised by much of anything, anymore. IMO

 

[Seattle1]

<rsbm>

I don't recall there being any time provided for when the bike was found. Do you have a link for that?

IIRC, the 911 call was made just prior to 6:00 pm (5:46 rings a bell, but somebody will correct me if I have this wrong). BM said he got home around 9:00 pm.

ETA: Found it ...

Maysville’s Suzanne Morphew, 49, is missing. The Chaffee County Communications Center received a call about a missing female at 5:46 p.m. on Sunday. Sheriff John Spezze said that’s they day they think she went missing.

can you transcribe them too please? (LOL) I think I can watch them with captions (sound off) as one smart sleuther (you?) posted some time ago... I'm of the opinion the bike just isn't that important now. thanks for keeping the media thread updated
IMO

May 14, 2020
CBS morning news and 4-minute audio phone with nephew TN

Begin about 1:49 mark - 2:10 for TN confirmation that bike located on Sunday evening and his response regarding the "condition" of the bike.

CO - CO - Suzanne Morphew, 49, Chaffee County, 10 May 2020 , MEDIA,MAPS,TIMELINE *NO DISCUSSION*

 

[J.M. Bee]

I listened to the blogger video at least twice. I recall BM discussing the location and position of the tire where he quickly caught himself and pivoted to something else.

Did not hear anything regarding the "condition" of the bike -- except that it was allegedly touched 10 times.

MOO

If you are interested in understanding why I think we can infer that there was no visible damage to the bike, see comments #655, #663 and #697. I say this because it seems as if you are referring to what I've said re what I think we can infer from the Tyson Draper interview.

 

[Lilypad13]

Check again. I don’t think it has been identified. The article you posted about a different body, male, was from April 2020. Before SM went missing.

OMG seriously? There was just something about that “box” that got me thinking...

 

[oviedo]

May 14, 2020
CBS morning news and 4-minute audio phone with nephew TN

Begin about 1:49 mark - 2:10 for TN confirmation that bike located on Sunday evening and his response regarding the condition of the bike.

CO - CO - Suzanne Morphew, 49, Chaffee County, 10 May 2020 , MEDIA,MAPS,TIMELINE *NO DISCUSSION*

boy you are good... we so appreciate you here..IMO