Found Deceased CO - Suzanne Morphew, 49, did not return from bike ride, Chaffee County, 10 May 2020 #16

[Jimbythelake]

That is correct. Except for threatening the person being questioned (or his family) with harm, investigators are allowed wide latitude during interrogation in terms of telling a person that they posses evidence or that a co-conspirator has turned against him. That's why -- & I was deputy prosecutor for about 7 years & have now been a defense attorney for 9 years -- it's imperative to ask for counsel if authorities are questioning you.

lamlawindy, what are your thoughts on Barry having a lawyer?

 

[Jimbythelake]

That is correct. Except for threatening the person being questioned (or his family) with harm, investigators are allowed wide latitude during interrogation in terms of telling a person that they posses evidence or that a co-conspirator has turned against him. That's why -- & I was deputy prosecutor for about 7 years & have now been a defense attorney for 9 years -- it's imperative to ask for counsel if authorities are questioning you.

lamlawindy, most here seem to think LE's silence show's confidence in a theory they have....would you concur, and is it necessarily Barry?

 

[gamma gal]

He could have driven his truck to Denver, left his phone there, took another vehicle back to the house ... left her watch and phone at home with the story, “oh she doesn’t always take them when she rides her bike” ...
This would probably mean an accomplice but maybe it was a vehicle that belonged to one of his employees? Like, “hey man can I borrow your truck to go to a club? My wife has a tracking device and if she sees my truck leave ... I’m in big trouble.”
I know that sounds a bit far-fetched ... I’m sure employee would relay that info to LE if that happened.
A rental car would be noticed, too.
Theoretically ... why couldn’t he have taken an old company truck that doesn’t have GPS and no one knows the last mileage count? Just speculating ... or just my opinions.

Or, whatever happened to SM, happened 2 days prior and he had a couple of days to dispose of her, stage and then go to Denver. MOO

 

[lamlawindy]

lamlawindy, what are your thoughts on Barry having a lawyer?

Well, we all know that the spouse/boyfriend/girlfriend is considered a person of interest when
a man or woman disappears. Given that, IMHO, a spouse/boyfriend/girlfriend should always hire an attorney the moment the loved one is missing. In short, if there's a reasonable possibility that one is being looked at by investigators, hire a lawyer. Fast.

Hiring a lawyer doesn't mean that one is hiding anything. It does mean that one is protecting one's rights. Now, the vast majority of investigators are upright, hardworking guys & gals. There is, however, a tendency at times during a case -- especially one with a lot of media attention -- to focus in on a person & close the case quickly. Hiring a lawyer blunts the sometimes sharp "rush to judgment" that exists at times.

 

[lamlawindy]

lamlawindy, most here seem to think LE's silence show's confidence in a theory they have....would you concur, and is it necessarily Barry?

Maybe, maybe not. Investigators are reluctant to release details at times because they do not want to damage a future prosecution. For example -- in this case -- if only the perpetrator & Suzanne would know the type of "personal item" that was allegedly found, investigators will keep the description of the item secret. This is because an interviewee may -- unintentionally -- divulge facts about the "personal item" that only the perpetrator would know.

In short, silence on the part of investigators doesn't necessarily point toward any one theory or person.

 

[DizzyB]

I did not believe BM was responsible when SM first went missing. I have been surprised here enough times by how things have turned out. As time passed, between the odd plea, the disconnect between BM & LE, the jobsite search, the TD videos, TN stepping away as a family spokesperson, the complete silence of family, well I could go on and on. Too many arrows point in one direction.

I will only believe in one other alternate theory-and chances of this one are slim to none, but as I said, sometimes I am surprised. With the jobsite search, could it be a worker that knew SM? Knew BM would be out of town? Knew that the girls were away? I am not putting much stock in it, but I am trying to think outside the box and give a huge benefit of the doubt. Still going with BM, but...

 

[Lori Cooper]

Maybe, maybe not. Investigators are reluctant to release details at times because they do not want to damage a future prosecution. For example -- in this case -- if only the perpetrator & Suzanne would know the type of "personal item" that was allegedly found, investigators will keep the description of the item secret. This is because an interviewee may -- unintentionally -- divulge facts about the "personal item" that only the perpetrator would know.

In short, silence on the part of investigators doesn't necessarily point toward any one theory or person.

Thank you so much for your perspective!

 

[Curiousobserver]

Well, we all know that the spouse/boyfriend/girlfriend is considered a person of interest when
a man or woman disappears. Given that, IMHO, a spouse/boyfriend/girlfriend should always hire an attorney the moment the loved one is missing. In short, if there's a reasonable possibility that one is being looked at by investigators, hire a lawyer. Fast.

Hiring a lawyer doesn't mean that one is hiding anything. It does mean that one is protecting one's rights. Now, the vast majority of investigators are upright, hardworking guys & gals. There is, however, a tendency at times during a case -- especially one with a lot of media attention -- to focus in on a person & close the case quickly. Hiring a lawyer blunts the sometimes sharp "rush to judgment" that exists at times.

Just reinforcing this idea- most professionals will tell you the exact same thing.

My three closest friends are: the police chief, the district attorney, and the assistant DA- (means I am always dismissed from jury duty)

All three of them will tell you that you should have an attorney present if you are ever questioned about a serious crime and there is any even remote chance you are a suspect. Even if you are an attorney you should have an attorney.

 

[marylamby]

From the beginning, local news consistently reported that according to family, BM was in Denver on May 10, period. No additional information was provided.

Around May 20, DM was the first to report that 'BM said he was attending firefighter training on Sunday in Denver,' on citing an unidentified relative.

On May 21, local Fox21 contacted the Chaffee County Fire Chief in an attempt to confirm the story being told by DM (that BM was at firefighter training on Sunday). We all know by now that the Fire Chief provided that sponsored training was suspended during COVID19.

From additional questions posed by Fox 21, we learned a couple more things about both BM and SM from the Fire Chief:

The Fire Chief personally recruited BM for the volunteer firefighter crew after meeting him at a homeowner's association meeting.

And most peculiar, we learned from the Fire Chief that SM allegedly rode her bike every Sunday before church service. However, the Chief was also very clear that he did not know and/or couldn't say if SM attended church or rode her bike on Sunday, May 10.

Many viewed this as an odd statement at the time but today, understanding the timeline better, I think this was probably fresh information given to the Chief directly from BM in the ten days since SM vanished.

Given BM was getting the slant eye from investigators, he was keen to share this information with those closest to him including his Chief, firefighter buddies, and the IN church members. BM needed his narrative of the Sunday morning ride routine out there -- as opposed to any other day of the week or hour --for the known, avid biker.

BM was on a mission! If they buy it, everybody will buy it. WRONG!

MOO

^^^^^^^^THIS!^^^^^^^^

 

[Curiousobserver]

Yes, several items were found. It's what led to the closure and search of Highway 50 west of Maysville.

Search teams find items belonging to missing Chaffee County woman; U.S. 50 closed through Monarch Pass Friday - KRDO

"The initial search area was around the junction of U.S. 50 and County Road 225 and Highway 50, west of Maysville, after investigators said they found several personal items of Morphew's Thursday that led to expanding the search area Friday."

"We can't talk about what we found," said Sheriff John Spezze during a media briefing. "But we didn't find her. We'll re-evaluate the search based on the information we've learned. Her husband is cooperating in the investigation. We're assuming she's still alive and we're not ruling anything out."

The initial search area was around the junction of U.S. 50 and County Road 225 and Highway 50, west of Maysville, after investigators said they found several personal items of Morphew's Thursday that led to expanding the search area Friday.

In subsequent reports it was one personal item- I wonder which is actually true?

Several items could be a scuffle, one item could be a plant

 

[Fireflize]

^^^^^^^^THIS!^^^^^^^^

Agree with Seattle. When LE didn't buy what he was selling, it appears he quickly turned on them. Understandably. Then the stories of lions and abduction and raging rivers began to be spread to all who would buy it. I think that the number of people that believe those stories is dwindling. When I watched the YouTube guy interview, I got the impression that BM was very frustrated that LE didn't read all of the clues the way that they were supposed to. Can it be that someone would be so sure that criminal investigations can be directed by planted clues, and be astonished that they are indeed being investigated? Moo

 

[Tate123]

I did not believe BM was responsible when SM first went missing. I have been surprised here enough times by how things have turned out. As time passed, between the odd plea, the disconnect between BM & LE, the jobsite search, the TD videos, TN stepping away as a family spokesperson, the complete silence of family, well I could go on and on. Too many arrows point in one direction.

I will only believe in one other alternate theory-and chances of this one are slim to none, but as I said, sometimes I am surprised. With the jobsite search, could it be a worker that knew SM? Knew BM would be out of town? Knew that the girls were away? I am not putting much stock in it, but I am trying to think outside the box and give a huge benefit of the doubt. Still going with BM, but...

Initially, I did not think it was BM. This IS my first rodeo and I was admittedly swayed by the pretty pictures of a loving family. Slowly all of the coincidences and odd behaviors started to add up and made me extremely suspect. With the information we have I'm 90% convinced it's him. I reserve the remaining 10% for the possibility of him being involved in business dealings with some very shady people that might be seeking revenge. So indirectly he'd be responsible anyway. I've arrived at that 2nd scenario because of his reluctance in putting his name out and his nephews refusal to show his face on camera. IMO

 

[Willowwood26]

According to the DM article, it states that BM was not allowed to enter his home on arrival from Denver. Is that standard procedure for a missing person case? Thank you.

 

[happyday]

Initially, I did not think it was BM. This IS my first rodeo and I was admittedly swayed by the pretty pictures of a loving family. Slowly all of the coincidences and odd behaviors started to add up and made me extremely suspect. With the information we have I'm 90% convinced it's him. I reserve the remaining 10% for the possibility of him being involved in business dealings with some very shady people that might be seeking revenge. So indirectly he'd be responsible anyway. I've arrived at that 2nd scenario because of his reluctance in putting his name out and his nephews refusal to show his face on camera. IMO

I’ve followed a few cases and I now realize how gullible I am when it comes to visuals. Pretty pictures, heartfelt pleas, crying. I believe it EVERY TIME. I honestly don’t see the deception others see most of the time. BUT facts and patterns do stick out to me. In this case all I have to do is look at LE’s behavior from the beginning and it’s a no-brainer what the clues are leading them to. Now some are thinking this is do to “tunnel vision,” but I seriously am not buying that the FBI, CBI and local LE are all just unable to entertain any other scenario but one without very compelling reasons. So I’m going with LE on this one. They know much more than we do after all.

 

[Knox]

Maybe since Suzanne disappeared on Mother's Day, there will be an arrest on Father's Day. Wouldn't that be the ultimate irony?

 

[Seattle1]

According to the DM article, it states that BM was not allowed to enter his home on arrival from Denver. Is that standard procedure for a missing person case? Thank you.

I'm also curious how the possession of the residence went down. If BM was selling the abduction story all the drive home, then LE would probably be telling him they need to process his home for evidence of said abduction. I think he likely consented but I think the following days were not by choice but by warrant.

But to answer your question, I'd say not standard procedure but there's nothing standard about this missing person incident here, MOO

 

[kkdj]

Just reinforcing this idea- most professionals will tell you the exact same thing.

My three closest friends are: the police chief, the district attorney, and the assistant DA- (means I am always dismissed from jury duty)

All three of them will tell you that you should have an attorney present if you are ever questioned about a serious crime and there is any even remote chance you are a suspect. Even if you are an attorney you should have an attorney.

Yes. And I was also told by a lie detector administrator to never take one. lol
But I would if my child were missing, just to eliminate any questions they might have about me and get to the business of finding my child.

 

[Fireflize]

If BM expected to return home from Denver and recieve a sympathetic welcome, as the husband of an abducted wife, he must have been sorely disappointed. Moo

 

[chinablue1]

My thoughts ..... on BM .... I think it's difficult to look at a couple that's been married for 27 years and think the husband is possibly the one that is responsible for his wife's disappearance. I think if BM is responsible for SM missing, what was he thinking, timing is everything, they'll never suspect me, of doing this, its Mother's Day. Well on another note, if a person/s are capable of doing something this, they're very detached from their body.


Just my moopinion

 

[Jackielee09]

Yes. And I was also told by a lie detector administrator to never take one. lol
But I would if my child were missing, just to eliminate any questions they might have about me and get to the business of finding my child.

Never!!! Take a polygraph. Never. Especially if innocent.