Found Deceased CO - Suzanne Morphew, 49, did not return from bike ride, Chaffee County, 10 May 2020 #28

[Dr.StClements]

I was wondering, too! Chris had some technical difficulties right as he said it but it sounded important.

I wondered whether some of the information was intentionally being blocked out, as it contained people's names or other personal identification information. Just my own opinion and it could well be down to recording problems.

 

[gitana1]

And the big silence on the find Suzanne Morphew page on facebook.

Yeah that’s a weird one to me. I’ve never seen family/friends abandon a FB site they created, dedicated to finding their loved one.

 

[muppethead]

also, it just dawned on me: it says they found a skull and partial fragments. not a whole body or full skeleton. yikes.

Is there any chance this could be Kelsey Berreth? It is not far away from where she lived. Prayers to the family that is missing this loved one.

 

[Dr.StClements]

Was it theater with Chris Watts, who confessed to murdering his wife and kids after bombing a polygraph?

Accurate or not, these things have been used for decades, and have broken many a case wide open.

Conversely, false negatives recorded on lie detector tests - when there is circumstantial/other evidence to show that the test taker is probably the perpetrator of said crime - can reveal something about that person's personality.
The correlation between sociopaths/psychopaths being able to produce a false negative when they are guilty is worth bearing in mind. This won't necessarily complicate a case, but rather add weight to the argument that, for example, certain traits (including the N personality type - I understand we are not allowed to use the word on this site) will fool the test. What becomes ever more important are the Q's that are asked - the test can show patterns of consistency/inconsistency aligned with certain personality types.
I'm not suggesting that this is used as a diagnostic tool. It can, however, provide a bigger picture of the person under investigation.

 

[marylamby]

There are quite a few deeds and real estate transactions listed for Suzanne on this Indiana Doxpop. I don’t have a subscription to read the dox. And I’m struggling to understand what it all means. But here is the link, in case it’s of any value.

Doxpop

Great info. You get 6 searches/mo free. We should split them up!

 

[Alethea]

Let me ask you. If your beloved spouse or parent or child went missing and you felt an electric but hollow horror and desperation to find them and LE told you that they’d like to do a polygraph to help rule you out so they can focus where they need to, would you truly say, “Yeah, no thanks. I’m not interested. They’re unreliable and I will be crucified.”?

As an attorney whose partner does criminal defense I’m aware of their limitations, unreliability and ability to incriminate someone. And yet, if it was MY loved one missing that I was desperate to find? I’d break my legs running as fast as I could do get there to do one.

Mark Klaas and John Walsh have repeated that as nauseam. When loved ones refuse it is a massive red flag.

Because it’s not about the law. It’s not about efficacy. Or risk. It’s about human behavior.

What is typical human behavior on the part of an innocent person in such a situation?

Obviously, veering from that doesn’t make a person guilty. (And as an aside, the converse isn’t true, because guilty people quite often agree to take polygraph tests, talk to LE without a lawyer, etc.) But it is a major red flag for law enforcement.

And for me.

I agree completely. I would never let my clients take polygraphs because it is my job as their defense attorney to protect them and ensure the state makes the state's case based on admissible evidence. When you defend bad people all day you realize many criminal defendants (at least in my own experience) have a problem with the truth and even ordinary things get twisted and embellished into lies. Do I want my pathological liar client to take a polygraph or talk to investigators or do anything except wait for me? Nooope.

But if my husband was missing? Hook me up and rule me out. I don't have concerns about the polygraph test as an investigative tool. I have concerns about my criminal defense clients being liars 90% of the time.

 

[Love Never Fails]

Let me ask you. If your beloved spouse or parent or child went missing and you felt an electric but hollow horror and desperation to find them and LE told you that they’d like to do a polygraph to help rule you out so they can focus where they need to, would you truly say, “Yeah, no thanks. I’m not interested. They’re unreliable and I will be crucified.”?

As an attorney whose partner does criminal defense I’m aware of their limitations, unreliability and ability to incriminate someone. And yet, if it was MY loved one missing that I was desperate to find? I’d break my legs running as fast as I could do get there to do one.

Mark Klaas and John Walsh have repeated that as nauseam. When loved ones refuse it is a massive red flag.

Because it’s not about the law. It’s not about efficacy. Or risk. It’s about human behavior.

What is typical human behavior on the part of an innocent person in such a situation?

Obviously, veering from that doesn’t make a person guilty. (And as an aside, the converse isn’t true, because guilty people quite often agree to take polygraph tests, talk to LE without a lawyer, etc.) But it is a major red flag for law enforcement.

And for me.

I can see both sides of the argument.

I would absolutely take a polygraph, a voice analysis, offer my financial history, my computer history ( which might bore them to death), anything to find a loved one.

I can see me being very nervous too, wondering if the tests would be accurate. I have never been on the wrong side of the law before so I trust law enforcement.

However, we are told repeatedly to listen to our attorney in any legal situation and to get an attorney anytime you speak with law enforcement. So if your trusted attorney says “don’t take the test because LE may focus on you and waste precious time” I might be in a panic and do what the attorney says.

So since you are an attorney, who do we trust, LE or the attorney?

 

[marylamby]

GM's wife passed in 2016 and SM's dad simply added his children to the title. He's still the owner. This is not an unusual practice when the spouse dies. MOO

Have we covered IN community property laws re: RE bequeathed to only one party? BM's name is not listed.

 

[Alethea]

I can see both sides of the argument.

I would absolutely take a polygraph, a voice analysis, offer my financial history, my computer history ( which might bore them to death), anything to find a loved one.

I can see me being very nervous too, wondering if the tests would be accurate. I have never been on the wrong side of the law before so I trust law enforcement.

However, we are told repeatedly to listen to our attorney in any legal situation and to get an attorney anytime you speak with law enforcement. So if your trusted attorney says “don’t take the test because LE may focus on you and waste precious time” I might be in a panic and do what the attorney says.

So since you are an attorney, who do we trust, LE or the attorney?

Depends on if it he did it! Only Barry knows that

 

[Love Never Fails]

Depends on if it he did it! Only Barry knows that

I wasn’t speaking of Barry. He is that “it’s too soon”, 26 second video guy who refused the test. I won’t say my opinion of him.

But in general, who are people supposed to trust, LE or their attorney?
That’s a serious question.

I would be all over the place screaming for help to find my loved one, taking the test, begging them into my home to look for clues. Anything.
So why on earth would my trusted attorney tell me NOT to take a test?

 

[allyoucantleavebehind]

The firefighter training on Sunday was a one-off by Daily Mail. Other reporters contacted the fire chief when DM came out with that-- citing a "relative," and fire chief reported that all training was suspended because of COVID.

You're caught up now!! AM and Inside Edition just happened this week!

Yes, fire chief confirmed that there was no fire training but there seem to have been early reports from family that BM was attending fire training in Denver. That’s the first thing I remember hearing about this case—before the Daily Mail. I think BM fed that story to family early and it was reported to media early on.

 

[oviedo]

I agree completely. I would never let my clients take polygraphs because it is my job as their defense attorney to protect them and ensure the state makes the state's case based on admissible evidence. When you defend bad people all day you realize many criminal defendants (at least in my own experience) have a problem with the truth and even ordinary things get twisted and embellished into lies. Do I want my pathological liar client to take a polygraph or talk to investigators or do anything except wait for me? Nooope.

But if my husband was missing? Hook me up and rule me out. I don't have concerns about the polygraph test as an investigative tool. I have concerns about my criminal defense clients being liars 90% of the time.

Exactly !
jmo

 

[Gigi3]

Is there any chance this could be Kelsey Berreth? It is not far away from where she lived. Prayers to the family that is missing this loved one.

I was just thinking the same about Kelsey. I hope and pray she will be found. As well as, Suzanne.

 

[Ontario Mom]

I can see both sides of the polygraph issue, but at the end of the day it's the optics to both the family and to LE, if someone refuses to take one.

It absolutely looks like the person has something to hide, that doesn't want uncovered by a polygraph or voice analyses test. It doesn't even matter if they do or not, it's what it looks like.

And then... if they lie, and say they were never even asked, or lie and say they took one and passed... that's (to me) even more reason to believe they do in fact have something to hide.

jmo

 

[oviedo]

Is there any chance this could be Kelsey Berreth? It is not far away from where she lived. Prayers to the family that is missing this loved one.

Since we don’t really know for sure where he dumped her remains I think it’s possible - wouldn’t that be a wonderful thing for her family ? jmo

 

[marylamby]

Because it is just theater. <modsnip: LE bashing not allowed>

I disagree. It's not theater, it's an investigative tool. You do realize that LE can see which questions one fails or passes on, right?
I agree 100% with Gitana1. Everyone knows the results are inadmissible at trial but if you REALLY want LE to find a MP or a murderer and are innocent, you take it so they can get on with business. I would.
They don't have time to play games.

 

[Gigi3]

I can see both sides of the polygraph issue, but at the end of the day it's the optics to both the family and to LE, if someone refuses to take one.

It absolutely looks like the person has something to hide, that doesn't want uncovered by a polygraph or voice analyses test. It doesn't even matter if they do or not, it's what it looks like.

And then... if they lie, and say they were never even asked, or lie and say they took one and passed... that's (to me) even more reason to believe they do in fact have something to hide.

jmo

Great post!!!
I’m with you- polygraph aside, BM has LIED numerous times about taking one.

If you don’t want to take one, fine, that’s your prerogative. Don’t LIE about taking one!! To me, it suggests guilt when you lie about these things.
MOO

 

[MassGuy]

I wasn’t speaking of Barry. He is that “it’s too soon”, 26 second video guy who refused the test. I won’t say my opinion of him.

But in general, who are people supposed to trust, LE or their attorney?
That’s a serious question.

I would be all over the place screaming for help to find my loved one, taking the test, begging them into my home to look for clues. Anything.
So why on earth would my trusted attorney tell me NOT to take a test?

Why would you have an attorney in the first place at that point? I mean, “a mountain lion took her.” No crime there, tragic as it is.

I think these interviews and the request for a polygraph, would have occurred in the very early days of this investigation.

 

[GordianKnot]

I wasn’t speaking of Barry. He is that “it’s too soon”, 26 second video guy who refused the test. I won’t say my opinion of him.

But in general, who are people supposed to trust, LE or their attorney?
That’s a serious question.

I would be all over the place screaming for help to find my loved one, taking the test, begging them into my home to look for clues. Anything.
So why on earth would my trusted attorney tell me NOT to take a test?

Here's my answer:
If one of my loved ones goes missing, my first call is not going to be to a lawyer.
It's going to be to LE.

And I am not waiting for LE to ask me anything, because I'm going to be asking the questions right up front:

"What is it you guys need from me right now? What can I do?"
If they tell me I can take a polygraph, I'll take a polygraph.
Whatever they need from me, they're going to get.

I don't understand people's questioning the wisdom of cooperating with LE.
They're not out to frame the innocent.
Despite what some outlets and organizations would have you to believe right now, LE's not out to get John Q. Public, the law-abiding citizen.

If a person's not going to help LE with their investigative search efforts, why bother calling them in the first place? I mean, talk about mixed messaging: "Quick! You guys gotta find my wife! Just don't expect me to help you with that. I ain't going to be answering any questions."

I understand that defense attorneys will always say that people need to get themselves an attorney.
Because, job security!
That's just called being smart.

But the fear-mongering thing doesn't work for me, it really doesn't.

I'm not afraid of LE, because I'm not one of the bad guys.
I don't violate the laws of the land…at least, not unless I'm driving, and there's no traffic, and the speed limit posted is ridiculously low. Like 65 mph or something.
Then, maybe I'm a little nervous to see the red and blue lights flashing behind me.
What can I say.

Nobody's perfect.

Not even @MassGuy.

JMO.

 

[Gigi3]

Here's my answer:

If one of my loved ones goes missing, my first call is not going to be to a lawyer.
It's going to be to LE.

And I am not waiting for LE to ask me anything, because I'm going to be asking the questions right up front:

"What is it you guys need from me right now? What can I do?"

If they tell me I can take a polygraph, I'll take a polygraph.
Whatever they need from me.

I don't understand people's fear of LE.
They're not out to frame the innocent.
They're not the enemy of John Q. Public.

Despite what some outlets and organizations would have you to believe right now.

JMO.

THIS!!! All day long and twice on Sunday!
Thanks for the post!