Barry Morphew files for guardianship of missing wife Suzanne Morphew

by Ellen Killoran

The husband of a Colorado woman who has been missing since May 10 has filed for guardianship in Indiana, where the couple lived with their two daughters until they moved to central Colorado in 2018.

Suzanne Morphew, 49, was reported missing less than a month ago when she reportedly failed to return home from a bike ride on Mother’s Day. Sources familiar with the case have said that her husband Barry Morphew was in Denver that weekend, working on a landscaping job, although authorities in Chaffee County have not confirmed this.

The Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office has revealed very little about the ongoing investigation, but investigators are continuing to follow up on tips and leads. In late May, detectives searched a property in Salida, Colorado, that had been a job site for Barry Morphew’s independent landscaping business, and concluded the three-day search with an announcement that no evidence was found connecting the property to Suzanne Morphew’s disappearance.

CrimeOnline obtained documents from Hamilton Superior Court in Hamilton County, Indiana, showing that Barry Morphew filed a petition for guardianship of Suzanne Morphew on June 1.

The pending petition states that Suzanne Morphew “is deemed incapacitated under Indiana Law because she cannot be located upon reasonable inquiry.”

The document also states that Barry Morphew is requesting to sell real estate in Indiana on behalf of Suzanne, who is the joint owner of a property that is currently in contract and scheduled to close on June 6.

“The need exists for the appointment of a guardian of the alleged incapacitated person in that she cannot be located upon reasonable inquiry and property in Hamilton County, Indiana, needs to be sold,” the petition reads.

A member of Suzanne Morphew’s family who spoke on the condition of anonymity said that Barry and Suzanne owned multiple rental properties in Indiana, and said they recalled Suzanne saying that the couple was planning on selling at least one of them. The family member said they were unaware of Barry Morphew’s petition for guardianship when CrimeOnline asked them to comment on the matter.

The court documents show that Suzanne and Barry Morphew’s eldest daughter, who is an adult, provided consent for her father to be appointed guardianship of Suzanne.

CrimeOnline was unable to locate definitively established guidelines in Indiana for appointing guardianship of a missing person.

“It’s the wild west. There’s no uniformity,” Catherine Seal, a Colorado-based attorney with practice areas of guardianship and elder law, said of guardianship law in the U.S.

“Guardianship is the red-headed stepchild of the probate court,” Seal, a senior partner at Kirland & Seal, LLC, added.

James McGuire, a staff attorney at the Indiana Supreme Court, said that Indiana Supreme Court lawyers could not comment on the guardianship petition because the case is still pending, and could potentially proceed to the higher court. Several private practice attorneys based in Indiana declined to comment, and the attorney representing Barry Morphew in the petition for guardianship did not immediately respond to an interview request.

CrimeOnline will provide further updates when more information is available.

The Chaffee County Sheriff’s office has encouraged members of the public who may have information related to Suzanne Morphew’s disappearance to call the dedicated tip line at 719-312-7530.

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Barry Morphew files for guardianship of missing wife Suzanne Morphew

Sister, brother file for legal guardianship of embattled county recorder

SALT LAKE CITY — Family members of embattled Salt Lake County Recorder Gary Ott are seeking legal permission to make decisions for him, according to court documents that a judge acted on Monday.

An attorney for his brother, Marty Ott, and his sister, Kathy Ott Chamberlain, filed a petition for the "appointment of guardian and conservator of incapacitated adult" in Salt Lake City's 3rd District Court on Friday.

Judge Mark Kouris on Monday signed an order at the family's request, as well as temporary orders related to guardianship and financial decision-making.

But Ott's office aide, who many have identified as Ott's girlfriend, said Monday that she is the county recorder's would-be guardian and financial manager.

Few details were available about the judge's decision. The documents remain sealed, and Chamberlain referred comment to her attorney Mary Corporon.

Corporon, who is also Gary Ott's ex-wife, declined to comment about the case.

"At this point, we don't have anything that ought to be public," Corporon said. "These kinds of cases are private for a reason. They're extremely sensitive."

The document also names Kristine Ott Williams as a petitioner.

Gary Ott has been the target of public scrutiny for a year and a half as questions about his health have surfaced following a series of Deseret News stories. Colleagues say his visits to the office have been much more sporadic in recent months, raising additional concerns about his well-being. Earlier this month he made a series of incoherent statements in a 45-minute interview with the Deseret News.

Karmen Sanone — the aide who describes herself as Ott's "longtime friend" who has also been identified as his girlfriend and fiancee — said Monday that she and Ott were dumbfounded by the family's court filings. Sanone said Ott's family has not been involved in his life for years, and said she believes the court filings are financially motivated.

Sanone said for the first time that she is identified in Ott's living will — which she estimates was created three or four years ago — as his would-be guardian and financial manager if the need arises. The pair was on their way back from a restaurant, Sanone said Monday night, and Ott declined when she asked if he wanted to talk to a reporter.

"I'm just very concerned. Gary's with me. He's shocked. We just finished dinner," she said.

The pair's relationship is part of Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill's monthslong investigation into Ott's situation, as well as allegations that Ott lives outside of Salt Lake County and allegations that Sanone and Ott's chief deputy, Julie Dole, are taking advantage of Ott's situation. Both women have denied those allegations.

"There is no nepotism," Sanone said Monday evening.

Marty Ott could not be reached for comment Monday. Earlier this month, however, he expressed concerns about his brother’s finances. A “notice of default” obtained by Ott’s own Salt Lake County Recorder’s Office indicated that Gary Ott hadn’t been paying his home equity loan for almost a year.

He said the "question of the hour" was where his brother's paycheck been going over the past 11 months. "That's a big question," Marty Ott said, adding that the default notice "absolutely" amplified his concerns for his brother.

Gary Ott earns nearly $190,000 annually in salary and benefits.

Sanone blamed an account number for the lack of payments. She said the loan default matter was a surprise to Ott and would be quickly sorted out.

Marty Ott said he and other family members have been troubled by his brother's situation and they planned to advocate for the man's best interests.

"All of our focus and energy is being directed to one thing: Gary's well-being," Marty Ott said on June 14.

Gill on Monday praised Gary Ott's "lifetime of devoted service" to the county, saying the situation is a tragic one.

"I share the same concerns about Gary and his health and I'm happy to see some family members are stepping up," Gill said, saying he wants the best for Ott.

Issues surrounding Ott have led to a series of recent closed sessions by the Salt Lake County Council, which last week announced plans to use its power of the purse strings to take action against the recorder's office. A discussion of the budget for the recorder's office was set for Tuesday but has been postponed.

That comes after at least two closed meetings with the district attorney to discuss a "personnel matter," according to the council's agenda.

Bound by closed meetings rules, council members have been tight-lipped about the details of those discussions, but the meetings came after Mayor Ben McAdams called for Ott's resignation following the Deseret News' ongoing investigation into Ott's well-being.

Earlier this month, Sanone said Ott, 66, is considering retirement before the end of his current term, which ends in 2020.

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Sister, brother file for legal guardianship of embattled county recorder

Legal Matters: Petition for guardianship an option for those who need help

People have the right to make bad decisions. Dad can buy a new vacuum cleaner every week and stack them floor to ceiling. Although he is probably making his family crazy, he is not necessarily legally incompetent. But if Dad cannot buy food because he spends all his income on vacuum cleaners, he may need a guardian to manage his money.

Bad decisions become a legal issue when family members or others concerned conclude that a person is unable to make or communicate responsible decisions about his person or property because of physical or mental disability, disease, habitual drunkenness, drug addiction or other circumstances such as disappearance.

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The best idea for a person who understands that his mental illness affects his functioning or knows that advanced years impair his memory or reasoning is to plan ahead. He may grant financial power of attorney to a trustworthy person and appoint an agent to make health-care decisions if he is unable to do so.

 

A representative payee can be appointed for a person who can no longer manage his income. The payee receives the person’s government benefits, such as Social Security or a veteran’s pension, and pays his bills.
 

A petition for guardianship may be the only good option for a person who has not given power of attorney and refuses to accept help but can no longer take care of himself. The person may need one or both types of guardian — a guardian of the person to make sure he has health care, food, clothing and shelter, or a guardian of property if he is unable to manage his property or business affairs effectively.
 

Mental incompetency is a ghost in fog, difficult to define or identify. Maryland law says a guardian of the person must be appointed if a judge determines that the individual “lacks sufficient understanding or capacity to make or communicate responsible decisions concerning his person, including provisions for health care, food, clothing, or shelter, because of any mental disability, disease, habitual drunkenness, or addiction to drugs, and that no less restrictive form of intervention is available which is consistent with the person’s welfare and safety.”
 

A disabled person may be competent to make some decisions but not others. For example, a developmentally disabled 20-year-old may be able to express a reasoned opinion about whom she trusts to handle her money, but unable to pay her bills on time.

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Legal Matters: Petition for guardianship an option for those who need help