A Colorado man has been charged yet again in connection with his wife’s disappearance and death.
Barry Morphew was arrested in Arizona on Friday on suspicion of first-degree murder, years after prosecutors dropped their initial charges against him. He was married to Suzanne Morphew, whose body was found more than three years after she was reported missing on Mother’s Day 2020. His bond was set at $3 million in cash, according to court documents.
Barry Morphew has maintained his innocence, and his attorney, David Beller, has blasted the new indictment.
“Yet again, the government allows their predetermined conclusion to lead their search for evidence,” Beller said in a statement. “Barry maintains his innocence.” The case has not changed, nor will the outcome.
Barry Morphew was first arrested in connection with his wife’s death in May 2021 on suspicion of first-degree murder, tampering with a human body, and other offenses. However, prosecutors dropped their case against him in 2022, just before the trial was scheduled to begin.
Prosecutors dismissed their case after the judge barred them from calling key witnesses due to their repeated failure to follow rules requiring them to turn over evidence in Barry Morphew’s favor. The evidence included DNA from an unknown male found in Suzanne Morphew’s SUV. At the time, prosecutors stated that they needed more time to find her body.
Barry Morphew previously sued county officials for $15 million, accusing them of violating his constitutional rights.
Suzanne Morphew’s case began on May 10, 2020, when the 49-year-old mother of two daughters, who lived near the small town of Salida, was reported missing on Mother’s Day.
Suzanne Morphew’s mountain bike and helmet were discovered in separate locations near her home, but investigators suspected the bike had been deliberately thrown down a ravine because there was no evidence of a crash. A week after she went missing, Barry Morphew uploaded a video to Facebook pleading for her safe return.
“No questions asked, however much they want, I will do whatever it takes to get you back,” he assured them.
When he was charged, the arrest affidavit detailing investigators’ case against Barry Morphew stated that his wife insisted on leaving him. He later changed his statements as the case progressed.
Morphew, an avid hunter, did not initially tell investigators that he went out of his way to leave for work on Mother’s Day, driving toward the location where his wife’s bicycle helmet was later discovered. According to the initial arrest affidavit, he later stated that he went that direction after seeing an elk cross the road.
After the charges against him were dropped, Barry Morphew’s lawyers announced that they had filed a complaint seeking disciplinary action against the prosecutors for allegedly intentionally withholding evidence in the case. Barry Morphew also filed a $15 million lawsuit against prosecutors and investigators, claiming they violated his constitutional rights.
However, the initial charges against Morphew were dismissed without prejudice, allowing prosecutors to pursue a case against him later.
That occurred after Colorado Bureau of Investigation agents discovered Suzanne Morphew’s skeletal remains in a shallow grave in September 2023 while conducting an unrelated search near the small southern Colorado town of Moffat, about 40 miles south of the Morphews’ home.
Suzanne Morphew died of “undetermined means” according to an autopsy report released in 2024, but it was ruled a homicide. According to the report, one of her bones contained a cocktail of drugs used to tranquilize wildlife, but there was no evidence of trauma.
Investigators discovered a tranquilizer gun and accessories at the Morphews’ home.
