DENVER (AP) — The husband of Colorado woman Suzanne Morphew, whose remains were discovered over three years after she was reported missing on Mother’s Day 2020, was arrested again Friday on suspicion of first-degree murder, authorities said.
Barry Morphew was arrested Friday in Arizona after a Colorado grand jury returned an indictment Wednesday. His bond was set at $3 million, cash only, according to court documents. The district attorney’s office said in a statement that it is seeking to bring him back to Colorado.
Barry Morphew has maintained his innocence since his wife disappeared, and his attorney David Beller 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, and the outcome will not either.”
He was first arrested in his wife’s death in May of 2021 on suspicion of first-degree murder, tampering with a human body and other offenses. But prosecutors the following year just as he was about to stand trial. A judge barred prosecutors from calling key witnesses for repeatedly failing to follow rules for turning over evidence in Barry Morphew’s favor. That included that was found in Suzanne Morphew’s SUV. At the time, prosecutors said they wanted more time to find her body.
Barry Morphew has said he had nothing to do with his wife’s disappearance and death, and he filed a $15 million lawsuit against county officials, accusing them of violating his constitutional rights.
Iris Eytan, who was Barry Morphew’s attorney in 2021 but no longer represents him, defended his innocence and said the case was “fumbled” by prosecutors.
“Not only is he is a loving father, but he was a loving husband,” Eytan told The Associated Press on Friday. “I’ve have handled thousands of cases, and I’ve never seen prosecutors mishandle a case so recklessly.”
The mystery surrounding Suzanne Morphew 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 soon found in separate spots not far from her home, but investigators suspected the bike had been purposefully thrown down into a ravine because there was no indications of a crash. A week after she went missing, Barry Morphew posted a video on Facebook pleading for her safe return.
“No questions asked, however much they want, I will do whatever it takes to get you back,” he said.
When he was charged, the arrest affidavit laying out investigators’ case against Barry Morphew said his wife insisted on leaving him. He later changed his statements as evidence in the case developed.
Morphew, an avid hunter, did not initially tell investigators that he went out of his way as he left for work on Mother’s Day, driving toward the place where his wife’s bicycle helmet was eventually found. Later, he said he went that way because he had seen an elk cross the road, according to the initial arrest affidavit.
After prosecutors dropped the charges against him, Barry Morphew’s lawyers announced they had for allegedly intentionally withholding evidence in the case. Barry Morphew also filed a $15 million lawsuit against prosecutors and investigators, accusing them of violating his constitutional rights.
However, the initial charges against Morphew were dismissed without prejudice, leaving the door open for prosecutors to pursue a case against him later.
That happened after Colorado Bureau of Investigation agents stumbled upon Suzanne Morphew’s skeletal remains in September 2023 in a shallow grave during an unrelated search near the small southern Colorado town of Moffat, about 40 miles (65 kilometers) south of the Morphews’ home.
A 2024 autopsy report released said Suzanne Morphew died of “undetermined means” but ruled it a homicide. A cocktail of drugs that are used to tranquilize wildlife was found in one of her bones but there was no indication of trauma, the report said.
A tranquilizer gun and accessories were found in the Morphews’ home, according to investigators.
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Gruver reported from Cheyenne, Wyoming. Associated Press reporter Jaimie Ding in Seattle contributed.
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