DENVER (AP) — The husband of a 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.
He was first arrested in the death of his wife in May of 2021 on suspicion of first-degree murder, tampering with a human body and other offenses. But prosecutors dropped their case against him 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 DNA from an unknown male found in Suzanne Morphew’s SUV. At the time, prosecutors said they wanted more time to find her body.
Barry Morphew has repeatedly maintained his innocence and previously filed a $15 million lawsuit against county officials, accusing them of violating his constitutional rights.
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 him 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 his arrest affidavit.
After prosecutors dropped the charges against him, Barry Morphew’s lawyers announced they had filed a complaint asking that the prosecutors be disciplined 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 should prosecutors later decide to pursue a case against him again.
That happened after Colorado Bureau of Investigation agents stumbled upon Suzanne Morphew’s skeletal remains in a shallow grave during an unrelated search near the small southern Colorado town of Moffat in September 2023, about 40 miles (65 kilometers) south of Barry and Suzanne Morphew’s home.
An autopsy report released in April 2024 said Morphew’s death was a homicide but said she died of “undetermined means.” 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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