AP News: Barry Morphew, husband of Suzanne Morphew, whose remains were discovered years after she went missing in 2020, faces first-degree murder charge.
Barry Morphew was arrested in Arizona after a Colorado grand jury indictment, following the initial case’s drop due to evidence issues. His bond is set at $3 million cash only, seeking to bring him back to Colorado.
District Attorney Anne Kelly stated that her office persevered in seeking justice for Suzanne Morphew. An autopsy report in 2024 determined Suzanne’s death as a homicide by unspecified means, with traces of tranquilizers found in her remains. Barry Morphew, who has maintained innocence, faces the new indictment.
A previous murder charge in 2021 was dropped due to evidence mishandling. Barry Morphew’s lawsuit against officials and accusations of constitutional rights violation followed. Former prosecutor Linda Stanley was disbarred for mismanagement of the case.
Suzanne Morphew, a mother of two, went missing on Mother’s Day 2020 near Salida. Her bike and helmet were found, leading to a search that ended with her remains discovered. Barry Morphew posted a plea for her safe return.
“When he said he would do anything to bring you back, I will make sure that happens,” he declared. Initially, the arrest affidavit detailing the case against Barry Morphew mentioned that his wife had decided to leave him. However, he later revised his statements as new evidence emerged.
Morphew, an enthusiastic hunter, initially did not mention to investigators that he took a detour on his way to work on Mother’s Day, driving towards the spot where his wife’s bicycle helmet was eventually discovered. He later explained that he had seen an elk cross the road, which led him in that direction, according to the initial arrest affidavit.
Suzanne Morphew’s skeletal remains were discovered in September 2023 by Colorado Bureau of Investigation agents during an unrelated search near the small town of Moffat in southern Colorado, approximately 40 miles (65 kilometers) south of the Morphews’ residence. Most of Suzanne Morphew’s bones were found, with many appearing “significantly bleached,” according to the affidavit.
A port used for administering medicine to treat follicular lymphoma, a type of blood cancer, was found in the remains, along with clothing similar to what Suzanne was known to wear while bicycling. A forensic anthropologist suggested that the body decomposed at a different location based on the condition of the remains and clothing.
Toxicology testing indicated the presence of all three drugs found in a wildlife sedative called “BAM” in the bones. The discovery of a metabolite for one of the drugs, butorphanol, suggested that the remains were not contaminated with BAM post-mortem. The coroner’s office determined the cause of death as “homicide by unspecified means” due to intoxication from the three drugs – butorphanol, azaperone, and medetomidine.
Barry Morphew was connected to the drugs by investigators. He had obtained and filled multiple prescriptions for BAM while residing in Indiana before moving to Colorado in 2018. Barry had been a deer farmer in Indiana and admitted to using BAM to tranquilize deer in both states.
Records showed that in the area around their Colorado home, only Colorado Parks and Wildlife and National Park Service officials, not private individuals or businesses, had acquired BAM between 2017 and 2020. There were no reports of missing BAM supplies from government sources.
Based on prescription records, it was concluded that at the time Suzanne Morphew disappeared, Barry Morphew was the only private citizen living in the area with access to BAM.
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Reporting by Gruver from Cheyenne, Wyoming. Contribution by Associated Press reporter Jaimie Ding in Seattle.
