Barry Morphew Back in Colorado, Facing Charge for Wife Suzanne's Murder

More than three years after prosecutors dropped charges against Barry Morphew for the murder of his wife, Suzanne, he found himself back in court for the very same crime.

Morphew appeared in Alamosa County Court on Tuesday, July 1, for his first Colorado hearing since a grand jury indictment on June 18 charged him with first-degree murder. Morphew was extradited to Colorado after being arrested in Gilbert, Arizona, on June 20.

It's a familiar situation for Morphew. He was initially arrested for Suzanne's murder in May 2021, one year after the 49-year-old mother of two vanished in Chaffee County. A messy legal battle culminated in the charges being dropped in April 2022, days before the case was set to go to trial. But after Suzanne's remains were found in September 2023, authorities say the discovery once again points to Morphew as the prime suspect.

Morphew wore handcuffs and an orange-and-white-striped prison jumpsuit during the July 1 hearing. He sat quietly next to his lawyers, making no statements to the court and only exchanging occasional whispers with his defense team. He's currently being held in the Alamosa County Jail on a $3 million bond.

Morphew is next due in court for a status conference on September 2.

His attorney, David Beller, says Morphew maintains his innocence. Beller intends to ask for a probable cause review to challenge whether there was enough evidence to arrest him for Suzanne's murder, he told the court on Tuesday.

"Yet again, the government allows their predetermined conclusion to lead their search for evidence," Beller said in a statement to the media. "Barry maintains his innocence. The case has not changed, and the outcome will not either."

Suzanne was reported missing by her neighbor on the evening of Sunday, May 10, 2020. It was Mother's Day. Morphew told police he was in Broomfield for a work trip at the time she disappeared, claiming to have left home at 5 a.m. that morning while Suzanne was still asleep, according to his arrest affidavit.

Prosecutors allege that Morphew killed Suzanne the day prior, using an animal tranquilizer to subdue her beforehand. Suzanne's bone marrow contained a tranquilizer chemical mixture known as BAM, an autopsy discovered. Investigators say that Morphew was the only private citizen or business within the county or adjacent counties that had purchased BAM prescriptions in the years before her murder.

The Morphew marriage was rife with conflict leading up to Suzanne's disappearance, affidavits and hearings from the first murder case revealed. Suzanne had been having an affair for two years and suspected her husband was as well.

Evidence previously provided in court indicated that Suzanne told Morphew she intended to end their marriage just four days before she was reported missing, texting her husband on May 6: "I'm done. I could care less what you're up to and have been for years. We just need to figure this out civilly." On May 8, Suzanne texted her sister, claiming that Morphew was "abusive, emotionally and physically."

"Federal, state and local law enforcement have never stopped working toward justice for Suzanne," District Attorney Anne Kelly said following Morphew's latest arrest. "The Twelfth Judicial District Attorney’s Office stands in solidarity with Suzanne’s family and the citizens of Chaffee and Saguache Counties in pursuing the grand jury’s indictment."

The initial murder case crumbled amid misconduct from the prosecutors, including repeated failures to follow rules for turning over evidence in Morphew's favor and secretly conducting an investigation into the judge overseeing the case based on an unfounded online conspiracy theory that he abused his ex-wife. District Attorney Linda Stanley was disbarred as a result of the misconduct.

This time around, Judge Amanda Hopkins preemptively ordered on July 1 that prosecutors comply with state rules regarding disclosing exculpatory evidence. Hopkins issued a specific order directing law enforcement officials to preserve any notes regarding investigations into the case.

Prosecutors said they have provided Morphew's defense counsel with all of the discovery materials except for one transcript expected to be completed within the next week. The defense requested sixty days to review the materials.

Hopkins also preemptively approved expanded media coverage on the case, despite objections from the defense.