Suzanne Morphew’s Husband to Face Murder Charge Again in Court Appearance

DENVER — Barry Morphew, the husband of a woman who disappeared on Mother’s Day in 2020, is scheduled to appear in court in Colorado on Tuesday following new murder charges related to her death. Morphew was arrested on June 20 in Arizona after a grand jury indicted him for the murder of Suzanne Morphew, three years after prosecutors initially dropped the case due to issues with evidence handling. Authorities announced on Monday that Morphew had arrived at a jail in Alamosa, a small city in southern Colorado, near the location where Suzanne Morphew’s skeletal remains were found in September 2023. The remains were discovered inadvertently while authorities were searching for another missing woman, a year after his first prosecution was dropped.

An autopsy report released in 2024 determined that Suzanne died by “unspecified means,” with homicide ruled as the cause of death. Although her remains showed no signs of trauma, investigators detected a drug cocktail in her bone marrow, one that her husband had a prescription for. Barry Morphew has consistently maintained his innocence. Two attorneys listed to represent him in the upcoming hearing, David Beller and Jane Fisher-Byrialsen, have not responded to requests for comment.

Beller previously criticized prosecutors for allegedly allowing a biased conclusion to skew their evidence gathering. The disappearance of Suzanne Morphew began when the 49-year-old mother of two was reported missing in May 2020. Her mountain bike and helmet were found nearby, but investigators suspected foul play, as there were no crash indications. A week after her disappearance, Barry Morphew made a public appeal for her return, drawing significant media attention.

In May 2021, he was charged with murder, but the case was dropped in 2022 due to procedural issues preventing key witnesses from testifying. The new case against Morphew is being prosecuted by a different authority in a judicial district where Suzanne’s remains were found, approximately 40 miles away from their home. Investigators also located medical equipment connected to Suzanne’s treatment for lymphoma at the discovery site, suggesting that her body may have been moved there after decomposition.