Colorado man arrested again in wife's murder, three years after charges dropped
A grand jury indicted Barry Morphew on a charge of first-degree murder on Wednesday, June 18. He was taken into custody in Arizona on Friday, June 20, according to the Chaffee County Sheriff's Office.
In 2021, Morphew was charged with first-degree murder and tampering with physical evidence after his wife Suzanne went missing on Mother's Day 2020. Those charges were later dropped in April 2022 before his trial date and a year before her remains were found.
The charges were dropped without prejudice, leaving room for prosecutors to charge him in the future with new evidence.
"Federal, State and local law enforcement have never stopped working toward justice for Suzanne," Twelfth Judicial District Attorney Anne Kelly said in a news release.
Officials plan to extradite Morphew, whose bail price has been set at $3 million, to the San Luis Valley in Colorado where he will face charges. It's unclear why he was in Arizona at the time of the Friday arrest.
"Yet again, the government allows their predetermined conclusion to lead their search for evidence," Morphew's attorney David Beller told USA TODAY in a statement. "Barry maintains his innocence. The case has not changed and the outcome will not, either."
Suzanne's remains found after three year search
Suzanne Morphew, 49, was last seen on Mother's Day, May 10, 2020 in Maysville, Colorado after leaving her home for a bike ride.
Neighbors reported the mother of two missing that same day, according to the indictment, which states her husband was the last person to see her alive.
Barry Morphew was the only other occupant in their home, as their daughter was out of state on a road trip, the indictment states. Suzanne's mountain bike was found near the home later that evening and her helmet was found in a different spot nearby a few days later.
A search for Suzanne went on for over three years until Sept. 22, 2023, when human remains were found in a shallow clandestine grave in Saguache just few hundred feet down a dirt road, the indictment states. The majority of her bones were found.
A 2024 autopsy found drugs typically used to tranquilize animals in her system. It was determined she died by homicide.
The indictment also cites a deleted text chain with Suzanne found on Morphew's phone during a forensic download. A single text message from Suzanne on May 6, 2020 read: "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."
Morphew has repeatedly denied involvement
The initial charges against Morphew were dropped after a judge barred prosecutors from calling most of their key witnesses, USA TODAY previously reported.
The judge said prosecutors failed to properly overturn evidence including DNA found in Suzanne's SUV from an unknown male linked to other sexual assault cases in different states, raising the possibility of another suspect.
Morphew has heavily denied having anything to do with her disappearance. In May 2023, he filed a $15 million lawsuit against prosecutors and investigators, accusing them of violating his constitutional rights.
That same month, he spoke with ABC News, saying it was beyond hurtful to see his reputation and integrity battered by the accusations. He also insisted that prosecutors and investigators are too ignorant to look at other suspects and knew it was a possibility for him to be charged again one day.
"They're wrong. They got tunnel vision. They looked at one person and they got too much pride to say they're wrong and look somewhere else," he told ABC News. "I was innocent the first time they arrested me so I'm sure it's possible (to be arrested again) but I don't have anything to worry about. I've done nothing wrong."
Contributing: Vanessa Arredondo and Elinor Aspegren, USA TODAY
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