Barry Morphew to appear in court after grand jury indictment charging him with wife's murder
Officials said Barry Morphew will appear in court on Tuesday at 1:30 p.m. local time in Alamosa, Colorado. Barry Morphew was charged with murder in the first degree after deliberation on June 20 after the state convened a grand jury. He was extradited from Arizona on Monday, and is now at the Alamosa County Jail.
Barry Morphew's attorney, David Beller, told Fox News Digital that Morphew "maintains his innocence."
"Yet again, the government allows their predetermined conclusion to lead their search for evidence," Beller said. "The case has not changed, and the outcome will not either."
Suzanne Morphew went missing on Mother's Day in 2020 and the Colorado Bureau of Investigation located her remains in 2023 during a search in Saguache County. A significant number of her bones were "significantly bleached" when they were found, according to the indictment.
In the June 20 indictment, prosecutors said that the chemicals butorphanol, azaperone and medetomidine were found in Suzanne Morphew's bone marrow. These chemicals, prosecutors said, compromise a deer tranquilizer known as "BAM."
According to prosecutors, Barry Morphew used the "BAM" deer tranquilizer to sedate and transport deer on his farm when he lived in Indiana. The indictment states that he was the only individual with a prescription for the deer tranquilizer within the area of Colorado he lived in.
"Ultimately, the prescription records show that when Suzanne Morphew disappeared, only one private citizen living in that entire area of the state had access to BAM: Barry Morphew," the indictment states.
Barry Morphew was initially charged with the murder of Suzanne Morphew in 2021, but those charges were dropped after prosecutorial misconduct. In that case, the charges were dismissed without prejudice, meaning he could be re-charged.
Court documents indicate Suzanne Morphew wanted to leave her husband, but was waiting for the right time.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CBS News
an hour ago
- CBS News
Barry Morphew appears in Colorado courtroom on new charges of killing his wife Suzanne
Barry Morphew appeared in a Colorado courtroom on Tuesday for the first time since he was arrested a second time on suspicion of murdering his wife Suzanne. Suzanne Morphew was reported missing in Chaffee County on Mother's Day in 2020 and her skeletal remains were found off a dirt road in Saguache County on 2023. Barry Morphew in court on Tuesday. CBS Morphew made his first appearance in Alamosa County Court in handcuffs and an orange and white jail jumpsuit. One of his daughters blew him a kiss when he walked into the courtroom, and the man accused of killing her mother gave her a big smile. It was a brave look for a man who has been pulled back into the justice system for Suzanne's murder. He was arrested on June 20 in Arizona and extradited to Colorado this week. Tuesday consisted of mostly standard courtroom proceedings. Morphew waived his right to be advised of his legal rights and was not asked to speak. Twelfth District Attorney Anne Kelly will prosecute the case. The earlier case against Barry Morphew, which was thrown out, was prosecuted by the disgraced and disbarred former 11th Judicial District DA Linda Stanley. The initial case against him was dropped in 2022 because of prosecutorial issues with evidence. Morphew's legal representation includes David Beller and Jane Fisher-Byrialsen. CBS "It is our understanding that we will be appointed on to continue our representation of Mr. Morphew," Beller said in the courtroom. The defense is already looking to put an end to the case. They submitted a challenge to the probably cause in the case. The prosecution said it was ready for that move, and they expect this case to move past it. Barry Morphew's bond remains set at $3 million, with the possibility it could be changed before the next scheduled court date in early September. In the months between now and then, evidence the prosecution has assembled will be reviewed. Suzanne Morphew's remains were discovered accidentally as authorities were searching for another missing woman a year after prosecutors dropped their initial prosecution of Morphew. A 2024 autopsy report said Suzanne Morphew died of "unspecified means" but ruled her death a homicide. While her remains showed no signs of trauma, investigators found in her bone marrow a drug cocktail used to tranquilize wildlife that her husband had a prescription for, according to the indictment. Barry Morphew has maintained his innocence since his wife disappeared. Beller and Fisher-Byrialsen did not return telephone and email messages seeking comment. Beller has previously criticized prosecutors for allowing "their predetermined conclusion to lead their search for evidence." At Morphew's request, Chief Judge Amanda Hopkins agreed to appoint the state-funded public defender's office to represent him because he is in jail. However, Beller said the state public defender's office has a conflict of interest preventing it from representing Morphew and he expects Fisher-Byrialsen and himself to ultimately be appointed to represent Morphew by another state office that pays private attorneys to defend people who can't be represented by the public defender's office. Morphew, who owned a landscaping company when his wife disappeared, was represented by a different private attorney the first time he was prosecuted. Morphew sold the family home in the mountains near Salida, Colorado, for $1.6 million in 2021. According to jail records, Morphew is self-employed and his home address is in Noblesville, Indiana. File photo of Barry and Suzanne Morphew CBS The mystery surrounding Suzanne Morphew began when the 49-year-old mother of two daughters was reported missing in 2020. Her mountain bike and helmet were found in separate spots not far from her home, but investigators suspected the bike was purposefully thrown into a ravine because there were no indications of a crash. A week after his wife went missing, Barry Morphew posted a video on Facebook pleading for her safe return and the case quickly drew attention. At the site where Morphew's remains were discovered, investigators found a port through which Suzanne Morphew could receive medicine to treat follicular lymphoma, a type of blood cancer that she had. They also found biking clothes similar to what she was known to wear. Based on the condition of the remains and clothes, a forensic anthropologist theorized that the body likely decomposed elsewhere before being moved to the site, according to Morphew's new indictment.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Bryan Kohberger Cuts Plea Deal, No Death Penalty, Victim's Family 'Furious'
Bryan Kohberger may never face a jury for allegedly slaughtering 4 University of Idaho students ... he has just struck a plea deal to save his own life, and the family of one of the victims is furious. Kohberger was charged with 4 counts of first-degree murder, and prosecutors were seeking the death penalty. Kohberger pled not guilty. According to the deal, Kohberger will plead guilty, but prosecutors will no longer seek the death penalty. Instead, they will recommend life without the possibility of parole. The family of Kaylee Goncalves says, "We are beyond furious at the State of Idaho. They have failed us." The family was not consulted by prosecutors before the deal was struck. It's unclear why prosecutors were inclined to plea bargain the case. There was significant evidence placing Kohberger at the scene of the crime, both before and after the murders. The killings were savage. All 4 victims were stabbed repeatedly as they slept in their beds back in November 2022. Kohberger was arrested at his parents' home in Pennsylvania 6 weeks after the murders. To view all content on this page click here. Kohberger, who was getting an advanced degree in criminology at Washington State University, is scheduled to appear in court Wednesday for a hearing. The trial was set for August, although now it looks like it will be case closed before that.
Associated Press
2 hours ago
- Associated Press
Man who killed his family after his wife sought a divorce is set for execution in Florida
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — A man who killed his wife and two children in 1994 after she sought a divorce is scheduled for execution in Florida under a death warrant signed Tuesday by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis. Edward J. Zakrzewski, II, is set to die July 31 in the ninth execution scheduled for this year in the state. He pleaded guilty in 1996 to three counts of first-degree murder and received three death sentences in the killings of wife Sylvia Zakrzewski, son Edward Zakrzewski, 7, and Anna Zakrzewski, 5. The man beat his wife with a crowbar and machete and strangled her to death and killed the children with a machete June 9, 1994, in Okaloosa County. He eventually turned himself into law enforcement after the case was profiled on the television show 'Unsolved Mysteries,' according to court documents. Another man on death row, Michael Bernard Bell, 54, is set to die by lethal injection July 15 at Florida State Prison. He's convicted of killing two people outside a bar. Thomas Lee Gudinas, 51, who was convicted of raping and killing a woman in Florida, was executed following a lethal injection at the same prison last week. The state also executed six people in 2023 but only carried out one execution last year.
