Barry Morphew has been returned to Colorado to face trial for the murder of his wife, Suzanne Morphew, in 2020.
Morphew is being held in Alamosa County and has a hearing scheduled on Wednesday, KKTV reported.
Morphew had been living in Arizona when he was arrested on June 20, following a grand jury indictment in the case in Colorado, as CrimeOnline previously reported.
He was previously charged with her murder in 2021, but a Fremont County judge dismissed the case without prejudice, meaning prosecutors could file it again.
They did so earlier this month, and a grand jury returned a true bill for first degree murder.
Suzanne Morphew disappeared on Mother’s Day in 2020 after her husband said she didn’t return from a bike ride. Her bicycle was later discovered down a steep ravine at Chaffee County Road 225. Investigators said the bike appeared undamaged with no signs of blood. After her disappearance, Barry Morphew claimed his wife was likely abducted.
Friends, however, told investigators that the Morphews had been arguing and that Suzanne Morphew may have had a boyfriend out of state.
Her remains were found in September 2023, scattered in a remote area in Saguache County. Reports indicated that she may have been buried in a shallow grave. Officials said dental records were used to identify the bones as Suzanne Morphew.
Last year, El Paso County coroners said testing of Suzanne Morphew’s femoral trabecular bone determined died of “undetermined means in the setting of butorphanol, azaperone, and medetomidine intoxication” — drugs that are marketed as a compounded, injectable chemical immobilizer for wildlife providing pharmacologically reversible analgesia, sedation, and immobilization.”
