The husband of a missing Colorado woman who vanished in 2020 and was found dead in 2023 was arrested on Friday for her murder.
The Gazette reported that Barry Morphew was arrested for killing his wife, Suzanne Morphew, 52. Barry Morphew was initially charged in 2021 with his wife’s murder, but a Fremont County judge dismissed the charge a year later, despite prosecutors saying they were close to finding her remains.
The judge dismissed the 2021 case without prejudice — allowing the 12th Judicial District grand jury to indict him on Wednesday.
Suzanne Morphew disappeared on Mother’s Day 2020, after heading out for a bike ride in Chaffee County, according to her husband. 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 pair had been arguing about finances, and Suzanne Morphew may have had a boyfriend. The day before her disappearance, she reportedly had “59 communications” exchanges with a man who was allegedly her boyfriend.
In September 2023, Suzanne Morphew’s skeletal remains were found 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.”
Suzanne Morphew was reportedly undergoing chemotherapy while in remission for recurrent follicular lymphoma. However, the medical examiner found that the drugs found in her system “are marketed as a compounded injectable chemical immobilizer for wildlife providing pharmacologically reversible analgesia, sedation, and immobilization.”
It is unclear when Barry Morphew will be extradited to Colorado, as he no longer resides in the state.
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[Feature Photo: Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office]
