Suzanne Morphew

Case background and investigation

Suzanne Morphew, a 49-year-old mother of two, was reported missing from her home near Maysville in Chaffee County, Colorado, on May 10, 2020 — Mother's Day. According to authorities, she was last known to have left for a bike ride and never returned; her bicycle and personal items were later found in separate locations, and no confirmed sighting of her was reported after that day. Her disappearance drew national attention and a prolonged multi-agency search across the mountainous terrain around Salida and the Arkansas River corridor.

Investigators with the Chaffee County Sheriff's Office and the Colorado Bureau of Investigation focused significant attention on her husband, Barry Morphew. On May 5, 2021, he was arrested and charged in connection with her death, with counts that court records described as including first-degree murder, tampering with physical evidence, and attempting to influence a public servant. Prosecutors pursued the case even though Suzanne's body had not been found. Barry Morphew denied involvement and maintained his innocence.

The first prosecution collapsed before trial. On April 19, 2022, District Attorney Linda Stanley moved to dismiss the charges, and a judge granted the dismissal without prejudice — meaning charges could be refiled later. The dismissal followed court sanctions against the prosecution: the trial judge had barred numerous prosecution expert witnesses as a penalty for repeated discovery violations, finding the state had failed to turn over required evidence on time. In her motion, Stanley cited the exclusion of key witnesses and stated investigators believed they were close to recovering Suzanne's remains and wished to continue investigating.

On September 22, 2023, human remains were located during an unrelated search near Moffat, in Saguache County, Colorado. On September 27, 2023, the El Paso County Coroner's Office positively identified the remains as those of Suzanne Morphew. Authorities subsequently ruled her death a homicide. A later autopsy report classified the cause as homicide by unspecified means and disclosed that a combination of tranquilizer drugs — butorphanol, azaperone, and medetomidine, known collectively as 'BAM' and used to sedate wildlife — was detected in her remains, according to the coroner and court filings.

On June 18, 2025, a Twelfth Judicial District grand jury returned an indictment charging Barry Morphew with first-degree murder in his wife's death. He was arrested two days later, on June 20, 2025, in Gilbert, Arizona. Prosecutors' filings noted that records showed Barry Morphew was among a limited number of people prescribed BAM in the area; his attorneys have disputed the strength of the evidence, and prosecutors' allegations remain unproven in court.

Barry Morphew pleaded not guilty in January 2026. A jury trial was scheduled to begin October 13, 2026, but in mid-2026 Judge Amanda Hopkins granted a defense continuance — the defense cited the need to review a large volume of discovery — delaying the trial into 2027 over the objection of prosecutors and Suzanne's family. As of mid-2026, Barry Morphew stands charged and awaits trial. He has not been convicted of any offense in connection with his wife's death, and the allegations against him are accusations that must still be proven; separately, a civil lawsuit he filed alleging malicious prosecution was dismissed, a ruling upheld on appeal in 2026.