CHAFFEE COUNTY, Colo. — The case of Suzanne Morphew captured attention worldwide after she disappeared from a small Colorado town in May 2020. Most recently, her remains were discovered in September 2023.
More than 1,200 days after she was initially reported missing, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation announced human remains had been identified as belonging to her.
Suzanne was last seen on Mother's Day 2020 when she left for a bicycle ride around the Maysville area. A neighbor called 911 to report that she had gone for a bike ride and never returned. Barry Morphew, her husband, was later identified as a suspect and was arrested on charges of first-degree murder. Denver7 covered the four days of his preliminary hearing in August 2021. Barry was released on bond after the judge ruled the case would proceed to trial.
In February 2022, Barry's defense team filed a motion to dismiss the first-degree murder case against him, noting that an investigator had recently called the arrest "premature." They asked the judge to dismiss the case because of “prosecutorial discovery violations.”
On April 19, 2022, a Fremont County judge granted the prosecution's motion to dismiss the murder case against Barry. The motion asked the court to dismiss the charges without prejudice, meaning he could be tried again if prosecutors refile charges.
About a year later, Barry's attorney called for an investigation into the 11th Judicial District Attorney and the six other prosecutors in that office, citing a pattern of unethical conduct. About two weeks later, Barry filed a federal civil rights lawsuit in early May 2023 seeking $15 million over his arrest and first-degree murder charge. He claimed his Constitutional rights were violated by the defendants and that his arrest affidavit included false and misleading information and, as a result, he was wrongly held in jail for about five months.
