THE husband of a mom who disappeared after going on a Mother’s Day bike ride and was found dead years later has been indicted in her murder.
On May 10, 2020, Suzanne Morphew, who was 49 at the time, went on a bike ride outside her home in Colorado, and she was never seen again.
In 2021, Barry Morphew was arrested and charged with her killing, but those charges were dropped in 2022.
Suzanne’s skeletal remains were uncovered in a shallow grave in October 2023, and investigators determined that she’d been murdered.
Now, investigators have once again pointed the finger at Barry.
A federal jury indicted Barry on the charges, and he was arrested in Arizona on Friday, NBC affiliate WTHR reported.
During a preliminary hearing in January 2022, prosecutors alleged that Barry had shot his wife with a dart containing a tranquilizer and pursued her around their residence in Maysville, located about three hours from Denver, until she began to feel the effects.
They believed that Suzanne was murdered by her husband the day that she disappeared.
An autopsy of her remains found that the mom was killed by undetermined means after being intoxicated with butorphanol, azaperone, and medetomidine.
However, Barry’s attorney argued that these findings did not incriminate her husband.
Suzanne’s disappearance unveiled the turmoil in the couple’s relationship, revealing a collection of incriminating text messages that indicated the mother’s dissatisfaction with her marriage.
Unsealed court documents containing the text messages show that Suzanne claimed Barry was abusive towards her.
On May 8, 2020, Suzanne texted her sister, Melinda Baumunk, stating, “He’s also been abusive, emotionally and physically. There’s so much. Hard to share it all and give you a clear picture.”
“Last year during [redacted] gave me lots of time to realize and see things for what they are. I went through a period of acceptance and I feel more angry now. Anger at what I’ve allowed.”
The messages also show that Suzanne was embroiled in a years-long affair with Jeff Libler, who was an old high school boyfriend.
In messages sent to her lover from May 7 to May 9, Suzanne told Libler that he was “the only real love I’ve known […] the only love I want.
“Goodnight. I’m thinking August and being wrapped up with each
other… where we both belong,” she said in one message.
Meanwhile, Barry previously claimed that the two were in a happy marriage when she disappeared.
