DISTURBING details about what happened to Suzanne Morphew’s body have come to light as prosecutors hone in on her suspect husband.
Barry Mophew, who is a father to two children with the woman in question, has been accused once again of murdering her around Mother’s Day in 2020 and disposing of her body in an area known as “The Boneyard.”
Suzanne vanished in May 2020 after going for a bike ride near her $1.5 million home in Maysville, Colorado, about three hours from Denver.
Initially, Barry faced murder charges in 2021 as detectives continued their search for her remains, but in 2022, the case was dismissed due to errors by the prosecution.
In September 2023, Suzanne’s skeletal remains were discovered by chance during a separate police search in Saguache County.
Last month, Barry was arrested again and accused of killing his wife, as prosecutors claim a chemical found on her remains links him to the murder.
Last week, a grand jury indictment lifted the lid on what may have happened to Suzanne’s body after she was murdered.
Prosecutors say that her skeletal remains were likely moved multiple times before they were found in a shallow grave in rural Colorado.
They also claim that she was actually never meant to be found in the so-called Boneyard, the Daily Mail reported.
According to the prosecutors, her remains exhibited minimal decomposition, and her cycling attire was still intact, indicating that her body had likely been placed there only recently.
“It was unlikely Suzanne decomposed from a fresh body to a skeleton at this location,” the indictment said.
Experts also pointed to the lack of animal activity or insect predation on her remains, backing up claims she was moved postmortem.
The majority of Suzanne’s bones were recovered at the site, and many were significantly bleached, according to the indictment.
Investigators also found a medical port used to treat Suzanne’s follicular lymphoma, a type of blood cancer she had battled before her death.
The 49-year-old was killed with a cocktail of drugs, including the powerful sedative butorphanol-azaperone-medetomidine, known as BAM, according to a death report.
Barry was allegedly the only private citizen in Colorado with access to BAM at the time, according to state prescription records.
Veterinarians and wildlife officials normally use the tranquilizer, and a dart cap from one was later found in the couple’s dryer.
Investigators also uncovered a tranquilizer dart gun, empty darts, and a needle used to load them inside the home.
An earlier affidavit claimed Barry used the dart gun to hunt deer and said he had “no idea” how the cap ended up in the laundry.
Prosecutors say Barry shot Suzanne with a BAM-laced dart before chasing her around their home, which was later combed by detectives.
Her bike was found abandoned in a ravine near the property, wiped clean of DNA.
Suzanne Morphew Murder Case: Timeline & Key Facts
- May 10, 2020 – Suzanne Morphew is reported missing by a neighbor after going for a bike ride in Maysville, Colorado.
- May 2020 – Her bike is found down a ravine, wiped clean of DNA.
- May 2021 – Barry Morphew is arrested and charged with Suzanne’s murder despite her body not being found.
- April 2022 – Case is dismissed without prejudice due to prosecutorial misconduct.
- September 22, 2023 – Human remains are found in Saguache County during an unrelated search.
- September 27, 2023 – Remains are confirmed to be Suzanne’s; body found in a shallow grave in a wasteland dubbed “The Boneyard.”
- April 29, 2024 – Cause of death ruled as homicide; toxicology shows presence of BAM tranquilizer.
- June 20, 2025 – Barry is re-arrested in Arizona following a new indictment.
- July 1, 2025 – Barry appears in court in Alamosa County, Colorado; held on $3 million bond.
- September 2, 2025 – Scheduled for bail hearing
Key Evidence:
- Suzanne’s body likely moved postmortem
- Lack of decomposition at burial site
- BAM tranquilizer in system – Barry was the only civilian in the state with access
- Dart gun and tranquilizer supplies found in the home
- Suzanne’s texts revealed marital issues and ongoing affair
- Barry claims innocence, maintains he was working when she vanished
Barry claimed Suzanne was alive when he left for a landscaping job on May 10 – but police say she was already dead by then.
He spent just 90 minutes on the job site and the rest of the day in a hotel room that cleaners later said reeked of chlorine.
Surveillance footage caught him making multiple trash runs across town during that time, prosecutors said.
Text messages reveal the couple had a crumbling marriage, and Suzanne had been having a two-year affair with a former high school flame.
Just days before she vanished, she texted Barry: “I’m done. I could care less what you’re up to… we just need to figure this out civilly.”
She also messaged her sister about Barry allegedly being emotionally and physically abusive.
Suzanne’s daughters, Macy and Mallory, have stood by their father throughout, even appearing on national TV with him to defend his innocence.
Barry was first charged with Suzanne’s murder in 2021, but the case was dropped in 2022 over alleged prosecutorial misconduct.
He was arrested again on June 20, 2025, in Arizona and extradited to Alamosa County, Colorado, where he appeared in court this week.
Barry, now 57, smiled at one of his daughters in court as a judge ordered him held on a $3 million bond.
He is due back in court on September 2 for a bail hearing.
