A former deputy district attorney believes Barry Morphew will try and use an “alternate suspect” defense after being charged with his wife’s murder.
Morphew was charged by a Colorado grand jury with first-degree murder on June 20 following the Mother’s Day disappearance of his wife, Suzanne Morphew, back in 2020. Suzanne was a mother to two daughters. Barry Morphew was apprehended in Goodyear, Arizona, which is nearly 11 hours away from the location where his wife disappeared, and he was brought back to Colorado on June 30.
Initially, Barry Morphew faced accusations of murdering his wife in 2021, but these charges were eventually dismissed due to prosecutorial misconduct. Suzanne Morphew’s remains were discovered in September 2023, and an autopsy revealed the presence of a deer tranquilizer called “BAM” in her bone marrow. BAM is an acronym for the chemicals butorphanol, azaperone, and medetomidine.
Prosecutors stated that Barry Morphew was the sole person in his Colorado vicinity who had a prescription for the deer tranquilizer.
McCallin pointed to the fact that an unknown DNA profile was found in Suzanne Morphew’s Range Rover after her disappearance, which didn’t belong to Barry Morphew. Court documents state that unknown DNA was found in the glove box, among other spots.
“You know, one of the things that has always permeated this case is the existence of these unknown DNA profiles that were found on some of the items of evidence that were found, you know, that initially when she went missing, that pointed to maybe someone else being involved in this,” McCallin said.
“You can’t just throw out names and say, that person did it, go get him. So, you know, I do think though that if they have any ability to pin this homicide on someone other than Barry Morphew, they are going to explore those defenses.”
Barry Morphew’s booking picture at the Alamosa County Jail. (Alamosa County Sheriff’s Office)
Bryan Kohberger, convicted of killing four University of Idaho students in November 2022, attempted to invoke an “alternate perpetrator” theory, but Judge Steven Hippler didn’t allow it. Court documents referring to the so-called alternate perpetrator in that case were sealed, but Hippler expressed skepticism.
McCallin said the case against Barry Morphew is still “very circumstantial,” which may hamper prosecutors.
“We know that that chemical was found in her body. We know where her body was found. But we really don’t know a whole lot more than that. We don’t know where the body was moved. We don’t know where Suzanne actually died,” McCallin said.
Suzanne Morphew, 49, went missing May 10, 2020, after leaving her Colorado home to go on a bike ride, her husband, Barry Morphew, told authorities. (Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office)
Barry Morphew’s attorney, David Beller, previously told Fox News Digital Morphew “maintains his innocence.”
“Yet again, the government allows their predetermined conclusion to lead their search for evidence,” Beller said. “The case has not changed, and the outcome will not either.”
