Barry Morphew was indicted by a grand jury charging him with first-degree murder in the death of his wife, Suzanne Morphew.
The Twelfth Judicial District Attorney’s Office announced to Fox News Digital that Morphew was apprehended in Arizona following the indictment and is set to be extradited to Colorado. Morphew, 49, disappeared during a bike ride on Mother’s Day in 2020.
In 2023, Suzanne Morphew’s remains were discovered by the Colorado Bureau of Investigations in Saguache County, situated in the southwestern region of the state.
“Federal, State, and local law enforcement have consistently strived to achieve justice for Suzanne,” stated Twelfth Judicial District Attorney Anne Kelly. “The Twelfth Judicial District Attorney’s Office stands united with Suzanne’s family and the residents of Chaffee and Saguache Counties in following through on the Grand Jury’s indictment.”
Colorado prosecutors in April 2022 asked to drop murder charges against Barry Morphew in his wife’s disappearance. (Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office)
According to a copy of the grand jury indictment, many of Suzanne Morphew’s bones were “significantly bleached” when they were found in 2024. Prosecutors say it’s “unlikely” that her body decomposed to a skeleton at the location she was found.
The chemicals that comprise Butorphanol, Azaperone and Medetomidine (BAM) were found inside Suzanne Morphew’s body, prosecutors said. According to the indictment, Barry Morphew used “BAM” as a tranquilizer to sedate and transport deer on his deer farm.
Morphew’s bike was found on the same day she went missing on Mother’s Day in 2020 along a ravine which ran along Highway 50 and County Road 225 in Chaffee County. At the time, Barry was working in Broomfield, Colorado.
Text messages from the couple suggest the two were both having affairs before Suzanne Morphew went missing.
Four days before she disappeared, Suzanne Morphew sent her husband a text that said she was “done.”
“I could care less what you’re up to and have been for years,” she said, adding they need to “civilly” figure things out.
In this still image from video, Barry Morphew, center, appears in court in Salida, Colo., Thursday, May 6, 2021. Morphew was arrested on Wednesday, May 5, in connection with the disappearance of his wife, Suzanne Morphew, who was last seen a year ago on Mother’s Day, May 10, 2020. (KUSA via AP, Pool) (KUSA via AP, Pool)
Barry Morphew filed a $15 million lawsuit in 2023 against prosecutors and investigators, alleging they violated his constitutional rights.
“Barry was the most scrutinized, dissected, surveilled individual, minute by minute, hour by hour, using law enforcement cameras posted by his home, phone taps and GPS devices placed on his car – all during the time frame of her disappearance and the years following,” Iris Eytan, Barry Morphew’s lawyer, said at the time.
