Barry Morphew, who faces charges in the murder of his wife Suzanne, reportedly sanctioned her cremation in February, right before prosecutors intervened to halt the process, as detailed in recent court documents.
In June 2025, a Colorado grand jury issued a new indictment against Barry Morphew, following an unsuccessful attempt to prosecute him in 2021, which led to the initial charges being dropped. He stands accused of murdering his wife, who disappeared on Mother’s Day in 2020, with her remains discovered afterward.
The couple resided near Salida, Colorado, where Suzanne Morphew, then 49, was last known to be alive. Barry Morphew entered a not-guilty plea in January, and his trial is scheduled to commence in October.
In February, attorneys for Suzanne’s daughters, Macy and Mallory Morphew, submitted a request for the state to release her remains. However, they chose to retract the motion on Thursday.
Barry Morphew, accompanied by his daughters Macy and Mallory, was seen leaving a Fremont County courthouse in Canon City, Colorado, after charges linked to his wife’s suspected death were dismissed on April 19, 2022. In a “Good Morning America” interview aired on May 15, 2023, Morphew argued that Colorado authorities had wrongfully targeted him as the suspect in Suzanne’s death. (Jerilee Bennett/The Gazette via AP)
The initial filing from Macy and Mallory Morphew’s legal representatives mentioned that Suzanne’s remains were held at Swan Lake Funeral Home in Colorado Springs, with a funeral service planned when law enforcement took custody of the body.
The lawyers argued that law enforcement in Colorado had “stopped them from exercising their constitutional rights” to hold a funeral for their mother and bury her remains.
“This government conduct is outrageous, cruel, and shocking to the conscience,” attorneys for Macy and Mallory Morphew argued.
Responding to attorneys for Suzanne Morphew’s daughters, prosecutors said that Barry Morphew signed off on the cremation of Suzanne Morphew. In a court filing, Barry Morphew did not take a position on the release of her body.
Prosecutors said that Suzanne Morphew’s remains are “material evidence” to their murder case against Barry Morphew, asking the court to deny the motion to release her body.
“The Defendant in a murder case authorized the release of the murder victim’s remains, prior to pending motions litigation and jury trial, and paid to have them cremated prior to disclosures of his experts’ opinions or court rulings on admissibility of scientific testing regarding said remains,” prosecutors wrote.
Fox News Digital reached out to Barry Morphew’s attorney.
Timeline, according to prosecutors:
– Jan. 29, 2026: Barry Morphew signs off on the release of Suzanne Morphew’s remains from the El Paso Coroner’s Office to the Swan-Law Funeral Directors funeral home.
– Feb. 17, 2026: Law enforcement was notified that Suzanne Morphew’s remains were released to a funeral home and began the process to apply for a search warrant to take custody of the remains as “material evidence.”
– Feb. 18, 2026: A court authorized the search warrant for law enforcement to take possession of Suzanne Morphew’s body.
– Feb. 19, 2026: While collecting Suzanne Morphew’s remains, Undersheriff Alex Walker was informed that the remains were set to be cremated the next day.
– Feb. 24, 2026: A court authorized another search warrant for documents related to Suzanne Morphew’s remains, which include “two signed forms with Defendant Barry Morphew’s signature on them.” One of the forms authorized the cremation of Suzanne Morphew.
– March 19, 2026: Suzanne Morphew’s daughters withdrew their attempt to force the state to release their mother’s body.
Barry Morphew is charged with killing his wife, Suzanne Morphew. (Chaffee County Sheriff)
Notably, Suzanne Morphew’s sister Melinda Balzar and brother David Moorman both “strongly object” to the release of her body, according to prosecutors.
“They both noted concerns with the integrity of the evidence and separately indicated their desire to discuss bringing Suzanne back to Indiana. It was their position that others in their family would agree,” prosecutors wrote.
Barry Morphew’s booking picture at the Alamosa County Jail. (Alamosa County Sheriff’s Office)
Colin McCallin, a Colorado-based lawyer and former deputy district attorney for the 18th Judicial District Attorney’s Office in Colorado, told Fox News Digital he would be concerned as a prosecutor if the remains were released.
“If I were a prosecutor on this case, I would be very concerned if the remains were turned over to the family. [If] Ms. Morphew’s remains were cremated, and then somehow the defense wanted to allege later that they wanted access to the body for their own testing, for their own forensic examination, for example. And then they claim, ‘oh, we can’t do that because we don’t have access to body.’”
Prosecutors say Barry Morphew tried to have Suzanne Morphew’s remains cremated. (Fox News)
A hearing regarding Suzanne Morphew’s remains is scheduled for March 30. A trial in the case is currently scheduled to begin Oct. 13.
She disappeared from the couple’s home in Chaffee County on May 10, 2020, prompting a massive search that initially turned up few answers.
Barry Morphew was first charged with her murder in 2021, but those charges were dropped the following year after prosecutors cited issues with the case and said they were close to discovering new evidence that could change its direction. His defense team argued at the time the case was dismissed because prosecutors were unlikely to win at trial.
After the charges were dropped, he left Colorado and relocated to Cave Creek, Arizona — more than 600 miles from where his wife disappeared. While living there, he kept a low profile and used aliases, including “Bruce” and “Lee Moore.” Acquaintances later told Fox News Digital they were unaware of his connection to the high-profile Colorado case until his re-arrest.
Suzanne Morphew’s remains were discovered in September 2023 in a shallow grave in the San Luis Valley, roughly an hour south of the family’s home. An autopsy later ruled her death a homicide.
According to court records, a powerful animal tranquilizer known as BAM — a combination of butorphanol, azaperone and medetomidine — was found in her bone marrow. Prosecutors said the presence of a metabolized form of the drug indicates she was alive long enough to process it, ruling out accidental or environmental contamination.
Barry Morphew was booked into the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office. (Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office)
The indictment alleges Barry Morphew had access to BAM through his work with deer and was the only private citizen in the area known to possess the drug at the time of his wife’s disappearance. Investigators have also pointed to evidence involving a tranquilizer dart rifle found in the home, along with phone and vehicle data they say contradict his account of events.
After Barry Morphew was re-indicted, he was arrested in Goodyear, Arizona, extradited to Colorado and later released on bond in September after supporters helped post part of his $3 million bond. He remains under house arrest with an ankle monitor.
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