The animal tranquilizers found in Suzanne Morphew’s bones are the same ones Barry Morphew admitted to using frequently in 2020.
CHAFFEE COUNTY, Colo. — Nearly four years after Suzanne Morphew was last seen in Chafee County, new details have surfaced regarding her death.
Her remains were found last fall in Saguache County and her autopsy report, which was released this week, classifies her death as a homicide. It also revealed that animal tranquilizers were found in her bones.
The initial investigation into Suzanne’s death centered significantly on her husband, Barry Morphew, whose 130-page arrest affidavit sheds light on his involvement with the same tranquilizers found in Suzanne’s system. Barry Morphew admitted to frequently handling these drugs, acknowledging in the affidavit that it “makes him look bad.”
Morphew was arrested and charged with first-degree murder in connection with Suzanne’s disappearance. However, all charges were dropped just days before his scheduled trial in 2022. The charges were dismissed without prejudice, meaning that charges could be refiled at a later date if new evidence was discovered.
The autopsy report says Suzanne died by “homicide by undetermined means in the setting of butorphanol, azaperone, and medetomidine (BAM) intoxication.” These three drugs, commonly abbreviated as BAM, were found in her bones.
BAM is a potent tranquilizer that only licensed veterinarians can prescribe.
According to the 2021 affidavit, Morphew admitted that he frequently used BAM and other tranquilizers to sedate deer. According to the document, he said he used it to sedate deer and remove their antlers to sell in his hunting business.
When detectives told Morphew “a tranquilizer dart had been fired in or around the house,” he revealed he would often shoot the deer from inside the house.
“I’ve shot deer from that little breezeway from between the garage and the laundry room, out that back door… If there was a tranq dart out there or outside or in the house it’s from me shootin’ deer,” Morphew told detectives.
During a search of the property on May 19, 2020, investigators found empty darts, a dart package, and a dart needle. However, the affidavit detailed multiple interrogations specifically concerning a needle cap found in the Morphew’s laundry room, in the dryer among other washed sheets.
Morphew recounted the last day he saw his wife, Suzanne, on May 9, 2020, when he returned home from work that Saturday afternoon. He said she was sunbathing near the breezeway.
Morphew denies using a tranquilizer gun, on May 9, and said he has “no idea” how the needle cap got in the dryer. He said the last time he used BAM tranquilizers and shot from the window near the breezeway was in late April. No tranquilizer BAM was found during the search of the property in May 2020.
The affidavit also cited a former Colorado Parks and Wildlife veterinarian’s insights into the tranquilizer’s effects. They indicated that a single shot of BAM tranquilizer would induce feelings of drunkenness, instability, and difficulty breathing for someone of Suzanne’s size, likening it to snoring.
During questioning, detectives presented Morphew with the last photo of Suzanne, a selfie captured that Saturday afternoon on May 9. Morphew alleged she appeared intoxicated in the image. When asked about his final memory of his wife, Morphew struggled to recall but remembered her “breathing.”
This week, Morphew’s defense attorney argued that the autopsy results do not incriminate him, reiterating his denial of any involvement in Suzanne’s disappearance.
“Barry Morphew is innocent and he could not have killed his wife,” said Jane Fisher-Byrialsen, one of Barry’s attorneys. “She got up the morning of Mother’s Day, had her cup of coffee, that is now confirmed with the autopsy report. Also confirmed with the autopsy report is that she put on her bike clothes. She was on a bike ride and abducted.
The tranquilizer that was found in her bones, allegedly, is a very common animal tranquilizer that could be used on farms or by hunters, which are people who are very prevalent in that area of Salida.”
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