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Suzanne Morphew, 49, went missing on Mother’s Day in May 2020. Authorities found her remains in Saguache County in October 2023.
CHAFFEE COUNTY, Colo. — Seven months after the remains of Suzanne Morphew were discovered in a shallow grave in a remote area of Saguache County, her autopsy is complete.
The manner of death is listed as “homicide by undetermined means in the setting of butorphanol, azaperone, and medetomidine intoxication,” according to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation.
The autopsy report said sedatives and tranquilizers were found in Suzanne’s bones. Lawyers for Barry Morphew told 9NEWS that caffeine was found in her body. Her biking clothes were found with her remains, according to Barry’s attorneys.
A bullet was also found, but it wasn’t clear whether it was used, according to the attorneys of Barry Morphew.
Morphew, 49, was last seen on May 10, 2020, on Mother’s Day. She lived in Maysville in Chaffee County, west of Salida, with her husband, Barry Morphew, and their two daughters, Mallory and Macy. When she vanished, the Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office said she went for a bike ride but never returned home.
Barry Morphew, 55, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder in connection to her disappearance in May 2021.
Days before he was set to stand trial in April 2022, all charges were dropped when Fremont County District Judge Ramsey Lama granted a motion filed by prosecutors that asked to dismiss the case.
During a preliminary hearing in January of 2022, prosecutors with the Chaffee County DA’s Office said that on the afternoon of May 9, 2020, Barry Morphew loaded a syringe for a tranquilizer dart, put his phone on airplane mode and then shot his wife with the dart. He then chased her around the house until the tranquilizer took effect, prosecutors said.
In an interview with 9NEWS on Monday, an attorney representing Barry Morphew argued the autopsy results do not incriminate her client.
“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 tranquillizer that could be used on farms or by hunters, which are people who are very prevalent in that area of Salida.”
Three years after her disappearance, in September 2023, agents with the Colorado Bureau of Investigation found Suzanne Morphew’s remains in the area of Moffat in Saguache County. The El Paso County coroner confirmed the identity of the remains as hers.
The Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) said investigators were searching the Moffat area on an unrelated investigation when the remains were discovered. No arrests have been made since the remains were found, CBI said.
Suzanne’s friend Tisha Leewaye helped organize search parties for Suzanne around Salida when she first went missing.
“I think it’s great they found her remains, and now people can finally get a sense of relief that now we can move forward … to find the justice she deserves now,” Leewaye said when authorities identified Suzanne’s remains. “The FBI, CBI, the sheriff’s department has always said, you know, we need her body to finish this case out. So my thing is, you’ve got her body, let’s finish this case.”
Prosecutors said if Suzanne’s body were to be located, examination of it could provide evidence to potentially implicate or rule out Barry Morphew. After CBI announced that Suzanne’s remains were found, another one of his attorneys, Iris Eytan, released the following statement on behalf of Barry Morphew and his two daughters, Mallory and Macy Morphew:
Barry is with his daughters and they are all struggling with immense shock and grief after learning today that their mother and wife whom they deeply love was found deceased. They had faith that their wife and mom would walk back into their lives again. The news is heartbreaking.
Neither the DA nor the authorities notified Mallory and Macy Morphew about the recovery of their mom.
From what we know, Barry is as innocent as he was from Day 1. DA Stanley and law enforcement got it wrong. We hope the authorities will quickly admit their wrongful persecution of Barry, an innocent man, to treat the Morphews like the victims they are, and charge the person(s) responsible for Suzanne’s killing.
Barry Morphew filed a civil rights lawsuit in May of this year against Chaffee County, prosecutors, CBI employees and FBI employees asking for $15 million in damages.
It claims the defendants engaged in actions including malicious prosecution and unlawful detention, fabrication of evidence, conspiracy, unlawful retention of property, reckless investigation and failure to supervise and train.
Fisher-Byrialsen says investigators gave Barry Morphew and his daughter’s the opportunity to pick up Suzanne’s remains earlier this year, but on advice from their attorneys, did not collect the remains. Fisher-Byrialsen says prosecutors have not told Barry Morphew whether he is still a suspect in this case. They say Suzanne’s remains are still at the El Paso County Coroner’s Office where the autopsy was performed.
Below is the YouTube playlist of all of 9NEWS’ coverage of the case:
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