A Colorado man who was suspected of murdering his wife can breathe easy… for now.
Barry Morphew (above) was initially charged with first-degree murder in connection with the May 2020 disappearance and presumed death of his wife, Suzanne.
The mother-of-two was last heard from on May 9, 2020, the day before Mother’s Day. Despite pleading for help finding Suzanne after she was reported missing, Barry was arrested and charged with murder and other crimes last year. He pleaded not guilty and has always denied having any role in her vanishing.
However, just a week before his trial was set to start in Cañon City, District Attorney Linda Stanley filed the motion to dismiss the case. Prosecutors admitted they didn’t have enough evidence to secure a conviction, so the DA filed the motion on Tuesday asking Judge Ramsey Lama to dismiss Morphew’s case without prejudice — meaning charges could be filed again at a later date!
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Barry and his two daughters with Suzanne, Mallory and Macy, were ecstatic over the news of the charges being dropped: the girls were by their father’s side at the hearing, hugging him and crying in relief as the judge approved the dismissal.
His daughters, who have continuously supported him, addressed the court on Tuesday, making it clear they believe their dad is innocent. Mallory said:
“We fully support this dismissal. We know our dad didn’t have anything to do with it.”
Macy noted that she was excited to focus on healing and “hopefully finding out what really happened to our mom.”
The pair were just as supportive of their father inside the courtroom. While speaking to the judge after he granted the dismissal, Mallory said, per the Denver Gazette:
“We miss our mom dearly and we know our dad didn’t have anything to do with it.”
A tearful Macy added:
“We’re thankful we can go on with our life and just take time to heal. We wish we’d been treated better.”
But like we said, this case is far from over: in the motion, investigators claimed they’re close to locating Suzanne’s body — which could mean locating damning evidence that could make all the difference in the case, according to legal expert Neama Rahmani.
While speaking to The Sun, Rahmani — a former assistant US attorney and president of West Coast Trial Lawyers — explained that authorities “are always going to prefer prosecuting a murder case with a victim’s body over a no-body, circumstantial murder case.” No kidding! Habeas corpus, the right of a person being arrested to demand the evidence of their crime be shown literally translates from Latin to you have the body.
Rahmani reiterated that the state is highly likely to bring charges again if and when the body is found:
“Colorado, just like every other state, has no statute of limitations on murder. Prosecutors have an absolute right to have a homicide case dismissed and refile it later on against the same defendant… the dismissal doesn’t in any way prove that Barry is innocent.”
On the other hand, though, the attorney said the discovery of Suzanne’s body could also potentially help her husband’s case, explaining:
“Depending on what authorities discover on the body, the evidence against Barry could be a lot more damning or it could help exonerate him, such as if authorities discover DNA from another person.”
Obviously if he is innocent, that would be a good thing. All anyone wants is the truth. But what they have so far points to some very sketchy behavior on Barry’s part…
Police believe Suzanne’s body is in a remote and mountainous region near the Morphew residence, but noted in the court docs that the weather has put a strain on recovery efforts, as the area in question was coated with a large amount of snow before the search could be finished.
The night before Suzanne disappeared, Barry had allegedly been staying in a Denver hotel 140 miles away, preparing for a landscaping job. The father-of-two claimed he went to bed at 8 p.m. the night Suzanne went missing; however, his car data begged to differ, investigators have said.
Data pulled from Barry’s truck’s computer seemingly revealed movement of his vehicle on his property at 9:30 p.m., which contradicts what he told the police. Car data from the following day revealed that he drove past the location where Suzanne’s bike helmet was later found on his way to a worksite.
Prosecutors said that Morphew pulled over at a bus stop, a hotel, a McDonald’s, and a dumpster on the way to the worksite, disposing of trash at all locations, according to security footage and vehicle data. Pretty darn suspicious… but it’s not a body.
Sounds like this case is far from over yet. What do U think will happen?
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