Colorado’s Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel has filed complaints against two prosecutors in the dismissed murder case against Barry Morphew, accussing them of retaliating against the judge and withholding evidence.
Mark Hulbert and Robert Weiner have been accused of “abuse of power,” according to the complaints filed Thursday by the office, which is an independent attorney regulation office attached to the Colorado Supreme Court.
Hurbert was the lead prosecutor in the case against Morphew, who had been charged with the murder of his wife, Suzanne Morphew, in 2020 until the case was dismissed without prejudice in 2022. Hurlbert told KDVR that the denied the allegations in the complaint and would “be filing a response.”
Morphew’s body was found last fall, but so far, no further charges have been filed, as CrimeOnline reported. The Colorado Bureau of Investigation said the remains were found in a rural area about 30 or 40 minutes from the Morphews’ home.
Suzanne Morphew went on a bike ride on Mother’s Day 2020 and never returned. Barry Morphew steadfastly maintained his innocence even after he was arrested and charged with her murder. In July 2022, he pleaded guilty to fraudulently voting for Donald Trump in the 2020 election in his wife’s name, saying he “didn’t know you couldn’t do that for your spouse.” He was sentenced to year on supervised probation.
It’s not clear who initiated the investigation that led to the complaints against Hurlbert and Weiner, but Morphew’s attorney has consistently accused prosecutors of abusing their power just to bring charges in the case.
The complaints accuse the prosecutors of searching for damaging information against the judge after a series of rulings that went against him. The complaint accuses them of interviewing the judge’s ex-wife about him, asking if he ever spoke with her about the Morphew case or if their relationship included violence. She said neither happened.
The complaints included several pages of text messages between the two prosecutors and their boss, 11th Judicial District Attorney Linda Stanley, who had a complaint filed against her last October by a different office of the state Supreme Court. That complaint says that she decided to investigate the judge after hearing from a true crime podcaster that he was an open advocate for Suzanne Morphew and other victims of domestic violence.
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[Featured image: Suzanne and Barry Morphew/Facebook]
