Barry Morphew was arraigned Monday afternoon and pleaded not guilty to the murder of his wife, Suzanne Morphew, on Mother’s Day 2020.
A judge set a jury trial to begin in October, according to Colorado Public Radio.
Morphew was arrested in June in Arizona, where he had been living after a judge dismissed a previous murder case against him without prejudice in 2021, meaning it could be filed again, as CrimeOnline previously reported. And it was, after Suzanne Morphew’s remains were found scattered in a remote area in Saguache County in September 2023.
Suzanne Morphew disappeared while on a bike ride in 2020, and her husband claimed she was probably abducted. Officials said dental records were used to identify the bones found in Saguache County.
Last year, El Paso County coroners said testing of Suzanne Morphew’s femoral trabecular bone determined she died of “undetermined means in the setting of butorphanol, azaperone, and medetomidine intoxication” — drugs that are marketed as a compounded, injectable chemical immobilizer for wildlife providing pharmacologically reversible analgesia, sedation, and immobilization.”
Investigators found a needle cap used with a tranquilizer gun in Barry Morphew’s dryer during their investigation of his wife’s disappearance. Prosecutors say Morphew had access to the tranquilizer found in his wife’s system and was, in fact, the only person in Colorado with access to it.
After his arrest in June, Barry Morphew argued to have his bond lowered from $3 million, claiming he couldn’t possibly raise that money. The judge denied the bond but did allow him to find a bondsman to guarantee his bail, which he did in September, raising thousands of dollars to secure the bail.
In court on Monday, Morphew’s attorney entered a plea of not guilty on his client’s behalf. Morphew agreed to waive his right to a speedy trial after his attorney complained that he “does not think that it’s realistic” to have his case ready to go in 180 days, despite already having more than that time since Morphew’s arrest.
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[Featured image: Barry Morphew/Alamosa County Sheriff’s Office and Suzanne Morphew/handout]
