Denver — The husband of a Colorado woman who disappeared in 2020 has pleaded not guilty to murder in her death for the second time.
Barry Morphew entered his plea in the death of Susan Morphew through one of his attorneys, David Beeler, during a brief hearing in Alamosa, Colorado.
It was Morpheo He was first arrested in 2021approximately a year after Suzanne Morphew’s disappearance Charged Murder and tampering with evidence. But the case was abandoned in 2022 as it approached trial after a judge blocked prosecutors from calling key witnesses in response to their repeated failure to follow rules for handing over evidence to the defence.
Susan Morphew Then skeletal remains were found Off a dirt road in southern Colorado in 2023. Morphew was again charged with first-degree murder in his wife’s death and was arrested last year. He has maintained his innocence.
While Susan Morphew’s remains showed no signs of trauma, investigators found in her bone marrow a drug cocktail used to tranquilize wildlife, and her husband was the only person, other than wildlife officials, to have a prescription in their area, according to the indictment.
The coroner’s office determined the cause of death to be “homicide by unspecified means” through intoxication with the three drugs — butorphanol, azaperone, and medetomidine — in the cocktail known as “BAM.”
The mystery surrounding Suzanne Morphew began when the 49-year-old mother of two girls was reported missing on Mother’s Day 2020.
Her mountain bike and helmet were initially found in two separate locations not far from her home near the mountain community of Salida, Colorado, but investigators suspected the bike had been intentionally thrown into a ravine because there were no signs of a collision. A week after his wife’s disappearance, Barry Morphew posted a video on Facebook pleading for her safe return and the case quickly gained attention.
This time, Morphew is being prosecuted by a different district attorney for the district where Susan Morphew’s remains were found, a rural area about 40 miles (65 kilometers) south of Morphew’s home.
Suzanne Morphew had been treated for follicular lymphoma, a type of blood cancer, before she disappeared. Investigators found her remains at a port where she could obtain medicine to treat cancer. They also found cycling clothing similar to what she was wearing.
Based on the condition of the remains and clothing, a forensic anthropologist assumed the body likely had decomposed elsewhere before it was transported, according to the indictment.