The Colorodo Bureau of Investigation (CBI) announced today that remains recovered over the weekend have been identified as Suzanne Morphew. The remains were found south of Moffatt in Sagauche County on September 22, 2023, while authorities were investigating a separate case.
The 49 year old mother of two was reported missing from Salida, Colorado on May 10, 2020, after allegedly going out for a bike ride that morning.
Morphew was found buried in a shallow grave, with her bones being dispersed over the years, according to the coroner.
“Specific information about the location and the state of the remains are being withheld at this time,” the CBI said in a statement. No arrests have been made since her remains were found.
The Disappearance of Suzanne Morphew
On May 10, 2020, Suzanne Morphew was last seen by her husband Barry at their home in Maysville, Colorado. She was still sleeping in their bed when he left at 5:00 am for a job in Broomfield, Colorado, just outside of Denver.
Later that day, Suzanne supposedly went for a bike ride in the area of County Road 225 and West Highway 50, near the small mountain town of Salida in Chaffee County, Colorado.
Suzanne Morphew never returned home and hasn’t been heard from since.
Her two daughters, who had been away on a camping trip and were on their way back home, texted their mother to wish her a Happy Mother’s Day but received no response. They contacted their father, telling him they had been unable to reach her.
Barry, who was reportedly away at work at the time, called a neighbor and asked them to check on Suzanne. When the neighbor called back to let him know there was no sign of Suzanne or her bike at the house Barry asked them to contact the police.
That evening the neighbor filed a missing persons report with the Chaffee County Colorado Sheriff’s Office when Suzanne didn’t return home.
Investigation
Sheriff’s deputies found Suzanne‘s bicycle on the day she disappeared. It was found down a steep ravine on the side of a cliff off Chaffee County Road 225 from Highway 50, not fat from her home. Her helmet was discovered four days later, about a mile away off Highway 50.
Authorities found no signs of a struggle, blood, or clothing at the scene, and the bicycle did not look like it had been involved in a crash.
Unknown DNA was found on the bike grips and handlebar of Suzanne’s bicycle. It did not match her husband Barry, but his DNA was found on the bike seat.
Barry denied any involvement in his wife’s disappearance, and denied that their marriage was in trouble. He added that Suzanne had been diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma and was having trouble going to her chemotherapy treatments for the last couple of years.
In May 2021, Barry Morphew was arrested for the murder of his wife Suzanne. He was charged with first-degree murder, tampering with a deceased human body, tampering with physical evidence, possession of a dangerous weapon, and attempted influence of a public servant.
Evidence showed that Barry’s cell phone pinged all around his house on Mother’s Day weekend 2020. A plastic cap for a syringe, believed to be used to load a tranquilizer dart, was discovered in the couple’s dryer with Suzanne’s DNA on it.
Authorities found a “spy pen” device which captured several intimate conversations between Suzanne and Jeff Libler, a man she knew from high school in Alexandria, with whom she had been in an extramarital affair for the past two years.
On May 9, 2020, records showed that Suzanne Morphew and her high school flame messaged each other 59 times. She sent him a selfie which police dubbed as her last “proof of life” photo.
Authorities believe that Barry Morphew killed his wife when he returned home that afternoon after running some errands. They allege he shot her with a tranquilizer gun, disposed of her body, and staged the bike crash.
On May 10, 2020, Barry Morphew left early the next morning and was captured on surveillance cameras throwing out trash at multiple locations around Broomfield, Colorado, while in town for work.
On April 19, 2022, Barry Morphew’s case was dismissed without prejudice after all charges were dropped by prosecution, just days before he was set to stand trial.
Authorities cited that the weather complicated efforts to search for Suzanne’s body in a remote and mountainous region near the couple’s home where they believed she was located.
In May 2023, Barry Morphew filed a $15 million lawsuit against authorities, claiming a malicious criminal prosecution against him in the disappearance case of his wife.
If you have any information regarding the disappearance of Suzanne Morphew please contact the Chaffee County Colorado Sheriff’s Office at (719) 539-2596 or call the Colorado Bureau of Investigation at (719) 647-5999.
Who else would have killed her? She didn’t bury herself.
They can refile charges against him. There goes his 15M.