Barry Morphew’s attorney has suggested that the death of his wife Suzanne Morphew could be linked to other victims whose bodies have also been found in rural Colorado.
Morphew’s remains were found last week more than three years on from her disappearance on Mother’s Day 2020 after she was said to have set off on a bike ride.
Saguache County officials said on Wednesday that her remains had been found in Moffat, Colorado – a small rural town of 100 residents, 45 miles south of the Morphew family home in Maysville.
Attorneys representing Mr Morphew have now revealed that she was found in a “shallow grave in a dry desert field of sagebrush and natural grasses” – as they hit out at officials for “blindly” suspecting her husband for the past three years.
“It was the Saguache County Officials that fortunately stumbled onto Suzanne’s remains last week while looking for another missing woman, Edna Quintana,” said a statement from EyTan Law Firm on behalf of Mr Morphew.
Mr Morphew was previously charged with his wife’s murder in May 2021, but prosecutors then dramatically dropped the charges one day before his trial was due to start.
In the new statement, his attorneys hit out at the investigation into Morphew’s disappearance, claiming that her remains might have been found sooner if law enforcement hadn’t been so focused on Mr Morphew – and in searching the area that they believed he was in and around that day.
“Law enforcement officials that were supposedly looking for Suzanne, were never looking for Suzanne in the Moffat area or area South of Maysville, because they only focused in on Barry being the suspect. And, they knew Barry was not South of Maysville, and certainly not 45 miles South,” said the statement.
Mr Morphew’s attorneys also argued that he could not possibly be linked to his wife’s death because they claim investigators had already established that he was only near his home and in Broomfield around the time of her disappearance – and not the location where her remains were eventually found.
He was also under extensive surveillance from law enforcement – including cameras, phone taps and GPS tracking, as well as conducting thorough forensics on his car and his home, his attorneys said.
“At no time did the FBI, CBI, Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office or DA’s Office pinpoint or even generally claim that Barry was in any area south of his home, near Moffat or anywhere near Saguache County at any relevant time frame.
“It would be ludicrous for anyone to now try to fit the now-known facts to prior false assumptions and accusations.”
Instead, Mr Morphew’s attorneys said that investigators should be looking into her death in connection to a number of other victims whose remains have also been found in Saguache County.
Barry Morphew in video pleading for wife’s return. Suzanne inset— (Find Suzanne Morphew/ Facebook)
“Whatever happened to Krystal Reisinger, Edna Quintana, Suzanne, the man whose remains were found by Saguache County Sheriff’s office in the foothills on July 26, 2023, or the remains of the person found in another area in Saguache County last weekend?” the statement said.
“What were the circumstances of their disappearances, what is the cause and manner of death of the remains found in the area, what happened to them, are they looking for other remains in this area?”
The statement added: “When law enforcement focuses in on one person and refuses to review evidence objectively and fairly, it is a disservice to the community and creates exactly what has come to light…years of unsolved murders.”
The charges against Mr Morphew were dropped in April 2022 after the prosecution’s case fell apart when they were barred from presenting crucial evidence at trial – after a judge found the state had held back substantial evidence that could have helped Mr Morphew’s case of innocence.
This included DNA evidence which linked her disappearance to sexual assault cases in other states and which in turn suggested a different person might have been involved.
The case was dismissed without prejudice, meaning that prosecutors can still file charges against Mr Morphew in future.
At the time, the state said that investigators were sure they would find Morphew’s body in a “very difficult spot,” possibly in mountainous regions near her home in Salida.
Mr Morphew’s lawyers filed a $15bn lawsuit on 18 April 2022 against District Attorney Linda Stanley and six other prosecutors that they believed pursued “a political agenda of locking up Mr Morphew in response to a media frenzy that prosecutors themselves helped create”.
Colorado Bureau of Investigation said in a press release that no arrests have since been made but the investigation is still ongoing.
