ALAMOSA COUNTY, Colo. — Barry Morphew, the main suspect in the disappearance and death of his wife Suzanne back in 2020, pleaded not guilty to her murder for a second time in Alamosa County Court Monday.
Barry was rearrested on June of last year in Arizona on first-degree murder charges and subsequently extradited to Colorado nearly four years after the murder charges stemming from his 2021 arrest were dismissed less than two weeks before his trial was set to begin in Fremont County.
Judge Amanda Hopkins set his jury trial for Oct. 13. It’s expected the trial will go through late November.
Barry’s previous murder case was dismissed without prejudice, meaning he could be retried again if charges were refiled.
In an indictment accusing him of his wife’s murder filed on June 20, 2025, prosecutors allege Barry was the only private citizen in the south-Central Colorado counties — where Suzanne’s death investigation unfolded — who had access to a mix of drugs found in her system when she died.
The indictment also details cell phone and vehicle telematics data from Barry 's truck that contradicts the story he told law enforcement after his wife went missing. The data includes outages at key times of the investigation, as well as evidence that Suzanne's body was moved the location where it was found back in 2023.
Suzanne Morphew disappeared from the Maysville area of Chaffee County on Mother’s Day in 2020 after leaving for a bike ride. Barry Morphew was arrested roughly one year later on charges of first-degree murder after deliberation, tampering with physical evidence and an attempt to influence a public servant. Investigators would discover her body in a shallow grave in a Saguache County field during an unrelated investigation three years later.
A 2024 autopsy report said Suzanne Morphew died of “unspecified means” but ruled it a homicide. While there was no indication of trauma in her remains, a drug cocktail used to tranquilize wildlife was found in one of her bones, the report said.
The powerful mix of sedatives included butorphanol, azaperone and medetomidine, or BAM, for short. BAM is commonly used to "sedating animals for medical treatment or movement," according to a medical expert cited the indictment, and is only available by veterinarian prescription.
Records showed only Barry, along with Colorado Parks & Wildlife and the National Parks Service, had been issued prescriptions of the sedative in the years leading up to Suzanne’s disappearance.
"Ultimately, the prescription records show that when Suzanne Morphew disappeared, only one private citizen living in that entire area of the state had access to BAM: Barry Morphew," the indictment reads.
A motions hearing is scheduled from July 6 through 10.
- Denver7 has closely followed every turn in this case. In the timeline below, see what led up to Barry Morphew's arraignment.
Denver7 is committed to making a difference in our community by standing up for what's right, listening, lending a helping hand and following through on promises. See that work in action, in the videos above.