ALAMOSA, Colo. — Barry Morphew appeared in court on Tuesday with a judge ordering him to a $10 million cash-only bond after prosecutors called for this hearing claiming he had violated the conditions of his bond.
Morphew is set to go on trial in July 2027, where he faces a first-degree murder charge connected to the death of his wife Suzanne Morphew. She was reported missing by a neighbor on Mother's Day in 2020 when she left for a bicycle ride around the Maysville area.
Morphew was arrested on charges of first-degree murder, tampering with physical evidence, attempting to influence a public servant, tampering with a deceased human body, and possession of a dangerous weapon. Denver7 covered the four days of his preliminary hearing in August 2021. He was released on bond after the judge ruled the case would proceed to trial.
More than 1,200 days after, in September 2023, Suzanne Morphew's remains were found in a shallow grave during an unrelated investigation into another missing woman. Suzanne's autopsy report confirmed her death was a homicide with a mix of powerful sedatives — butorphanol, azaperone and medetomidine, or BAM — and an opioid painkiller detected in her system.
21 months after Suzanne's body was found, Morphew's was indicted for her murder. Records showed that he was the only private citizen in the south-Central Colorado counties that had access to the mix of drugs in her system and had last purchased multiple kits of the chemical compound in Indiana in 2018.
At the time, Denver7 reached out to Barry Morphew's new attorney, David Beller, who provided the following statement: "Yet again, the government allows their predetermined conclusion to lead their search for evidence. Barry maintains his innocence. The case has not changed and the outcome will not either."
Morphew was taken into custody in Maricopa County, Arizona, in June 2025 with a bond set at $3 million. Denver7 Investigations obtained documents of how investigators tracked Morphew for months before his second arrest in connection with the murder of his wife.
Last September, a Colorado judge adjusted his $3 million bail from cash-only to a cash or surety bail and 12th Judicial District Chief Judge Amanda Hopkins ruled he was required to stay in Colorado and wear a GPS monitor.
Morphew was arrested in Boulder County last week amid allegations of a hit-and-run in Denver while on GPS monitoring. Video shows Morphew outside of a CVS Pharmacy in Denver touching someone's car and then fleeing the scene.
In court on Tuesday, the prosecution claimed Morphew made a series of trips that are not work-related, including going to trailheads, restaurants, Whole Foods, and a trip to Denver International Airport to pick up his daughter.
"After he goes to the airport, he comes back to Cherry Creek, he goes to a couple of hotels, and he's just out and about with his day. No work whatsoever. It's after that that he gets in the crash and catches everyone's attention," Special Deputy District Attorney Frederick Johnson, said.
Johnson asked the judge to raise Morphew's bond to a $10 million cash-only bail and said, "...but as we look at it, I think with the new information, that's what happens when you have an opportunity to be in the community and violate bonds over and over. The new information is why I really want to ask the court to consider, is Mr. Morphew showing us what's going to happen with trial?"
Morphew's defense argued that 'full home confinement is sufficent' and that he is 'not a danger to the public.' They asked for the surety to be in place and that Morphew only be permitted to leave his house to meet with his legal team.
Chief Judge Amanda Hopkins told the courtroom she learned the GPS company has given Morphew 'a window' where he could be in Denver Castle Rock, or Parker, Monday through Sunday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
"No one checked on him. No one verified where he was. No one asked any questions about what he was doing with his time. If he decided to go outside of the area, the company would not really know. If it received an alert, the company would not call police or notify the court or the prosecution. They would call Mr. Morphew and simply tell him to get back into the zone."
After reviewing the GPS information, Hopkins said on August 26 that Morphew had "stopped at numerous locations around the Denver metro area, including, most alarmingly, the Denver International Airport." She also obtained still frames from the FBI showing Morphew picking up one of his children from the airport.
"Additionally, Mr. Morphew has shown time and again that he has no respect for any order of this court and he is not going to comply with it if it is inconvenient to the lifestyle he wishes to live while out on bond," Hopkins said.
After increasing Morphew's bond to $10 million cash-only, Hopkins said if he posts bail, he can not leave San Luis Valley without the permission of the court.
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