True crime fans, take heart. The Karen Read saga may have ended, but a case filled with equally engaging twists and turns has unexpectedly presented itself as a possible new obsession. Will it be able to capture the attention of amateur sleuths? Well, it's got:
- A husband caught in multiple lies about his relationship with his missing wife and his whereabouts on Mother's Day in 2020? Check.
- An extremely unique hunting tranquilizer found in the victim's remains years after her disappearance? Check.
- A prosecutor later disbarred for her conduct? Check.
- A vote for Trump cast via mail-in ballot in the 2020 election by the missing wife, which the husband later pleaded guilty to? Check.
On June 18, 2025, a Colorado grand jury once again returned an indictment on Barry Morphew for the 2020 murder of his wife. How such a court action is possible, along with the other remarkable details associated with the murder of Suzanne Morphew, are part of the strange legal journey that might finally lead to a resolution in the case.
Working on Mother's Day?
On Mother's Day of 2020, 49-year-old Suzanne Morphew was allegedly planning on going for a bike ride from the home she shared with her husband, Barry Morphew, outside the small Colorado town of Salida. Barry was supposed to leave for work at a site in Broomfield, some 200 miles away.
Suzanne's bike was later found in a ravine, while her helmet was discovered on the side of a road almost a mile away. The police determined the bike had been disposed of in the ravine, rather than ending up there as a result of a crash.
Her husband was indeed in Broomfield that day, but not where he'd said he was and not for as long as he initially claimed. Cameras also showed him placing unidentified objects in various garbage cans in Broomfield.
Barry became the main suspect as investigators learned that his marriage to Suzanne was not "the best," as he'd previously claimed. Suzanne was having an affair and, before vanishing, had told friends she wanted to end the marriage.
Meanwhile, Barry was arrested for casting his missing wife's mail-in ballot as a vote for Donald Trump in the 2020 election. He pleaded guilty in exchange for avoiding prison through a year of supervised probation. Alas, his freedom would soon be gone anyway.
Indictment #1
In May 2021, police arrested Barry. He was charged with the first-degree murder of Suzanne in Colorado's Eleventh Judicial District. After being informed by Barry that he possessed tranquilizers used to hunt deer, investigators theorized that he'd drugged and killed his wife. He remained in prison for four months until he made bond.
Barry's trial for murder was set to begin in April 2022. Instead, the state filed a motion to drop the charges in a surprise move. The prosecutor, 11th Judicial District Attorney Linda Stanley, had been accused of mishandling discovery in Barry's case and making inappropriate comments to the media about another case.
Stanley was later disbarred by the state disciplinary board and ordered to pay more than $300,000 in damages to three Colorado counties in a related civil lawsuit.
Perhaps not leaving well enough alone, Barry sued the Chaffee County Sheriff's Department and the prosecutors in May 2023 for malicious prosecution, Franks violations, conspiracy, fabrication of evidence, failure to intervene, and Monell liability. He demanded $15 million in damages and the return of his hunting gear.
Indictment #2
In September of 2023, remains were found in a shallow grave about an hour south of the Morphew home. Police forensics determined that it was Suzanne Morphew and that the remains had been moved at some point. They also found the remnants of a cocktail of drugs consisting of butorphanol, azaperone, and medetomidine (BAM).
BAM is an animal tranquilizer. And only one person in that region of Colorado was on record for buying and possessing it — Barry Morphew.
The BAM had been metabolized, which meant that Suzanne had been tranquilized before she'd been killed by a still-undetermined method. Combined with additional evidence further undermining Barry's alibis, prosecutors in Colorado's Twelfth Judicial District convinced a grand jury to indict Barry again on first-degree murder charges.
Barry was arrested in Arizona and is currently awaiting extradition back to Colorado. His claims against Chaffee County were dismissed without prejudice in 2024. This means that the civil lawsuit is over for now, but Barry could refile later.
That's Gotta Be Double Jeopardy, No?
You might be curious as to why Barry's attorneys aren't screaming "DOUBLE JEOPARDY!!" at the top of their lungs. Under the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, you can't be criminally tried for the same charge twice. This is to protect citizens from overzealous prosecution.
However, double jeopardy only applies at certain stages of a criminal case.
In Barry Morphew's case, the charges against him were dropped before the trial started. Whether it was because the case was tainted by the prosecutor's issues or deemed not strong enough to proceed with, he was never tried for the murder of his wife in the Eleventh Judicial District. This means prosecutors are still legally able to make him stand for murder charges.
The change in venue from the Eleventh to the Twelfth Judicial District is not because Barry was originally charged in the former. Suzanne's remains were found in the Twelfth District, which gives it jurisdiction over any criminal proceedings.
The amount of time to took for the Twelfth Judicial District to bring charges is also immaterial as, like all other states and the federal government, Colorado has no statute of limitations for first-degree murder charges.
Nothing can return Suzanne Morphew to her daughters, friends, and family. If prosecutors can convince a jury that her husband was indeed responsible for her disappearance and murder, perhaps the verdict will bring some modicum of peace for the survivors. At the very least, it may become the new focus of countless true crime podcasts.
Related Resources
- Science and Forensic Evidence (FindLaw's Learn About the Law)
- Time Limits To Bring a Case: The Statute of Limitations (FindLaw's Accident and Injury Law)
- How DNA Evidence Works (FindLaw's Criminal Procedure)
