Pass judgement on grants movement to disregard fees in opposition to Barry Morphew in spouse Susanne Morphew’s disappearance by means of NewsFlicks

Case replace:  Barry Morphew used to be arrested in Arizona on June 20, 2025, two days after he used to be indicted on first-degree homicide fees in terms of his spouse’s demise. This used to be the second one time Barry Morphew has been arrested and charged in Suzanne Morphew’s demise.

In a high-profile case that has already observed a lot of and on occasion unusual twists and turns over the last 3 years, together with a very powerful judicial sanctions, a pass judgement on agreed to disregard all fees in opposition to Barry Morphew, with out prejudice, simply 9 days prior to he used to be to face trial for the first-degree homicide of his spouse and mom in their two daughters, Suzanne Morphew. 

Prosecutors, who can re-file fees someday, filed a movement to disregard the indictment mins prior to a pre-trial convention on April 19, 2022, with D.A. Linda Stanley writing they want to examine additional and imagine “we’re on the subject of finding the sufferer’s frame.”  Stanley additionally cited the courtroom’s determination to exclude “a number of key knowledgeable witnesses to begin with counseled.  With out this a very powerful proof and with out the sufferer’s frame, the Other folks can’t transfer ahead presently in excellent religion.”

“First I need to say that Mr. Morphew now not most effective used to be presumed blameless and nonetheless is presumed blameless, he’s blameless,” Morphew’s lawyer, Iris Eytan, stated at a press convention after the fees have been dropped.  In line with the State pointing to the want to to find Suzanne’s frame, she stated, “Eternally they have got said that they don’t want a frame — {that a} frame is inappropriate.  However you want to grasp, that on this case, there was now not a unmarried ounce of bodily proof that has been discovered connecting Mr. Morphew to this … alleged crime.”

Since Barry Morphew’s arrest, his protection legal professionals had requested Pass judgement on Ramsey Lama, a couple of occasions, to disregard the fees in opposition to him. During the last a number of months, they pressed the pass judgement on to factor critical sanctions at the prosecution for failing to show over probably exculpatory proof forward of trial.  And the pass judgement on imposed harmful sanctions, together with barring 11 in their 16 counseled knowledgeable witnesses — amongst others, mavens in DNA, car information and a mobile phone information analyst, as punishment for violating discovery laws. In all, the Courtroom excluded 14 of the prosecution’s knowledgeable witnesses.  The pass judgement on discovered that DA Stanley and her group again and again overlooked cut-off dates and failed to show over vital knowledge, writing, “The Other folks’s movements quantity to negligent and arguably, reckless omit” for his or her discovery responsibilities.

In previous filings, prosecutors stated that the Courtroom didn’t to find willful misconduct related to any discovery violations, noting “in the end the sanctions imposed a great deal injury the Other folks’s case, tantamount to dismissal, for overdue disclosures that weren’t a great deal prejudicial, however slightly technical in nature.”

“48 Hours” correspondent Peter Van Sant updates the case in “The Suzanne Morphew Case: Not anything is What It Turns out,” now streaming on Paramount+.

When Suzanne Morphew, a Colorado mom of 2 ladies, vanished on Mom’s Day in Would possibly 2020, government questioned if she’d been kidnapped or if her husband Barry — whom she had threatened to divorce — may have killed her.

Investigators by no means anticipated the case would have such a lot of peculiar twists and turns and sooner or later contain a chipmunk alibi, a tranquilizer gun, a “speaking” truck, thriller DNA and a undercover agent pen proper out of a James Bond movie.

“This example is amazingly distinctive,” says Aya Gruber, a regulation professor on the College of Colorado at Boulder. “While you began to dig a little bit bit deeper, not anything is what it sort of feels.”

Gruber studied 1000’s of pages of public paperwork from the prosecutor, investigators and protection legal professionals.

Suzanne used to be reported lacking on Would possibly 10, 2020. She’d been on my own that day as a result of her daughters, Macy, 16, and Mallory, 20, have been off on a church-sponsored tenting travel and deliberate to go back house later that Mom’s Day.

On the identical time, Barry Morphew advised investigators he had left the house early within the morning to pressure to a role website some 3 hours away. He stated the final time he noticed his spouse of 25 years used to be when she used to be snoozing of their mattress. 

After Suzanne used to be formally reported lacking by means of a neighbor, investigators started to inspect Barry’s tale. Buddies and kinfolk advised investigators that the wedding used to be afflicted, and brokers discovered a deleted textual content from Suzanne to Barry on his telephone that learn: “I am achieved. I may just care much less what you are as much as and feature been for years. We simply want to determine this out with politeness.”

However 10 days after Suzanne disappeared, brokers have been pulled in a unique route once they discovered a so-called undercover agent pen belonging to Suzanne. The undercover agent pen has an extended battery existence and is designed to appear and write like an extraordinary pen.

Nevertheless it has one additional function: it’s voice-activated and data conversations. Suzanne had obtained it, she advised a pal, as a result of she suspected Barry used to be having an affair and he or she was hoping to make use of the pen to assemble proof. However the plan backfired.

Investigators listened to what the pen had recorded and, even though there used to be no proof of Barry having an affair, they are saying they heard “intimate” conversations between Suzanne and anyone named Jeff.

It used to be any other twist in a case full of them.

With out realizing who Jeff used to be or his location when Suzanne went lacking, they might now not do away with him as an individual or passion. It took FBI brokers six months prior to they exposed his id: Jeff Libler, a person each Suzanne and Barry knew from their Alexandria, Indiana, highschool. Jeff and Suzanne had had a one-time fling after commencement, and he or she’d reached out to him in 2018 after the Morphews moved to Colorado with a Fb message that learn merely: “Good day stranger.”

“And from that second that they had talked nearly each and every unmarried day nonstop,” stated Ashley Franco, a reporter for KKTV, the CBS associate in Colorado Springs, who has lined the tale from the start.

That used to be sufficient to ignite a just about two-year love affair. Jeff had a spouse and 6 youngsters. He lived in Michigan and claimed to be there together with his circle of relatives at the day Suzanne vanished.

Brokers sooner or later found out the fans had spoken to one another for dozens of hours, frequently speaking by the use of secret accounts on WhatsApp and LinkedIn. Jeff additionally admitted that they met for romantic rendezvous in New Orleans, Florida, Texas, Michigan and Indiana.

After Suzanne disappeared in Would possibly 2020, Jeff didn’t touch government. As an alternative, brokers say, he deleted the accounts the place he had communicated with Suzanne.

“What he did used to be delete all his social media accounts that he had used to keep up a correspondence with Suzanne,” says Gruber. “He is were given so much to lose if revelations of this affair pop out.”

Jeff reportedly advised brokers he didn’t need to tarnish Suzanne’s reminiscence, however he additionally advised them he nervous that he’d lose his spouse, youngsters and activity. He additionally nervous he could be regarded as a suspect. “He asks the brokers, ‘Am I a goal?'” says Gruber.

After brokers faced him, he did cooperate, offering a pattern of his DNA and passwords to the deleted accounts. Investigators sooner or later have been ready to retrace the couple’s steps and recovered texts by means of tapping into the iCloud accounts of Jeff and Suzanne.

Jeff used to be ready to supply receipts for a home items retailer he’d visited in Michigan at the day Suzanne vanished and he used to be sooner or later cleared.

Investigators nonetheless had their suspicions about Barry Morphew. They by no means exposed any proof that he used to be having an affair, however investigators discovered his movements on that Mom’s Day weekend to be suspicious.

They requested Barry why his telephone appeared to be pinging throughout his space at the day prior to Mom’s Day and he advised them he will have to had been out capturing chipmunks, which he stated have been a relentless nuisance on the space.

It used to be most likely the sector’s first chipmunk alibi, however Barry stood by means of it, pronouncing he’d shot 85 chipmunks within the two years he owned that Colorado space.

“After which that confession to capturing chipmunks turns into a significant piece of incriminating proof in opposition to him,” says Gruber.

Van Sant requested why. “As a result of [agents are] pronouncing, ‘Smartly, , now he is admitting to having run round the home. And it is a ridiculous clarification, so it will have to be the rationale of a responsible particular person,'” says Gruber.

What is extra, there used to be no proof of any chipmunk shootings round the home and neighbors didn’t recall listening to any form of disturbance all the way through that time period.

Instances on occasion flip at the smallest of items and, on this case, brokers seized upon simply any such small merchandise.

Brokers had discovered a small transparent plastic cap within the circle of relatives’s dryer that they believed used to be from a syringe used to inject chemical substances right into a tranquilizer dart. Barry said he knew the way to inject chemical substances right into a dart and that he’d shot many deer for trophies and so he may just get their antlers. His storage used to be full of deer heads and a pile of antlers. On the other hand, there used to be no operating tranquilizer gun present in the house and government say Barry’s DNA used to be now not on that plastic cap.

Even so, investigators evolved a idea that Barry had shot Suzanne with a tranquilizer gun after which chased her round the home prior to she handed out. They discovered a door body that used to be damaged and suspected there have been a war of words.

Brokers additionally tapped into a brand new investigative software known as virtual car forensics. They pulled information from his Ford truck’s many computer systems and were given the truck to “communicate” to them. They realized that after Barry stated he used to be snoozing, the truck’s doorways have been opening and shutting.

He used to be arrested and charged with first-degree homicide and different crimes in Would possibly 2021. Suzanne’s frame has now not been discovered and prosecutors presume she is useless. Barry sooner or later pleaded “now not responsible.”

However on the 11th hour, there used to be another twist published for the 1st time publicly at a initial listening to to resolve if there used to be sufficient proof for possible motive. 

Prosecutors admitted at a listening to held in the summertime of 2021 that their very own forensics group had exposed DNA proof that threatened to ruin their case in opposition to Barry. State technicians had discovered DNA at the glove compartment of Suzanne’s automotive that partly matched an unknown male attached to 3 unsolved sexual attack circumstances in 3 other towns. 

Barry Morphew and Jeff Libler have been excluded from that DNA pattern which supposed there used to be a possibility Suzanne had fallen into the arms of a sexual predator. “This DNA discovery is so vital,” Gruber stated. “Impulsively, the reputedly incredible turns into extra conceivable.”

Pass judgement on Patrick Murphy wwas candid in his evaluate of the case, pronouncing it might move both method prior to a jury. He discovered sufficient possible motive to position it over for trial however ordered that Barry be launched on $500,000 bond, looking at that he concept there used to be now not “an even probability” that Barry could be convicted by means of a jury. Barry entered a plea of now not responsible to the fees.

Barry Morphew raised the bond cash and is unfastened watching for trial.  Pass judgement on Murphy disqualified himself as a result of a possible struggle of passion involving a witness, and Pass judgement on Ramsey Lama used to be appointed in January 2022.  Morphew’s trial, which used to be moved from Chaffee to Fremont County, Colorado, used to be scheduled to start out on April 28. 

Then, on April 19, Stanley and her group filed the movement to drop all fees, with out prejudice, till they collect extra proof.  However Morphew’s lawyer, Iris Eytan, argued that the case must be brushed aside with prejudice in order that it can’t be refiled.  The courtroom brushed aside the fees with out prejudice.

On the press convention outdoor courtroom, Eytan made it transparent her opinion that her shopper must by no means had been charged. 

“Those fees have been false from the start … The prosecution used to be production a homicide case,” she stated.  “You might have observed displays known as ‘Creating a Assassin?’ That is what used to be taking place right here on this court docket … They completely brushed aside this situation at this level as a result of they knew they have been going to lose this trial and Mr. Morphew used to be going to be acquitted and exonerated.”

“Barry Morphew loves Suzanne Morphew,” Eytan stated. “He loves her and he misses her and he desires to grasp the place Suzanne Morphew is.  It is a giant query mark … For sure there used to be now not any proof, even on the subject of convicting him of homicide of his spouse.”

As investigators proceed in search of Suzanne Morphew’s frame, specializing in a “far flung and mountainous area close by the Morphew place of dwelling,” because the DA wrote in her movement, looking forward to 5 toes of snow to soften prior to they may be able to safely excavate the realm, Barry Morphew, along his daughters, walked out of the Fremont County courthouse a unfastened guy. With all fees in opposition to him dropped, his bond is lifted, his GPS ankle observe got rid of, and his passport returned.  And about 1,000 individuals who have been summoned to seem for jury variety are launched.

In Would possibly 2023, Barry Morphew filed  a $15 million federal civil rights lawsuit in opposition to prosecutors and cops mentioning he used to be wrongfully arrested, jailed and prosecuted.