(21 Jun 2025)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
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Alamosa, Colorado – 20 June 2025
1. SOUNDBITE (English) Anne Kelly, District Attorney:
"I scheduled this briefing to provide an update on the investigation that has been in the hearts and minds of the people of Chaffee County since Mother’s Day of 2020. Suzanne Morphew was reported missing on Mother’s Day five years ago. Law enforcement has never stopped working to obtain justice for this mother of two. This daughter, this sister, and this beloved member of the Chaffee County community."
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2. SOUNDBITE (English) Anne Kelly, District Attorney:
"Through the tireless efforts of the Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office, the Swatch County Sheriff’s Office, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, I can announce today that the 12th Judicial District Grand Jury returned an indictment. The grand jury has indicted Barry Morphew on the single count of murder in the first degree. Law enforcement, the Chaffee County community and Colorado as a whole has never stopped fighting for justice for Suzanne. Cold case homicides are tremendously difficult. They’re difficult for the families of the victims and the communities who wait patiently for answers."
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3. SOUNDBITE (English) Anne Kelly, District Attorney:
"Mr. Morphew will be held by Arizona authorities pending extradition proceedings in that state. And upon conclusion of those proceedings, Mr. Morphew will be transported to Alamosa County to stand trial on the indictment. This indictment has been unsealed. Upon the arrest of Mr. Morphew."
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4. SOUNDBITE (English) Anne Kelly, District Attorney:
"And the question is, what would be the difference between the prosecution of this case, and other prosecutions? You know, justice for cold case homicide victims remains a priority in the state of Colorado, both for prosecutors and for law enforcement. And that’s despite any challenges that we may have had in the history of of any particular case that remains a priority for us. And so we have worked very hard to move forward in the case. This case is a different case, and I would refer you back to back to the indictment in this case. And we’ve worked very hard to move forward."
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STORYLINE:
The husband of Colorado woman Suzanne Morphew, whose remains were discovered over three years after she was reported missing on Mother’s Day 2020, was arrested again Friday on a first-degree murder charge, authorities said.
Barry Morphew was arrested Friday in Arizona after a Colorado grand jury returned an indictment Wednesday, three years after the initial case was dropped because of prosecutorial issues with evidence.
His bond was set at $3 million, cash only, according to court documents. The 12th District Attorney’s office said in a statement that it is seeking to bring him back to Colorado.
District Attorney Anne Kelly declined to elaborate beyond the indictment at a news conference, saying only that her office never gave up on getting justice for Suzanne Morphew.
“We have worked very hard to move forward in this case," Kelly said.
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.
A tranquilizer gun and accessories were found in the Morphews’ home, according to investigators.
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