Barry Morphew beams in court as he's charged with murdering wife Suzanne - but 'loyal' daughter delivered nasty shock
Barry Morphew, 57, was all smiles at the sight of one of his two daughters as he was brought into court in Alamoso County Court in Colorado Tuesday evening to face charges of murdering his spouse Suzanne in nearby Salida in May 2020.
Morphew has two daughters - Mallory and Macy. It is unclear which of the two was in court to support their father yesterday, Denver7 reported.
The two young women stood loyally by their dad's side after he was previously charged with 43 year-old Suzanne's murder in 2021.
But the absence of one of the Morphew daughters in court could suggest that she no longer believes her father's protestations of innocence.
Morphew was re-arrested in Arizona on June 20 after prosecutors produced dramatic new 'smoking gun' evidence.
Tuesday's court appearance was a brief procedural affair. Morphew was ordered held in custody in lieu of $3 million bond and is due back in court in September for a bail hearing.
It comes as an indictment seen by DailyMail.com revealed that Suzanne died with the presence of a powerful animal tranquilizer called butorphanol-azaperone-medetomidine (BAM) in her body.
With a theatrical flourish, the charging document revealed that only one private citizen in the entire state of Colorado had a prescription for BAM at the time of Suzanne's disappearance: Barry Morphew.
A tranquilizer needle cap, darts and a tranquillizer gun were found in the couple's home during a law enforcement search conducted shortly after Suzanne vanished.
Barry used BAM to hunt deer while in the couple's native Indiana. They moved to Colorado from the Hoosier State in 2018 and were having severe marital difficulties at the time of Suzanne's disappearance.
Suzanne had been having an affair with an old school friend called Jeff Libler.
Morphew and Suzanne lived in a stunning $1.5m cabin with daughter Macy, who was away from home on a planned multi-day road trip when Suzanne disappeared.
Cops allege Barry took advantage of Macy's disappearance to kill Suzanne on the morning of May 9 2020, the day before her disappearance was reported.
Barry was first charged with murdering his wife in 2021, in the absence of his wife's body.
But the case collapsed amid prosecutorial misconduct.
Mallory and Macy Morphew both stood by their father at the time and were photographed walking with him arm-in-arm.
A new team of prosecutors began probing Barry again after Suzanne's body was discovered dumped along the side of a rural road in Saguache County, Colorado in September 2023 in a patch of wasteland known as 'The Boneyard.'
That is about an hour's drive south of the Morphew residence.
More new evidence revealed in the June 20 charging document said that Suzanne did not die where her body was found.
Forensic experts said the lack of animal activity on Suzanne's body combined with the lack of decomposure of the cycling clothes she was wearing mean 'it was unlikely Suzanne decomposed from a fresh body to a skeleton at this location.'
The charging document did not offer any further theories or evidence as to where investigators believe Suzanne was killed or where her body was initially concealed.
No cause of death has been given because of how badly Suzanne had decomposed, but a coroner's report said she'd died with the BAM tranquilizer in her system.
Suzanne was reported missing by her neighbor on Mother's Day 2020 after Mallory and Macy were unable to reach her on the phone.
Her last communication with a friend was on May 9, the day investigators believe Barry killed her.
Barry and Suzanne were alone at their home at the time of the disappearance.
On May 6, Suzanne texted Barry saying: 'I'm done. I could (sic) care less what you're up to and have been for years. We just need to figure this out civilly.'
Barry claimed he left home early on the morning of May 10 to go to work in the Colorado city of Broomfield, three hours from their home.
He said that Suzanne was asleep in their bed, having told him she was planning a bike ride for her day.
Investigators insist Suzanne had already been dead for hours at that point.
Barry's phone entered and exited airplane mode several times over the next 24 hours, authorities said.
The door of his truck was opened numerous times between 3.25am and 5am and was backed up into the home's garage at least once.
Barry's activity in Broomfield aroused further suspicion.
He claimed to have been on a landscaping job but spent a total of just 90 minutes on site and the rest in a cheap hotel room that cleaners reported stank of chlorine after he checked out.
Barry was captured on surveillance making several trash runs at numerous locations around town, but appeared to be doing little work, police noted.
Suzanne's disappearance was reported to police on the evening of May 10 - Mothering Sunday - after Macy and Mallory said they had been unable to contact their mother.
Barry asked a neighbor to check on the house and then asked them to call the sheriff when the neighbor saw no trace of Suzanne.
During a subsequent police interview, Barry claimed the couple's marriage was 'the best' and that they'd just had a 'wonderful weekend together.'
But that lie was exposed as investigators learned of Suzanne's affair and Barry's alleged violent threats towards her.
After cops began to search the property, they found Suzanne's bike abandoned down a steep embankment close to the family home.
Police believe that scene was staged.
Her helmet was discovered days later, roughly a mile away, at the side of a highway.
The disappearance of an attractive, wealthy mother soon sparked a nationwide media frenzy.
A tearful Barry even released a brief video appeal to the public asking for information.
'Suzanne, if anyone is out there that can hear this that has you, please, we'll do whatever it takes to bring you back,' Barry said.
Meanwhile, a huge manhunt was launched, with authorities scouring rural terrain, diving in lakes, and deploying K9 units to find Suzanne - but there was no trace.
When Barry was questioned by police two days after Suzanne disappeared, officers noted he had scratches on his hands and arms.
A search of the Morphew home found a live .22 caliber bullet by Suzanne's bed, and a needle cap from a tranquilizer dart was found in the dryer, tangled up among washed bed sheets.
Investigators also recovered empty tranquilizer darts, a needle used to inject tranquilizer chemicals into the darts, and a dart gun.
Barry Morphew admitted to using a tranquilizer gun to shoot deer so he could harvest their horns, but said he was unsure how the cap got in the dryer, court records show.
Barry, who rented a scruffy trailer park in Cave Creek, will now be extradited to the San Luis Valley in Colorado to face charges.
His 'Stardust Trailer Park' billed itself a 'boutique community' offering short and long-term rentals, but had a dilapidated and depressing air when visited by DailyMail.com in 2024.
His daughters have yet to comment on the charges brought against their father.
Suzanne's loved ones including her sister Melinda had previously condemned Barry over his alleged treatment of his wife and claimed Suzanne had feared for her safety.
A friend called Sheila Oliver claimed Suzanne had complained of Barry shoving her into a closet and putting a gun to his head while screaming: 'Is this what you want?'
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