Latest news with #BarryMorphew
Fox News
25-07-2025
- Fox News
Fox News True Crime Newsletter: Bryan Kohberger's sentencing, Read family warning, Amy Bradley's disappearance
DEATH STARE: Bryan Kohberger transferred to maximum security state prison LAST PLEA: Colorado dentist drugged wife years before alleged poisoning murder, friend testifies DEADLY ESCAPE: Cause of death revealed for Hollywood heir who died in jail awaiting trial in family dismemberment case AWKWARD PRESENCE: Bryan Kohberger's 'weird' behavior and social awkwardness may make him bigger target than Jeffrey Dahmer BODY OF EVIDENCE: Barry Morphew may use mystery DNA for defense in wife's murder: former prosecutor LIFETIME LOCKOUT: Prosecutors want Idaho killer barred from contacting victims' families for nearly a century SIGN UP TO GET TRUE CRIME NEWSLETTER JUDGMENT DAY: Newsom to decide on Menendez brothers' parole by Labor Day weekend LAKE TERROR: Teen murder suspect led police on 'wild goose chase' after paddleboarder's death in coastal town: report 'INCONSISTENCIES': Canadian father murdered daughter, 9, on New York trip before kidnapping claim near Lake George: police BETWEEN THE LINES: Father of vindicated Karen Read warns concerned Americans 'the next Karen Read could be you' in new interview LIKE WHAT YOU'RE READING? FIND MORE ON THE TRUE CRIME HUB SEEKING ANSWERS: Suspected serial killer may have abducted news anchor who vanished 30 years ago: doc DAD'S DESPERATE HUNT: Army vet's search for missing geologist son revived as new forensics may reveal truth in desert disappearance 'COULD BE OUT THERE': Parents believe daughter who vanished from cruise ship 27 years ago is still alive
Daily Mail
25-07-2025
- Daily Mail
Wealthy landscaper Barry Morphew set to attempt Bryan Kohbeger-style defense after being charged with wife's murder
A wealthy landscaper charged with murdering his wife might try to use mystery DNA found at the scene to blame someone else for the killing, according to a legal expert. Barry Morphew, 57, was accused of murdering his wife Suzanne, who disappeared on Mother's Day 2020 before her remains were found in 2023. An autopsy report said Suzanne died of 'unspecified means' but ruled her death a homicide. While her remains showed no signs of trauma, investigators found in her bone marrow a drug cocktail used to tranquilize wildlife that her husband had a prescription for, according to an indictment. But former Colorado deputy district attorney Colin McCallin told Fox News that the alleged killer would likely use an 'alternate suspect' defense because unknown DNA was found in Suzanne's car after she vanished. 'I would expect the defense to advance any evidence they [have] relating to alternate suspect evidence,' the lawyer said. He added: 'One of the things that has always permeated this case is the existence of these unknown DNA profiles that were found on some of the items of evidence that were found initially when she went missing, that pointed to maybe someone else being involved in this.' Idaho quadruple murderer Bryan Kohberger, 30, famously tried to invoke a similar defense strategy initially, but the move was rejected by the judge. Kohberger's defense team pointed fingers at four people, whose identities were not revealed - three of them were 'socially connected' to the victims and a fourth had a 'passing connection.' 'Namely, the evidence is entirely irrelevant,' Judge Steven Hippler said in his ruling against the defense strategy, adding there was not a 'scintilla of competent evidence connecting them to the crime.' Kohberger eventually pleaded guilty in a deal with prosecutors and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole earlier this week. In the Suzanne Morphew case, her husband was arrested on June 20 in Arizona after being newly indicted for his wife's killing. His arrest came three years after the initial case against him was dropped because of prosecutorial issues with evidence. Suzanne's remains were discovered accidentally as authorities were searching for another missing woman a year after prosecutors dropped their initial prosecution of Morphew. Barry Morphew has maintained his innocence since his wife disappeared. The mystery surrounding Suzanne Morphew began when the 49-year-old mother of two daughters was reported missing on Mother's Day 2020. Her mountain bike and helmet were found in separate spots not far from her home, but investigators suspected the bike was purposefully thrown into a ravine because there were no indications of a crash. A week after his wife went missing, Morphew posted a video on Facebook pleading for her safe return and the case quickly drew attention. In May 2021, prosecutors charged him with murder. They subsequently dropped the case in 2022 just as Morphew was about to stand trial. A judge had barred prosecutors from calling key witnesses after the attorneys repeatedly failed to follow rules for turning over evidence in Morphew's favor. The latest case is being prosecuted by a different prosecutor in a separate judicial district where Suzanne's remains were found, a rural area about 40 miles south of the Morphews' home. Investigators found at the site a port through which Suzanne Morphew could receive medicine to treat follicular lymphoma, a type of blood cancer that she had. They also found biking clothes similar to what she was known to wear. Based on the condition of the remains and clothes, a forensic anthropologist theorized that the body likely decomposed elsewhere before being moved to the site, according to Morphew's new indictment. Suzanne was reported missing by her neighbor on Mother's Day 2020 after her daughters 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 Morphew killed her. Morphew and Suzanne were alone at their home at the time of the disappearance. On May 6, Suzanne texted her husband 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.' Suzanne had been having an affair with an old school friend called Jeff Libler. Morphew 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 by that point. Murphew is next in court on September 2.
Fox News
25-07-2025
- Fox News
Barry Morphew may use mystery DNA for defense in wife's murder: former prosecutor
A former deputy district attorney believes Barry Morphew will try and use an "alternate suspect" defense after being charged with his wife's murder. Morphew was indicted by a grand jury in Colorado on charges of murder in the first degree June 20 after the Mother's Day 2020 disappearance of his wife, Suzanne Morphew, the mother of two daughters. Barry Morphew was arrested in Goodyear, Arizona, almost 11 hours from where his wife went missing and was extradited to Colorado June 30. Though Barry Morphew was first charged with the murder of his wife in 2021, those charges were later dropped because of prosecutorial misconduct. Suzanne Morphew's body was found in September 2023, and an autopsy determined a deer tranquilizer called "BAM" was found in her bone marrow. BAM stands for the chemicals butorphanol, azaperone and medetomidine. According to prosecutors, Barry Morphew was the only individual with a prescription for the deer tranquilizer within the area of Colorado he had lived in. Prosecutors on July 16 submitted their first witness list, which includes both of Barry Morphew's daughters. Prosecutors aren't required to make everyone on the list testify. Colin McCallin, a Colorado-based lawyer and former deputy district attorney for the 18th Judicial District Attorney's Office in Colorado, told Fox News Digital he thinks Barry Morphew's legal team will try and argue an "alternate suspect" killed Suzanne Morphew. "I would expect the defense to advance any evidence they (have) relating to alternate suspect evidence," McCallin said. McCallin pointed to the fact that an unknown DNA profile was found in Suzanne Morphew's Range Rover after her disappearance, which didn't belong to Barry Morphew. Court documents state that unknown DNA was found in the glove box, among other spots. "You know, one of the things that has always permeated this case is the existence of these unknown DNA profiles that were found on some of the items of evidence that were found, you know, that initially when she went missing, that pointed to maybe someone else being involved in this," McCallin said. "You can't just throw out names and say, that person did it, go get him. So, you know, I do think though that if they have any ability to pin this homicide on someone other than Barry Morphew, they are going to explore those defenses." Bryan Kohberger, convicted of killing four University of Idaho students in November 2022, attempted to invoke an "alternate perpetrator" theory, but Judge Steven Hippler didn't allow it. Court documents referring to the so-called alternate perpetrator in that case were sealed, but Hippler expressed skepticism. McCallin said the case against Barry Morphew is still "very circumstantial," which may hamper prosecutors. "We know that that chemical was found in her body. We know where her body was found. But we really don't know a whole lot more than that. We don't know where the body was moved. We don't know where Suzanne actually died," McCallin said. Barry Morphew's attorney, David Beller, previously told Fox News Digital Morphew "maintains his innocence." "Yet again, the government allows their predetermined conclusion to lead their search for evidence," Beller said. "The case has not changed, and the outcome will not either."
Fox News
24-07-2025
- Fox News
Former Colorado prosecutor believes Barry Morphew will use "alternate suspect" defense
Colin McCallin, a Colorado-based lawyer and former deputy district attorney for the 18th Judicial District Attorney's Office in Colorado, told Fox News Digital he believes Barry Morphew will use an "alternate suspect" defense.
Fox News
13-07-2025
- Fox News
Suzanne Morphew's remains may have been moved twice after being killed, forensic scientist says
Suzanne Morphew's body may have been moved twice after she died, according to a forensic scientist. Barry Morphew was re-indicted by a grand jury in Colorado on a murder charge on June 20 after he allegedly killed his wife, 49-year-old Suzanne Morphew, who vanished on Mother's Day in 2020. The Morphews lived near Salida, Colorado, where Suzanne Morphew was last seen alive. Barry Morphew was arrested near Phoenix, Arizona, on June 20, booking documents show. He was living inside a trailer park located in Cave Creek, Arizona, according to property tax records. Though Suzanne Morphew went missing in 2020, agents with the Colorado Bureau of Investigation found her remains on Sept. 22, 2023. According to prosecutors, a 2024 autopsy report showed a deer tranquilizer called "BAM" was found in her bone marrow, which stands for the chemicals butorphanol, azaperone and medetomidine. Prosecutors said Suzanne Morphew's remains were found "in and around a shallow clandestine grave" in Saguache County, Colorado, a "few hundred feet" off Highway 17. According to the indictment charging Barry Morphew with first-degree murder after deliberation, the clothes on Suzanne Morphew's body "lacked evidence of decomposition." Officials also said a "very small amount" of dried soft tissue was found on the bones, no hair mass was located and there was a lack of animal predation visible on the bones. "All these features would have been expected if this had been the original gravesite where decomposition occurred," a board-certified forensic anthropologist, a botanist and an entomologist told prosecutors. "The forensic anthropologist opined that based on these factors it was unlikely Suzanne decomposed from a fresh body to a skeleton at this location." Peter Valentin, associate professor of forensic science at the University of New Haven, told Fox News Digital the body was moved "at least" one time. "There's certainly every indication that decomposition occurred in a place other than where the body was found," Valentin said. "Now, I've seen that people have said the body's been moved at least twice. And I think that's a reasonable inference. But you can't know that for sure, because that assumes, that makes an assumption, that the body was killed in one location. Transported to a second location where the decomposition occurs, and then brought to the third location where the body is discovered. And I don't think you know that for sure yet. Valentin also said there's an "absence of evidence" suggesting that the clothing Suzanne Morphew's remains were found in is what she decomposed with. Suzanne Morphew's bones were found "significantly bleached," according to the indictment. Valentin said the term "bleached," in this context, refers to how much sun exposure the bones had. In this case, Valentin said the "significantly bleached" bones help support prosecutors' argument that Suzanne Morphew's body was moved. "As part of the decomposition process, so if some bones are bleached and some aren't, you can get a sense of you know how the remains are positioned. If where Suzanne Morphew's remains are found, are in a place that are not exposed to the sun, therefore they couldn't be bleached at the site where they recovered that would be another indicator that she was." Barry Morphew's next court date is Sept. 2.
