Latest news with #Salida
Fox News
06-07-2025
- Fox News
Inside Barry Morphew's secretive life 600 miles away from epicenter of murder investigation into wife's death
CAVE CREEK, Ariz. – Over 600 miles away from Salida, Colorado, where Suzanne Morphew vanished on Mother's Day in 2020, Barry Morphew found an escape from the state where prosecutors initially tried, but failed, to convict him of killing his wife. Barry Morphew was indicted by a grand jury on charges of murder in the first degree after deliberation on June 20 in relation to the death of his wife, 49-year-old Suzanne Morphew, who was also the mother to two daughters. Barry Morphew was arrested in Goodyear, Arizona, almost 11 hours from where his wife went missing. Barry Morphew settled down in Cave Creek, Arizona, after prosecutors dropped murder charges in 2022 relating to his wife's disappearance. The charges were dropped after alleged prosecutorial misconduct and failure to comply with discovery rules, resulting in the judge barring several state witnesses from testifying. One restaurant employee in Cave Creek, Arizona told Fox News Digital he didn't know Barry Morphew by his first name – and thought he was an entirely different person. Charlie Loots, bar manager at Harold's Cave Creek Corral, told Fox News Digital that Barry Morphew went by the name "Bruce." Loots didn't know Barry Morphew's real name until June 20, when news reports began to surface about murder charges relating to Suzanne Morphew's death. "I was shocked that, again, I mean, I was very caught off guard about all of it," Loots said. "I spent, honestly, as soon as I found about it, I spent like two hours reading articles about it. I was like, I was so intrigued, because I was, like, this s--- doesn't happen," he said. Loots said he began seeing Barry Morphew, or Bruce, as he knew the murder suspect, after the Coronavirus pandemic. He said Barry Morphew's go-to drink was beer, often switching between Miller Lite and Coors Light, adding that he was at the bar on June 13, exactly one week before his arrest. Barry Morphew "always was approached by other women" at the bar, Loots said, adding that he would frequently approach other women and flirted with them. Libby Spruill told Fox News Digital she was one of the women Barry Morphew flirted with at Harold's Cave Creek Corral. Spruill said she was at Harold's Cave Creek Corral in March 2024 when he asked if she wanted to dance. "He walked out to me and he said, 'hi.' He's like, 'Do you want to dance?' And I said, 'You're Barry Morphew,'" Spruill said. At the time, according to Spruill, Barry Morphew said "no, no, I think you have the wrong person." A bit later, Spruill said an individual approached them and introduced Barry Morphew as "Lee" from Indiana. According to the June 20 grand jury indictment, Barry Morphew went by the alias "Lee Moore." A local gas station clerk told Fox News Digital he knew Barry Morphew by the name "Lee." Public records indicate Barry Morphew paid property taxes at the Stardust Trailer park and was self-employed. In Colorado, he was a landscaper and independent contractor, but he didn't hold any professional license to do either in Arizona. 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 the use of two aliases is uncommon. "That's weird," McCallin said. "I mean, that certainly is evidence that this is a person who does not want to be known by his true name, maybe even, know, a little reckless with the use of those aliases." "It's clear he did not want to be known by Barry," he said, adding its possible Barry Morphew was trying to live a double life in Cave Creek, Arizona. Prosecutors wrote in a June 20 indictment that the chemicals butorphanol, azaperone and medetomidine were found in Suzanne Morphew's bone marrow. They alleged that Barry Morphew used "BAM" deer tranquilizer to sedate and transport deer on his farm when he lived in Indiana. Barry Morphew was also the only person with a prescription for the deer tranquilizer within the area of the state he lived in, prosecutors said. The only two other entities with access to the BAM compound within the surrounding counties were Colorado Parks and Wildlife and the National Park Service, officials said. "Ultimately, the prescription records show that when Suzanne Morphew disappeared, only one private citizen living in that entire area of the state had access to BAM: Barry Morphew," the indictment states. 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." Barry Morphew's lawyer declined to comment.
Daily Mail
02-07-2025
- Daily Mail
Barry Morphew beams in court as he's charged with murdering wife Suzanne - but 'loyal' daughter delivered nasty shock
A wealthy landscaper charged with murdering his wife grinned from ear to ear as he appeared in court. 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 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 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?'
CBS News
25-06-2025
- CBS News
2 drivers arrested near Modesto after alleged street race ends in crash
Two drivers are under arrest after an alleged street race near Modesto ended in a crash Tuesday night. California Highway Patrol Modesto said a Chevy Camaro lost control when turning on Pirrone Road from Stoddard Road, crashing into a nearby orchard. Officers allege the Camaro was racing a Ford Mustang. After the crash, both drivers were arrested and their cars were impounded for 30 days. Scene after the crash. CHP Modesto CHP said the Camaro allegedly had a retractable license plate cover to hide its identity. Police have given no further details on the identities of the racers. The area where the crash happened is about 8 miles north of Modesto, near the community of Salida.
CNN
20-06-2025
- CNN
Husband of Colorado woman Suzanne Morphew re-arrested 3 years after charges were dropped in her 2020 death
The husband of a 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 suspicion of first-degree murder, authorities said. Barry Morphew was arrested Friday in Arizona after a Colorado grand jury returned an indictment. He was first arrested in the death of his wife in May 2021 on suspicion of first-degree murder, tampering with a human body and other offenses. But prosecutors dropped their case against him the following year just as he was about to stand trial. A judge barred prosecutors from calling key witnesses for repeatedly failing to follow rules for turning over evidence in Barry Morphew's favor. That included DNA from an unknown male found in Suzanne Morphew's SUV. At the time, prosecutors said they wanted more time to find her body. Barry Morphew has repeatedly maintained his innocence and previously filed a $15 million lawsuit against county officials, accusing them of violating his constitutional rights. The mystery surrounding Suzanne Morphew began on May 10, 2020, when the 49-year-old mother of two daughters, who lived near the small town of Salida, was reported missing on Mother's Day. Suzanne Morphew's mountain bike and helmet were soon found in separate spots not far from her home but investigators suspected the bike had been purposefully thrown down into a ravine because there were no indications of a crash. A week after she went missing, Barry Morphew posted a video on Facebook pleading for her safe return. 'No questions asked, however much they want, I will do whatever it takes to get you back,' he said. When he was charged, the arrest affidavit laying out investigators' case against him said his wife insisted on leaving him. He later changed his statements as evidence in the case developed. Morphew, an avid hunter, did not initially tell investigators that he went out of his way as he left for work on Mother's Day, driving toward the place where his wife's bicycle helmet was eventually found. Later, he said he went that way because he had seen an elk cross the road, according to his arrest affidavit. After prosecutors dropped the charges against him, Barry Morphew's lawyers announced they had filed a complaint asking that the prosecutors be disciplined for allegedly intentionally withholding evidence in the case. Barry Morphew also filed a $15 million lawsuit against prosecutors and investigators, accusing them of violating his constitutional rights. However, the initial charges against Morphew were dismissed without prejudice, leaving the door open should prosecutors later decide to pursue a case against him again. That happened after Colorado Bureau of Investigation agents stumbled upon Suzanne Morphew's skeletal remains in a shallow grave during an unrelated search near the small southern Colorado town of Moffat in September 2023, about 40 miles south of Barry and Suzanne Morphew's home. An autopsy report released in April 2024 said Morphew's death was a homicide but said she died of 'undetermined means.' A cocktail of drugs that are used to tranquilize wildlife was found in one of her bones but there was no indication of trauma, the report said. A tranquilizer gun and accessories were found in the Morphews' home, according to investigators.
