Hours after the announcement that his wife’s remains had been found more than three years after she disappeared, Barry Morphew’s attorney released a statement again proclaiming he had nothing to do with her death.
The Colorado Bureau of Investigation said that the remains of Suzanne Morphew were found during an unrelated search in a remote field in Saguache County on Friday and positively identified on Wednesday, CrimeOnline reported.
The mother of two disappeared on Mother’s Day 2020 after reportedly heading out for a bike ride near her home in Chaffee County, her husband told investigators. The bicycle was discovered down ravine not far away.
After friends told investigators the couple had been arguing over finances — and that Suzanne Morphew had been having an affair and considering leaving her husband — Barry Morphew was charged with her murder.
But the case was dismissed without prejudice in 2022, meaning that it could be reinstated if evidence warrants.
Late Wednesday, his attorney released a statement saying that Morphew and the couple’s two daughters were “struggling with immense shock and grief” and that they had previously “had faith that their wife and mom would walk back into their lives again,” CBS News reported.
“From what we know, Barry is as innocent as he was from Day 1,” Iris Eytan said in her statement. “DA Stanley and law enforcement got it wrong. We hope the authorities will quickly admit their wrongful persecution of Barry, an innocent man, to treat the Morphew’s [sic] like the victims they are, and charge the person or persons responsible for Suzanne’s killing.”
Eytan said Morphew was with his daughters, who have backed him throughout the investigation, and complained that the daughters were not notified that their mother’s remains were found.
Police notified Morphew himself, as his wife’s listed next of kin, and her sister.
Investigators have not provided details of the discover, including an exact location and the condition of the remains, which were sent to the El Paso County Coroner for an autopsy and identification. Saguache County Coroner Tom Perrin, who retrieved the remains, said they were found scattered about a remote desert field of sagebrush and grasses and had apparently been buried in a shallow grave.
Sources said that the location was about 30 or 40 minutes from the Morphews’ Chaffee County home.
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[Featured image: Suzanne Morphew/Facebook]
