ALAMOSA, Colo. (KOAA) — Barry Morphew, the Colorado man accused of killing his wife and burying her in a shallow grave in the San Luis Valley, made his first court appearance Tuesday.
According to our news partners at The Gazette, clad in orange and white jail garb, Morphew smiled at one of his daughters while being led into the courtroom. He was arrested in Arizona after a grand jury indicted him on one count of first-degree murder in the death of his wife, Suzanne Morphew, 49. He waived extradition to Colorado and Tuesday waived the reading of the criminal charge.
The case drew national attention when she vanished from their Chaffee County home in May 2020, sparking a massive search. Despite never finding a body, Morphew, 57, was arrested on suspicion of murder in 2021 but the case was dropped after alleged prosecutorial misconduct.
In subsequent interviews, he and his daughters professed his innocence. But in 2023 human remains were found in rural Saguache County, in the same judicial district as Alamosa, that were identified as Morphew's. According to the grand jury indictment, the bones tested positive for a wildlife tranquilizer for which Morphew had access, and that he is the only person in Colorado with access to it.
Prosecutors further allege he and Suzanne Morphew were in a combative relationship and that his phone was turned off for a long period the day she vanished. Morphew is being held in the Alamosa County jail on $3 million bond.
During Tuesday's hearing, his attorneys said they are not contesting the high bail amount, "but we would like to reserve the opportunity to do so" at the next hearing, said attorney David Beller.
Much of the hearing focused on anticipated heavy media coverage. Amanda Hopkins, 12th Judicial District judge, has issued a strict order heavily governing media coverage of the case.
Television journalists were prohibited from filming anywhere on the courthouse property and were ordered off by sheriff's deputies Tuesday. Hopkins has also banned interviews anywhere on the property and said anybody in the courtroom with a device would have it "confiscated and destroyed."
"People are coming here on the worst day of their lives," she said. "Our community needs to use these hallways for their business and they deserve privacy."
Alamosa is a rural city in southern Colorado with a population of 10,000.
Since Morphew is in custody, the judge determined that he has the right to an attorney appointed by the state, but she said state public defenders have recused themselves because of a conflict of interest.
Prosecutors said they would provide Morphew's attorneys with the grand jury records and a witness list within the next three weeks and were "prepared to go to trial at any time."
Morphew was found to be living in Arizona under the alias Lee Moore at the time of his June 20 arrest.
The next court date is set for Sept. 2.
The Gazette's R. Scott Rappold contributed to this web story.
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