ALAMOSA COUNTY, Colo. — Barry Morphew, who was arrested earlier this month in Arizona after he was indicted for murder in the wake of his wife's May 2020 death, has been extradited to Colorado and is currently in jail.
Scripps News Denver confirmed with the Alamosa County Sheriff’s Office that Barry Morphew, 57, was moved from Arizona to Colorado on Monday morning. As of 1:30 p.m., he was in the booking process at the Alamosa County Jail.
Suzanne Morphew
Suzanne Morphew case: Grand jury indicts husband Barry Morphew for murder
He is set to stand trial in the county, but a date has not yet been set. He is expected to make a first appearance in court on Tuesday at 1:30 p.m., according to the court.
Barry Morphew was taken into custody in Maricopa County, Arizona on June 20 on a charge of first-degree murder.
His wife, Suzanne Morphew, disappeared on Mother's Day in 2020 after leaving her home for a bike ride in the Salida area. Almost a year afterward, Barry Morphew was arrested on May 5, 2021 on multiple charges, including first-degree murder.
He pleaded not guilty to the charges and that summer, Scripps News Denver listened into the four-day preliminary hearing.
In April 2022, two weeks before his trial was set to begin, the prosecution filed a motion asking the court to dismiss the charges without prejudice, meaning Barry can be tried again if prosecutors refile charges — and a Fremont County judge granted the motion.
About 17 months later in September 2023, Suzanne Morphew’s body was found in a shallow grave in a Saguache County field during an unrelated investigation into another missing woman, whose remains were found just a few days ago.
Suzanne Morphew's death was ruled a homicide after an autopsy, which noted that a powerful mix of sedatives — butorphanol, azaperone and medetomidine, or BAM — was found in her system.
Records from Barry Morphew's 2025 indictment revealed that BAM is only available by veterinarian prescription, and that only Barry Morphew, along with Colorado Parks and Wildlife and the National Parks Service, had been issued prescriptions of the sedative in the years leading up to Suzanne Morphew's disappearance.
The indictment also detailed evidence that suggested Suzanne Morphew's body did not decompose in the shallow grave where she was found in Saguache County, as there was minimal bug activity or "animal predation" on the remains and a lack of decomposition in her clothing.
About 21 months after her body was discovered, Barry Morphew was indicted for murder in connection with his wife's death. The indictment, filed by a 12th Judicial grand jury, came more than three years after the first murder case against him was dismissed.
Following the indictment, 12th Judicial District Attorney Anne Kelly held a press conference, where few new details in the case were revealed, but she shared that she felt it was important to hold the briefing to update the community.
“Cold case homicides are tremendously difficult," she said. "They're difficult for the families of the victims and the communities who wait patiently for answers. While it may seem at times that the world forgets about these victims, I can assure you that my law enforcement partners and Colorado's law enforcement community do not forget. Every unsolved murder is a tragedy, and we must never give up on our efforts to find answers in these cases.”
She thanked the Boulder County District Attorney's Office, which sent resources to the rural 12th judicial district to aid in the investigation.
“As prosecutors in Colorado and law enforcement in Colorado, we are very dedicated to making sure that we don't forget the victims of cold case homicides, but we also understand that it is so important to make sure that we have done everything we can to bring a case to court, and we are proud of the work that we've done," Kelly said.
Previously, Barry Morphew filed a malicious prosecution lawsuit in May 2023 — which was dismissed in September 2024 — against Chaffee County, its sheriff’s department, then-District Attorney Linda Stanley and local and state investigators. He sought $15 million in damages. A federal judge ultimately said prosecutors acted badly in his case, but authorities still had enough evidence to arrest and charge him, according to The Associated Press.
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