ALAMOSA, Colo. — Seven years after a Maysville mother of two disappeared, a Colorado man accused of her murder is set to stand trial again after an Alamosa County judge delayed the retrial until July 19, 2027, during a motions hearing Monday.
- Watch News5's coverage of the retrial being set below:
Chaffee County resident Suzanne Morphew, 49, was first reported missing by a neighbor on Mother's Day in 2020. Her remains were found in September of 2023 in a shallow grave in Saguache County.
Her husband, Barry Morphew, faces a first-degree murder charge connected to her death. He has maintained his innocence.
Barry Morphew's retrial was originally scheduled for this year, but defense attorneys requested more time to go through “the mountain of discovery” in the case.
Both defense attorneys and prosecutors, along with Judge Amanda Hopkins, settled on the July date as the new start of what is expected to be a six-week trial.
Scripps News Denver discussed the latest delay in the case with attorney Stephen Longo, who has followed such developments for years.
"I don't think we can fault the judge for granting the continuance. I think her perspective is correct, and that, 'Hey, we're doing this one time, we're doing it the right way this time, and we're going to see it through,'" said Longo about the new trial dates.
He faces a first-degree murder charge connected to the death of his wife Suzanne Morphew after an indictment was issued by a grand jury last summer.
That indictment claims Barry Morphew was the only private citizen, at the time of his wife's disappearance, living in the area with access to a certain tranquilizer that was discovered during Suzanne Morphew's autopsy.
Her death was ruled a homicide after the autopsy, which noted that a powerful mix of sedatives, butorphanol, azaperone and medetomidine, or BAM, was found in her system.
This is the second time Barry Morphew has been charged with his wife's murder. He was arrested roughly a year after Suzanne Morphew disappeared on charges of first-degree murder after deliberation, tampering with physical evidence and an attempt to influence a public servant.
- Watch coverage of the retrial being pushed back below:
In April of 2022, a judge granted the prosecution's request to dismiss the case less than two weeks before his trial was set to begin in Fremont County. The case was dismissed without prejudice, meaning Barry Morphew could be tried again if charges were refiled.
"The case was dismissed voluntarily because the prosecution in the first case had fumbled the ball so poorly that a lot of their experts were not going to be admitted, a lot of the testimony was not going to be admitted due to lack of disclosure," said Longo. "You have to start from scratch. You have to start from a new perspective.”
Barry Morphew was arrested in Arizona in June of last year and is set to stand trial in Alamosa, after a grand jury determined there was probable cause to proceed with the case.
During a motions hearing on Monday, 12th Judicial District Attorney Anne Kelly refuted an idea raised by defense attorneys in a footnote to a filing, suggesting that prosecutors intentionally selected this jurisdiction to obtain a favorable result in the case.
Kelly said the only reason the case is in the 12th Judicial District is that Suzanne Morphew's body was found in their jurisdiction, adding that there was nothing prosecutors did to manufacture a change of venue.
Kelly also pointed to developments since the previous case that was dismissed four years ago.
The most distinct difference is the discovery of Suzanne's remains and the sedatives found in her system, and Kelly said prosecutors subpoenaed records related to BAM to better understand Barry Morphew's access to the drugs.
The DA added that a Morphew family member told investigators she was instructed by Barry Morphew not to discuss problems from within his marriage.
Prosecutors told the court they will likely call an expert witness to testify about the intricacies of domestic violence relationships during the trial, and briefly said there were prior instances of violence between Barry and Suzanne Morphew.
Kelly continued to say that Suzanne Morphew was considering a divorce for at least a year before her murder, and that an expert in domestic violence dynamics could explain to a jury what happens when someone threatens to leave such a relationship.
“At the end of the day, they are alleging that Barry Morphew killed his wife, and setting the stage for that would be something that shows this was a relationship that obviously was not good, and if they have a tendency to show that it fit the pattern where there was prior domestic abuse, that would certainly help carry forward with the jury that Mr. Morphew committed the crime," said Longo.
In addition, defense attorneys will have to alert prosecutors ahead of the trial on who they may claim as an alternative suspect in the case.
"It's always good, in any violent crime, that there is an alternate suspect. Sometimes it's not enough, especially with the amount of evidence and circumstantial evidence, and frankly, how publicized this case is," said Longo about the potential defense strategy. It's a much better story. It's a much better theme to lead the jury along to say 'Not only did he not do it, but here's the person who probably did.'"
Barry Morphew has a status conference scheduled for September 17.
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