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Hello, everyone, and welcome back to True Crime with Kendall Ray. I am so happy to have you here with me today to discuss yet another case. And if you are new, then welcome. Be sure to click subscribe. So today we're going to be looking at a case that I have previously covered back in June of 2021. And it's a case that I've been working on for a long time.
It's a Colorado case that I have been following for a long time. I'm sure many of you are following it as well. It has gotten quite a bit of publicity and so much has happened. We have learned so much more since I last talked about it. And there was a massive,
major discovery in the case recently, which I will be going over today. I do want to mention that last time we talked about this case, Barry Morphew had just been arrested and charged with first degree murder among a handful of other charges. But since then, the charges were dropped without prejudice, which does mean they can be refiled at any time.
And I say all this because while many, many people believe he is guilty, and I certainly have some opinions of my own, I have to be very clear that Barry Morphew has not been convicted of any crime or crimes associated with his wife's death. And despite the evidence that has been found against him, at this point, Barry Morphew is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
Before we jump in, though, I do have a quick announcement. I am really excited to let you all know that we have now raised over $235,000 for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Thank you to all of you who have helped support our campaign. We have very, very limited stock left of our crimson red crew neck, our purple long sleeve, and our teal t-shirt. So if you would like to grab any of those, do so before they're gone. But I am excited
Excited today because I am launching a new NECMEC item and I'm so excited for this one. We haven't done a hoodie yet for any of our NECMEC merch, unless I'm forgetting something, but I'm pretty sure we've never done this. I love NECMEC.
this color combo this hoodie is so so comfortable it's coming out just in time for winter i'm really stoked because it has a new print placement that we haven't done yet the neck mech logo is on the back this time it's just so cute and it's available to order now on my merch shop which is now kendallray.shop we had a little change of website location there and as always 100 of proceeds from this collection go directly to the national center for missing and exploited
children. It might be a great gift when the holiday is coming up or, you know, treat yourself while giving back at the same time. It's truly a great deal for everyone. And really, really quick before we start, I wanted to mention another program of NeckMex. I have been trying to raise awareness about all the different things they do because many people don't know the scope of their work and
And one program I wanted to highlight is Safe to Compete. It's a national initiative between It's a Penalty and NACMEC to prevent abuse, exploitation, and trafficking of young children as they learn to compete in youth sports. This program seeks to equip coaches and parents with the tools needed to create a safe environment in sports where boundary violations of any sort are not tolerated and where child safety and respect are top priorities.
The program has a ton of resources, so if you're interested, check it out at safetocompete.org. But let's go ahead and jump into this case and go over all the new information we have learned since I last covered it in 2021. For those of you who aren't familiar with the case, I'm going to start with a brief background.
So let's talk about Suzanne. She was born on April 30th, 1971 to her parents, Jean and Adrian in Alexandria, Indiana. She had one sister, Melinda, and two brothers, David and Andrew, and the relationship between their family was a good one. And her loved ones described Suzanne as a considerate, thoughtful, amazing person who was an incredible friend.
In 1988, while in high school, Suzanne met Barry Morphew, and after six years of dating, the two of them got married and started what they hoped would be a long life together. Barry started a career in baseball after being drafted to the Toronto Blue Jays, and Suzanne pursued a degree in education at Purdue University.
But Barry ended up getting injured, and so his baseball career ended before it even really started, and instead he pursued a degree in horticulture. And after Suzanne graduated, she spent four years working as a teacher, and during that time, Barry started his own landscaping company. Together, they have two daughters, Mallory and Macy, and their life in Indiana was, for the most part, a good one. That is, until Suzanne was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma.
And if there's one thing that you should know about Suzanne, it's that she was a fighter and she was not going to let cancer stop her. And it didn't. Suzanne beat cancer not once, but twice in her life. And her determination and strength is something that I really admire about her.
But now I want to jump forward to 2018, which was a very pivotal year for Suzanne and Barry. That's the year they made the decision to move from Indiana to Colorado, specifically Maysville, Colorado. And the main reason they did that was to be closer to their daughter, Mallory, who was going to school at Western State University in Gunnison. And they were really excited about it because not only would they be closer to their daughter, but they were also moving to a high
And that's something that Barry was very passionate about. And they ended up moving to a beautiful seven acre property on Puma Path. And honestly, if you were looking at them from the outside, you would probably assume that their lives were perfect.
Barry had two landscaping jobs, one for a business he owned and another as a subcontractor. And he also worked as a volunteer firefighter. And as for Suzanne, she was a stay-at-home mom. And with having so much free time on her hands, she became super active in their local church. She also took up an interest in mountain biking, which quickly became part of her weekly routine. And like I said on the outside, it really looked like they had it all. But
that could not be further from the truth. The truth was Suzanne and Barry's marriage had been rocky for a long time. Macy, their youngest daughter and several close friends of Suzanne, would say that she was miserable in her marriage and wanted to find a way out.
She even told one friend that she was fearful of what her husband was capable of and was afraid to be alone with him. And in May of 2020, after years of trying to keep it together, she finally got the courage to tell Barry that she was done. And on May 6th, just four days before she was reported missing, she texted him at 10.13 a.m. saying, I'm done,
I could care less about what you're up to and have been for years. We just need to figure this out civilly. And in response to that text, Barry said, I promise you, you are wrong about all the crazy thoughts about me. Why would I ever want another? Only a fool would stray away from an angel like you. When I'm dead, which won't be long...
He also mentions in another message going to see his savior. And as you can imagine, many people believe that Barry here is talking about taking his own life. And sure, talking about his life ending is very different than talking about her life ending. But I think it's important to note that Barry is talking about taking his own life.
And it kind of gives you a glimpse into his mindset at this time. And it was ultimately these messages and many other messages on her phone that gave investigators an inside look at
at their relationship. And it would also help them understand what was going on in the Morphew's lives in the days leading up to Suzanne's disappearance. So that brings us to Mother's Day, Sunday, May 10th. And it was going to look a little different for their family because instead of waking up together and spending the day together, the girls were going to be on a camping trip. And Barry was also going to be gone that day for what he said was a visit to a landscaping job site up in Broomfield, which
is a three-hour drive north of their home. But all three of them were planning to come home that evening to spend time together for Mother's Day. However, that never happened. That evening, the girls couldn't get a hold of their mother and they started to get concerned. So they reached out to their neighbor, a man named Martin Ritter, and asked if he or his wife would stop by the house to check and see if she was home.
So Martin's wife, Jean, went over to the Morphew house between 4 and 4.30 p.m., but there was no sign of Suzanne. So she called Barry. She explained the situation, and they decided that she should go back to the house and see if Suzanne's mountain bike was there.
He tells her that if she goes over there and she doesn't see Suzanne or the bike, that she should call 911. And that's exactly what she did. She goes over there, no sign of Suzanne, no sign of the mountain bike. So she and Martin decide to call 911 and report her missing. And with this news, Barry gets in his truck, taking his sweet time, I might say, and heads back home.
And by the time he returned home, there was already a major discovery, Suzanne's mountain bike. Suzanne's bike was found by two sheriff deputies off a steep ravine not too far from the Morphe's home. But the thing is, finding her bike only led them to more questions. And I mean, the assumption by this point was that maybe she had gotten lost or gotten into some type of accident. So when investigators found that bike and there was no indication at
all that it had been involved in any sort of accident or crash. They were left wondering how it got there and why. In fact, there was no damage to the bike. There was no skid marks indicating that she had tried to break. There was no blood. Even the vegetation surrounding the bike was perfectly intact.
And think about it. If Suzanne had fallen over the side of the ravine, the brush would have matted down at the absolute least to indicate that a person had stepped or fallen there. But no, it was clear to investigators that the bike had never been in an accident at all, that it was simply tossed down there by someone. And that's basically what deputies told Barry when he got home. And this was his reaction. Is it a crash?
I mean the bike looked the way it was laying it kind of looked like it but there's not really that much damage to the bike. Now if you're familiar with this case you know that this whole mountain lion took my wife story is something that Barry started telling people.
Even though there was no proof of this or anything to suggest that she had been attacked by an animal, Barry was telling certain people that that's what happened. In one instance, a YouTuber named Tyson Drapper secretly recorded a conversation that he had with Barry where Barry suggested his wife had been attacked by a wild animal and hauled off somewhere they couldn't find her. The first night there was a mountain lion attack.
The officer seen it walk by the car, so we thought maybe she got attacked by a lion. My concerns were this way and that way, if it was the cat, because the cats, they drag their prey up the mountain and out of people's...
We can't find sign for the cat, but we got rain right away. Could have washed away sign. And while Barry is just going off and talking about his theories of what happened in those early days, investigators were actually trying to get to the bottom of it by searching for her. Because after finding her purse,
her wallet, and other personal belongings, it was clear that she did not leave on her own free will. And for as much as Barry suggested that he was involved in the searches for his wife, it's been reported that he did not join in on many of the search efforts put on to locate her, not even those put on by Suzanne's own brother. ♪
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Dozens of volunteers combing the Colorado hills and countryside for Suzanne Morphew. The 49-year-old has been missing for more than four months. Her husband, Barry, told investigators that his wife went for a Mother's Day bike ride and never returned. The bike was found down a hillside off a trail, but there was no sign of Suzanne.
And we're going to fan out and we're going to work that area very carefully. Andy Mormon, Suzanne's older brother, is leading the search. Work does the heart good, and this is work. So in a way, I feel like I'm moving forward and not sitting still. Andy doesn't believe Suzanne's husband Barry's story about a bike ride. I'm nearly certain she never got on the bicycle.
I honestly believe she was taken the night before Mother's Day. - Barry Morphew is not accused of any wrongdoing by investigators, but his behavior is raising questions. Though he was invited to join Moorman and the searchers, he's not helping look for Suzanne. Here's what Moorman told two retired detectives about an encounter with his brother-in-law during the search. - I was Barry. He was up there hanging trail cameras with a shotgun on his shoulder. - And what did he say?
He wasn't cross, but he said, you know, you're about to go on private property and you're not allowed. Now, I do want to get more into the early search efforts that took place. But before I do that, I want to go over Barry's alibi and what he told investigators he was doing leading up to his wife's disappearance. And more importantly, I want to share how his story changed everything.
after he was presented with the information that conflicted with his original version of events. So according to Barry's first interviews with investigators, he had set his alarm for 4.30 a.m. on May 10th, and that's when he says he woke up
showered and got ready for work. He claims to have left the house by 5 a.m. and headed to Broomfield to, quote, lay eyes on a construction site for a project that he had coming up that week. And Barry says he drove there without taking anything
any detours. And when he was asked about Suzanne, he said that she was still sleeping when he left, and he even gave a brief description of what she had wore to bed that night. But like I said, Barry's story changed when he was presented with new information. Even though he first very clearly said that he had set an alarm for 4.30 that morning, he changed his story and said that he had just woken up naturally at 4.30 and that he had never set his alarm at all.
And he also changed his mind about seeing Suzanne that morning. In later interviews, he said that he didn't see her in bed at all, and he no longer could give a description of what she was wearing. Instead, now he was telling them that all he had seen was a lump of covers.
But the biggest and most important discrepancy in his story was when he said he left the house and headed straight to Broomfield. That just isn't true. And we know this because the telematic data from his Ford F-350 showed that Barry's car actually drove about a mile west in the
opposite direction he needed to drive to get to Broomfield before he turned around and drove north towards Broomfield. And what makes this very significant is on May 13th, investigators found Suzanne's bike helmet. And guess where they found it? It was about a mile west
of the Morphew's home. And when Barry was presented with the undeniable data that his car had been in the same area where his wife's bike helmet was found on the morning she went missing, well, of course, he changed his story. He suddenly has this moment of clarity where he remembers that, oh, wait, I didn't go straight to Broomfield. I instead...
saw a herd of elk and decided to follow them because as I mentioned, Barry was an avid hunter. And not only that, sometimes this guy illegally tranquilized elk so that he could steal their antlers and sell them. And so he wanted to see which way they were going.
And something else to note when he tells this version of events, he says that he saw the elk at 4.30 a.m., which doesn't make sense considering he said he set his alarm and woke up at 4.30. But also, he later on said that he didn't set his alarm for 4.30. So, I don't know, just...
Take that for what you will. And then in those initial interviews, Barry was asked about the days leading up to Suzanne's disappearance. You know, the normal stuff you would want to know from the person who had last seen her, what they did, how she was acting, things like that. And Barry says that on the 9th, he was in Salida working with a coworker on a project they had to finish up. And then he came home in the early afternoon to spend time with his wife. He said that once he was home, the two of them went for a hike. They grilled out some steaks. They had sex.
and they went to bed around 8 p.m. And he said it was one of the best nights they had together in a while. And at no point in these early interviews does he ever mention anything about hunting. Just keep that in mind. And another important thing to note is in these early interviews, he never once mentions anything about either of them leaving the residence.
after they had gone to bed. But again, telematic data from both his phone and his car indicate that that was far from the truth. Now, for the sake of time, I'm not gonna go through this data minute by minute, or we would be sitting here a very long time, but I'm gonna go over what the most important findings were.
First of all, around 9.30 p.m. on the 9th, which is about an hour after Barry claimed he had gone to sleep, his car was registered being put into reverse and moving 96 feet backwards, indicating that it had backed up to the end of the driveway. And so investigators believe that this is possibly, if he's guilty, when he would have loaded Suzanne's body into his truck.
And in addition to that, data points show that between 3.25 a.m. and 3.48 a.m., his truck doors were open and closed more than 80 times. And his phone was registered at 210 locations near the house that night. And when compared to data from the previous eight nights, his phone only registered at 022.
locations. So that shows us that his phone movements were significantly different that night compared to the previous eight. And keep in mind, once again, that during this time frame, he said he was asleep.
And speaking of his phone, I want to get into some data that was found from the day before because there's a lot to be said about it. Between 2.42 and 2.44 on the 9th, Barry's phone showed a strange pattern of movement on his property. And when he was asked what he had to say about this, Barry said that he was probably chasing and hunting chipmunks on his property. Chipmunks.
And at no point in his previous stories does he mention chipmunks. So this is just another instance of him changing stories because of new evidence. And what's also interesting about his phone data from that day is he had put his phone into airplane mode at 2.47 p.m., just 3.
Three minutes after he was allegedly chasing the chipmunks. And it was left in airplane mode until 10.17 p.m., which is hours after he said he had already gone to bed. And it's this time frame and these data points and Barry's ever-changing stories that have led many people, including investigators, to believe that this is when Suzanne lost her life and efforts were being taken to cover it up. Even the thing Barry said about them grilling steaks that night was questioned when they found only one chipmunk
dish in the dishwasher. And to explain this, at one point, Barry says, oh, well, I guess I hand washed my dish and put it away. And then at another point, he said the two of them just shared one plate. And the weirdness and changes in his story don't stop there, because then Barry starts changing what he had to say about what he did in Broomfield that day. Of
According to his initial interviews with investigators, Barry said that while he was in Broomfield, the only two places he went were the job site and the Holiday Inn, where he booked a room to get some rest. Besides that, he says he didn't go anywhere or do anything else. That is, with the exception of buying a granola bar and stopping at McDonald's, where he says he cleaned his windshield.
But of course, that wasn't the full truth. Surveillance footage collected by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation indicates that Barry made several movements that day and withheld critical information. It turns out that day Barry made several detours, so to speak, where he can be seen on camera carrying bags of trash and disposing them into different dumpsters. Five different dumpsters. Five. ♪
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That same day, Barry Morphew was spotted on surveillance cameras in Broomfield making at least five trips to garbage cans near a McDonald's and a hotel. And when he was confronted with this information, Barry said, Oh, yes, I did take out some trash, but it's it's not what you think. Instead, he says that he's just cheap.
and that his car was messy and he wanted to take some trash out of it, but didn't want to pay for extra trash removal at his house. And maybe this is just me, but if you're going to clean out your car, I can't imagine you would need to use more than one, maybe two dumpsters to empty out the crap in your car, right? It seems incredibly weird for him to go too far.
dumpsters just to clear crap out of his car. But let's just say that he really did clean out the trash from his messy car. Well, that doesn't make a whole lot of sense because when investigators looked at his car, it was still messy and filled with trash. And that's not the only weird thing. Barry was wearing different outfits throughout the day each time he was recorded dumping trash. And it gets even
Even more suspicious from there because it turns out that Barry's hotel room, the one at the Holiday Inn, reeked of chlorine and bleach when he left it. When Barry left Broomfield to go home and search for his missing wife, he told his co-worker that he could use the hotel room that he had gotten that night. And when this person got to the room, the first thing they noticed was that it smelled like cleaning solution.
And Barry had an explanation for that, of course. He said that the hotel had just cleaned their pool, and that's why the whole place smelled. But that was quickly disproven because this was during the pandemic. COVID was raging at this time, and the pool hadn't been opened or cleaned yet.
So early on in Suzanne's disappearance, Barry was asked about their marriage, of course. And without hesitating, he said that everything was great between them. But of course, we know that this is a lie. I mean, when his own daughter was interviewed, she made it clear that things hadn't been great between her parents. And there were those text messages on Suzanne's phone that proved this. In the weeks leading up to her disappearance, Suzanne was sending text message after text message about the current state of her marriage. And it was a lie.
It wasn't that they were happy or in love. And I'm going to read some of these messages for you. He is not going to be rational. Did something happen yesterday that brought this on? Or is it just the everyday normal that is building up and wearing you down? Suzanne replies to this person and says, money stuff.
It's sketchy. They say, was he planning on going with Mallory or was that just a snag at getting someone on his side? To which she says, I need to ask your opinion on it. He also asked me if I'm talking to anyone about our marriage, like friends. Her friend says, make sure he doesn't see your phone. You keep it with you? She says, yes. The friend says, when will he be home? She says, probably late. And then at 7.54 PM, she says, ugh,
He came home when the girls are gone. He won't speak of divorce. Begging for another chance. I'm so torn. But in my heart, I know who he is. Her friend says, Isn't that what he always says? How long can you keep forgiving him? This was convenient timing too. And she says, That's what I told him. He threw the 70 by 7 at me. Always using scripture when it's convenient. In one message, she even told her friend that she was afraid to be alone with him. And it wasn't just text that investigators found.
Suzanne also wrote detailed messages in the Notes app on her phone where she outlined grievances that she had with her husband, and there were upwards of 50 mentioned, but here's just a few of them. And
And again, this is just a fraction of what Suzanne had to say. And it would later be these texts and notes that prosecutors used to prove Suzanne wanted out of this marriage. And her getting out of the marriage is what many people believe could have been the motive behind
Well, that and the fact that she was having an affair. Let me explain. On May 20th, 10 days after Suzanne was reported missing, investigators conducted a search of the Morphew home. And during the search, investigators found a spy pen, which they later learned Suzanne got to try and catch her husband in the act of having an affair.
And well, a few months later, when investigators got the audio from that pen, they learned that it was Suzanne who was having an affair. And it took investigators several months to locate him, but they eventually learned that Suzanne's boyfriend was a man named Jeff, a man that she had known since high school. Their affair began in 2018 after Suzanne had moved to Colorado, and their long-distance relationship lasted for about a year and a half.
And while Jeff might sound like an obvious suspect in her disappearance, police were able to quickly clear him of any involvement. But still, it was a major discovery because if investigators could prove that Barry knew about the affair, it would point to a very strong motive. And investigators think they can prove that Barry knew about the affair because just two seconds
Days before Suzanne went missing, a note was made in her phone that Barry accused her of having a boyfriend. Could it just be a coincidence that Barry accuses her of having an affair and then she turns up missing two days later? And quickly before I move on, I do want to make a note of this because I think it's interesting. On that spy pen, investigators were able to find out that Barry had been listening to a few episodes of Forensic Forensics.
files while driving. And some of the cases covered in those episodes have some striking similarities to Suzanne's. But anyway, this isn't necessarily proof of anything. I just thought it was interesting to know. And of course, all of you are listening to true crime right now and doesn't make any of you killers. Now, as for the other findings inside the Morphew's home, investigators found a few things in a search on July 9th and 10th that gave them a picture of what they believe could have happened to Suzanne.
In this search, investigators found the cap to a tranquilizer dart inside their family's dryer. And while Barry first said he didn't know how it got there, he later said that he frequently used a tranquilizer gun to shoot bucks and take and sell their antlers.
Most recently, he said that he had used the tranquilizer gun to shoot two bucks in April so that he could take their antlers. But investigators noted that they weren't able to find these antlers anywhere and that it's highly unlikely any bucks even had antlers because April is the month where they start to grow. So what else?
could be an explanation for this dark cap. Well, based on the obscure movements that we know Barry took between 242 and 244, and the fact that his phone was put into airplane mode at 247, and the fact that Suzanne's communication with the world completely stopped shortly before this, investigators suggest that he was chasing his wife down and used the tranquilizer to sedate her or kill her. And also, investigators found a spent phone
bullet casing in their bedroom. Their doorframe appeared to be slightly broken and remnants of what they believed to be Suzanne's journal were found in
in the fireplace, which drives me nuts thinking of what she could have written that we will never know. And while all these things I'm talking about aren't necessarily proof of everything, I think they paint quite a picture. And that is a picture, in my opinion, of what happened to Suzanne Morphew on May 9th, not May 10th, as Barry said. Because reality is,
that her activity or the lack thereof suggests that whatever happened to her likely happened the day before she was reported missing. And let's get into how her phone data supports this. Suzanne's phone data shows that she and her boyfriend communicated 59 times on May 9th, with the last being a selfie sent to his LinkedIn at 2.03 p.m. and a message saying, I'm on my walk.
Which, you know, she probably meant way. And that was sent at 2.11 p.m. And after this, her phone was never used again. Now, what's very strange about this, besides the obvious, is that Suzanne used her phone pretty regularly. And that day, she was waiting for a text from her best friend to see photos from her friend's daughter's wedding. And when those pictures were sent to her...
She never replied, which was weird because she was so excited to get them. And so that leaves many people believing, and this is just one of the many reasons people believe this, that whatever happened to her happened on Saturday, not Sunday. I mean, she literally has no phone data at all after texting Jeff at 2.11 p.m. So for her to have been abducted or something happens to her on Sunday, that's...
That would mean that she didn't pick up her phone at all, all of Saturday night and all of Sunday morning leading up to her bike ride. And on Sunday morning, her daughters texted her wishing her a happy Mother's Day. She also never replied to them. So does that mean she's just ignoring all these people, her friend who sends her these wedding photos and her own children?
And according to Barry, that's exactly what happened. In several interviews, he's talked about that night they had together, grilling steaks, having sex, having this wonderful night together, and that what they were doing didn't constitute
Suzanne using her phone, which is strange considering his recollection of that night changed a lot. In one interview, he says that he is not sure if she was drinking or not. Then he says she definitely wasn't drinking that night. And then in another statement, he says that she was drinking all day and had a severe drinking and drug problem. So which is it, Barry? If he can't remember basic details like that, then how is he going to remember if she was on her phone or not that night?
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So early on, less than two weeks after Suzanne disappeared, the FBI, CBI, and the Chaffey County Sheriff's Office conducted a search in Salida, which is 12 miles away from their house at one of Barry's job sites. They conducted this search after a local resident reported that they heard the sound of heavy machinery being operated in that area very late at night on May 9th.
Two excavations were performed over the course of two days. However, no evidence was found. But even though the search turned up no new leads, it was one of the first indications to the public that Barry might be a suspect. But Barry, who maintained his innocence from day one, was very steadfast that he had nothing to do with his wife's disappearance. And he even made a little video for everyone. I would love to hear your thoughts on that video.
Oh, Suzanne, if anyone is out there that can hear this, that has you, please, we'll do whatever it takes to bring you back. We love you. We miss you. Your girls need you. No questions asked. However much they want, I will do whatever it takes to get you back. Honey, I love you. I want you back so bad.
But anyway, the last thing that I want to share about the investigation is about what canine dogs alerted to on the Morphew property. This happened during a search on May 23rd, 2020. Three canine units individually alerted on top of a trailer in the family's driveway. One of those canines also alerted inside Barry's Bobcat, which is just a piece of heavy machinery right on the driver's seat. And in this same search, one deputy also noted that the co-defendants
cutting blade on the bobcat had been newly replaced. And while these details are interesting and certainly could have been incriminating, I bring them up to let you know that neither pieces of machinery were found to be involved in Suzanne's disappearance. And of course, it was actually the fact that they were found to have not been involved in her disappearance that gave his defense team something to hold on to.
Because on May 5th, 2021, Barry was arrested and charged with first degree murder of his wife. He was also charged with tampering with physical evidence, possession of a dangerous weapon, and attempting to influence a public servant. And he would also be charged later on with filing a fraudulent election ballot in Suzanne's name and had her vote for Donald Trump. And he said he just didn't know that that was wrong and that, quote, Trump could use an extra vote.
So, he pled guilty to that charge and paid a $600 fine. LISA DESJARDINS: Breaking news this afternoon. The husband of missing Chaffey County woman Suzanne Morphew has been arrested and charged with her murder. Barry Morphew's arrest comes just shy of one year since Suzanne's disappearance. Suzanne Morphew went missing on Mother's Day of last year, when she went out for a bike ride and never returned. Days after she disappeared, Barry Morphew issued a plea to the public, saying he would do anything to bring her back.
Now he's charged with first-degree murder after deliberation, tampering with physical evidence, and attempting to influence a public servant. But Barry's arrest was the result of thousands of hours of work from more than 70 investigators brought in from the CBI, the FBI, and the Chaffee County Sheriff's Office. They executed more than 135 search warrants, interviewed more than 400 people, and went through more than 1,400 tests.
And this amount of effort has made many people confident in law enforcement's decision to arrest Barry, and that includes Suzanne's sister, Melinda. News Tonight at 10, we are hearing from Suzanne Morphew's sister, one day after Suzanne's husband, Barry, was arrested and charged with murder.
Linda Moorman lives in Tennessee. And just in the last few hours, she sat down with ABC News saying Barry Morphew isn't the type of guy who likes to lose his freedom. But she says he now has time to think. She's hoping he confesses. So Barry Morphew has the full weight of the authorities and the law coming against him. And if he has any kind of sense at all and he loves his girls at all, I hope he'll do the right thing and confess.
and save us all more heartache, and his self included and his own family included. So in August of 2021, a preliminary hearing was held over the course of four days where both the prosecution and the defense could make their arguments over whether or not there was enough evidence to proceed with a trial. And it was also during this hearing that it would be decided if Barry would be granted bail.
Now, something that I think is important to clarify here is that it wasn't until this hearing that the public learned about most of the evidence in this case. Everything that I just went over about the dumpsters, about the tranquilizer dart, about him changing his story constantly, everything that I just went over about the dumpsters, about the tranquilizer dart,
Yeah, that all hadn't come out yet. I mean, just looking back at my previous coverage on this, it's shocking how much we didn't know at that point. The arrest affidavit was completely sealed and stayed completely sealed until September 20th, a month after the hearing took place. And that's what made this preliminary hearing such a big deal to people following this case. It was the first time that people really learned about the investigation and what had been uncovered. Back when I covered this case,
we didn't even know that Barry had no reason to be in Broomfield that day for work. After investigators spoke with his co-workers, co-workers who Barry told to go up to Broomfield that day, they learned that this project wasn't set to begin until the following week. And...
Not to mention, Barry didn't bring any of the necessary materials that they would need if they were going to start working that day besides what appeared to be a few shovels. So did he just tell them to meet him there so that he had a more solid alibi? Investigators think yes. Now, during the first two days of this hearing, prosecutors spent that time laying out everything that they knew regarding the hours and days leading up to Suzanne's disappearance. They painted a picture of a failing marriage picture
an abusive husband, and a wife desperately trying to leave him. Their text messages were put on display to show the judge how unhappy and scared Suzanne was of her husband. And some of these text messages, might I add, Barry had deleted from his phone. Over the course of the hearing, prosecutors went piece by piece over all the evidence that
attempting to show that a trial was absolutely necessary. Many people testified, including individuals from Chafee County Sheriff's Office, the CBI, and FBI. But this wasn't just a hearing for prosecutors. Barry's defense team, of course, also pointed to evidence that they believe proved he is not responsible for his wife's disappearance and at the
time, presumed death. For example, they brought up the fact that Barry's hotel room in Broomfield was said to have smelled like chlorine and bleach. But they pointed out that when cadaver dogs were brought in to search the room for any signs of remains, nothing was found. And these dogs also didn't detect remains in Barry's truck. They also brought up the fact that Barry's dart gun was apparently broken at the time of his wife's disappearance, suggesting that he couldn't have used it against her. And not just that.
They also suggested that investigators planted the dark gun cap in the dryer because when the dryer had been photographed for the first time, they say that no cap was found. And the biggest piece of evidence that the defense had on their side was the fact that foreign DNA was found on Suzanne's bike helmet, her bike, and the glove box of her Range Rover. Yep.
Investigators found partial DNA on all of these items, and none of it matched Barry. And I do want to clarify that DNA on her bike and helmet was different from the DNA found inside of her car. And it's the car DNA that is the primary focus. Because after they ran it through CODIS, investigators matched the DNA to three unsolved sexual assault investigations from Arizona and Chicago. And this was huge.
huge for the defense because someone else's DNA, especially someone with a criminal record, means they have reasonable doubt and pretty good reasonable doubt if you ask me. But it's not just the presence of this DNA that matters. During the preliminary hearing, the CBI agent who collected the DNA admitted under oath that he never followed up on any of the three DNA matches because he went on military leave. So not only do they have a criminal's
DNA in Suzanne's car, but they never did their due diligence and followed up on this very important lead.
Plus, and this is something I'm going to talk about here in a minute, this whole DNA on the glove box ordeal wasn't shared with the defense until this hearing. Meaning the prosecutors withheld exculpatory evidence or evidence that benefits a defendant from the defense, which I'm sure you can imagine is very bad. And at the end of these four days, the defense ultimately argued that prosecutors did not prove the proof was evidence.
evident, nor the presumption great enough for Barry to be convicted of killing his wife and asked that the judge rule quickly on his decision over whether or not to move forward with the trial.
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Now on Instagram, WhatsApp, Facebook, and Messenger. But to both the prosecution and defense's surprise, the judge said that he would not make a quick ruling. With 20 hours of witness testimony, 25 pages of notes, and hundreds of pages of evidence, the judge did not feel it was appropriate to rush this decision. And so it wasn't until September 17th, 2021, that the judge decided enough probable cause was found to move forward with the trial.
And the judge also announced that Barry would be able to post bail. And it was set at $500,000 cash only. And to no surprise, he posted bail right away. And on September 20th, he walked out of the county jail hand in hand with his daughters.
You can see him walking out with his two daughters on his arms. They've supported him since their mother disappeared in May of last year. Barry Morphew has to wear an ankle monitor and is not allowed to leave Chaffey County while he awaits his murder trial. Right now, that's scheduled to take place in May of next year. He had to post half a million dollars in cash and surrender his passport to leave custody. He's also not allowed to contact many of the witnesses in this case.
He's facing a slew of charges, including first-degree murder. After he told investigators his wife, Suzanne, likely went on one of her daily bike rides on Mother's Day of 2020 and never came home. So then from September 2021 to April of 2022, Barry and his defense prepared for what they thought would be a very long trial. But then on April 19th, 2022, just nine days before the trial was set to begin, the prosecution filed a motion to dismiss all
all charges against Barry without prejudice. And if you didn't know, what that means is that at any point, they can refile their charges against Barry and move forward with their case against him. But until that day comes, Barry is a free man. On
On the day his charges were dismissed, Barry could be seen with his daughters exiting the jailhouse looking like he had just won the lottery, man. And for those who believe that Barry is guilty, this announcement was shocking. It was, I was blown away when I heard. But he and his defense team saw this as justice, and here's what they had to say about it. First, I want to say that Mr. Morphew,
not only was presumed innocent and still is presumed innocent, he is innocent. And these charges were false from the beginning. The affidavit that was filed in this case was egregious and wrong and had so many misstatements that carried it through to a preliminary hearing where more lies and perjury were committed.
in order to get Mr. Morphew wrongfully convicted. Now, when it comes to why the charges were dismissed, there are many factors that people believe played a part. Starting with the fact that prosecutors withheld exculpatory evidence, that DNA evidence on the glove box, and they failed to meet many key deadlines leading up to the trial. And because of these violations, the judge issued sanctions that barred 14 key witnesses from taking the stand, which would obviously be a big deal.
hit to the case that they were trying to present. But that's not the only reason they dismissed the charges. If you know a lot about true crime, you probably know this. Without a body and without a cause of death, even if you have a lot of other evidence, it is very, very hard to get a conviction.
And they expected to have found Suzanne's remains by the time the trial came around. And when they didn't, well, that was just one more thing weighing against them. And it was said that due to cold weather conditions and snowfall in the areas that investigators wanted to look for her body,
They were unsearchable. But even when that snow melted away, she wasn't found. But as I mentioned earlier, Suzanne's remains were recently found. But the thing is, they weren't found anywhere where anyone thought she would be. And that brings us to the latest big break in the case.
September 22nd, 2023, a team of investigators uncovered a set of remains across several shallow graves located in Moffitt, Colorado. The remains were dug up across a large area of sagebrush and natural grasses, and they had been scattered approximately 75 yards apart from each other. And after days of digging, the remains were sent to the El Paso County coroner, who identified the body through dental records and a chemotherapy port as belonging to Suzanne Warnock.
And the announcement of this discovery came on September 27th, 2023, and almost everything about this discovery will shock you. Three years of searching and investigators finally found the body of the woman who went missing on Mother's Day 2020. It was an unrelated investigation that finally led deputies to Suzanne Morphew's body in Sewatch County. Tonight, a source familiar with the investigation told 9 News they discovered skeletal remains and identified Suzanne based on dental records and her cancer port.
She disappeared from her home in Salida in 2020. Prosecutors eventually arrested her husband, Barry Morphew, charged her with murder, charged him with murder. They dropped those charges last year, just nine days before you said to go on trial. They said they wanted to go to trial once they found Suzanne's body. Last Friday, they finally did near the town of Moffitt, about 45 minutes south of the Morphew's home. To me, one of the most shocking things about them finding her remains was that
they found them during a completely unrelated search. The original search had been for 56-year-old Edna Quintana, who went missing in May of this year after going for a hike with her boyfriend. Edna sadly remains a missing person, and I know I speak for all of us when I say that I hope she is eventually found safe and alive. But the other really surprising thing is that this area in Moffat was...
not on investigators' radars at all, not on anyone's radars. It was never an area of interest during the three-year-long investigation into her disappearance. Investigators instead were pretty confident that they would find her remains in the mountain region behind the Morpheus home. Yet here they were, 45 minutes south, in an area they had never considered previously. This discovery is throwing so many more questions into the mix and making people question what they believed Morpheus
The biggest question being, do investigators still believe that Barry is responsible? And as much as I'd like to have a simple answer,
This just isn't a simple question. And in the very early days after Suzanne's remains were found, there were a lot of people saying that there is no way Barry could be considered a suspect anymore. And their reasoning for that was that Barry wasn't in Moffitt on the night of the 9th or the morning of the 10th. And so far, that is being considered a fact. I have to be very clear on this. To our current knowledge...
Barry was not in the area where Suzanne's remains were found at the time it's believed she was killed. Now, I have seen people online suggesting that because Barry's phone was in airplane mode for six hours on the 9th, he technically would have still had time to drive 45 minutes south, dispose of her body, and return home. But we do need to consider all the evidence, and the evidence shows that Barry's truck was at home the entire time his phone was in airplane mode.
And some people are suggesting that maybe he had help or that maybe he moved her remains at a later date. But we also can't forget that
that the cadaver dogs had zero hits in Barry's truck. Still, I do think it's worth looking into the possibility that she was taken to Moffitt on the 9th by means other than his truck or at a later date, because the reality is the evidence proves that Barry could not have taken her body to this area on May 10th.
It would have been impossible, given the timeline of his morning, for him to have driven 45 minutes south, taken the time to dig these shallow graves, dispose of her, and then drive up to Broomfield and make it there by the time we know he arrived. Plus, his car data just straight up does not
place him there that morning. Now, I'm pretty confident investigators are going to subpoena his phone and car data from a larger span of time, but as of right now, we don't have that information. And ultimately, if we want to know whether or not he was responsible for killing his wife, investigators will have to conclusively link him to her remains and or the location where they were found. Whether that's phone data, car data, forensic DNA, or something else,
a connection has to be made. And right now, we just don't know if it has been. It would be really helpful if there was some kind of DNA with or near her remains, but unfortunately, the likelihood of that is really slim. I mean, after three years of weather exposure and natural decomposition, you have to remember that investigators are working with bones. It's doubtful that there's any skin tissue or clothing remnants,
left behind to pull DNA from. And it's also going to make it very difficult to determine Suzanne's cause of death. The three theories from investigators were, one, she was strangled, two, she was shot, or three, she was killed with a high dose of animal tranquilizer. Now, all of these things are going to be very difficult to prove considering the
what we have left of her. What they really can do at this point is look for signs of trauma to the bones themselves. Now, if Suzanne was shot, it might be possible for them to determine this given the remains that they have. But if she was strangled, that's going to be a lot harder to prove.
Because reality is, the smaller the bone is, the less likely that investigators are going to find it. For example, the hyoid bone in the neck is something that is used to determine if someone was strangled. But because it's so small, and we know that her bones are scattered across a huge region, it's a lot less likely that they found it. Now, of course, it is possible they found it. We just don't know. But the point I'm trying to make is it's going to be a lot harder to find.
determine what caused Suzanne's death with the remains that are found.
Most likely. So unfortunately, this is going to be an uphill battle. Since the recovery of Suzanne's remains, several of her family members have come forward with statements, including her nephew and her sister. In a statement, her nephew writing in part, quote, Suzanne was a warm and loving person who deserved far better than to have her life extinguished in such a brutal and callous manner. Please pray for her daughters and that justice, however long delayed, comes for the monster who committed this heinous crime.
Suzanne's sister releasing a statement just in the last hour focusing on the investigation, writing, quote, And an additional statement was released by Barry's attorney.
Now the Morphew family releasing a statement through their attorney just moments ago, saying in part Barry is with his daughters and they are all struggling with immense shock and grief after learning today that their mother and wife, whom they deeply love, was found deceased.
They had faith that their wife and mom would walk back into their lives again. The news is heartbreaking. They go on to say neither the D.A. nor the authorities notified Mallory and Macy Morphew, those are the daughters, about the recovery of their mom. And this is not the last time we've heard from Barry's attorney because she has been very vocal since Suzanne's remains were found. And she strongly believes they will prove guilty.
A statement from his team reads, It would be ludicrous for anyone to now try to fit the now-known facts.
to prior false assumptions and accusations. His attorneys believe that he was unfairly targeted by law enforcement and say that they hope authorities will admit their wrongful persecution of Barry. And because her remains were found in an area where a handful of other victims' remains were found, Barry's attorneys are also asking law enforcement to look into the possibility that a serial killer committed
is responsible for all of these murders. Moffitt has actually been known to be called a boneyard because of the number of remains that have turned up there. And that is absolutely what Barry's defense will focus on in the event of another arrest.
But whether or not he will be arrested again is something we just don't know yet. And in the meantime, well, actually before all of this, Barry filed a $15 million lawsuit against prosecutors, the sheriff, and several investigators claiming he was wrongfully charged in the disappearance and death of his wife. They even filed an 83-page request for an investigation into District Attorney Linda Stanley, the woman who's prosecuting the case, to be disbarred.
after accusing her of a pattern of unethical conduct. And to some degree, she has been stopped from practicing law, although it's not to the degree that Barry and his team want. In June of 2022, Linda Stanley's law license was suspended because it revealed that she failed to complete...
continuing legal education in 2019, 2020, and 2021. Her license can be reinstated as soon as those 45 hours are made up. However, until she does that, she's not allowed to appear in court. Also, following the announcement of the lawsuit, Barry and his daughters gave an exclusive interview to ABC in which they all said they were ready to break their silence. We've been silent for a long time.
and we've decided that we finally want to break the silence. - This morning, just days before the second anniversary of her disappearance, the family of Suzanne Morphew is speaking out for the first time since the murder charges against her husband were dropped. - It's been an emotional roller coaster, but we feel like we can finally take our first steps in healing, which is a blessing. And yeah, we just know our dad better than anyone else.
And we know he was not involved in our mom's disappearance. Mallory and Macy Morphew, standing by their father, who investigators believe was responsible for their mother's disappearance two years ago. The three, seen walking out of court arm in arm just moments after the charges against him were dropped. We want to heal. We feel like we haven't been able to heal these past two years. The family says Suzanne left her Colorado home for a bike ride, but never returned. I just love my girls.
And I love my wife. And I just want her to be found. And a lot of what was said during the interview had to do with the fact that they believe Barry had been wrongfully accused and spoke about the impact of it all. And interestingly, when both daughters were asked if they had witnessed any fighting between their parents, both of them said no, which is the opposite of...
what one of them said early on. At one point, Barry even says that Suzanne was making bad decisions because of how much she was struggling with chemotherapy, suggesting that she had gotten herself into a situation that ultimately killed her. Overall, you can see how much his daughters believe in his innocence and...
I'm just really curious to see how all of this will play out moving forward with the recent discoveries. I could really talk for hours about all the different theories and speculation about what happened to Suzanne and why her remains were found where they were. But I really think we need more evidence from the crime scene or about the cause of death before we can really have a discussion about whether or not Barry was involved.
Overall, though, I think finding Suzanne was not the end of her story. I think it's the start. What her remains say about what happened to her are going to dictate everything moving forward. And I am very eager to see what they end up finding. But that is all I have to share today. I will likely be doing another update on this case. It's just one that's
close to home for me. And I am, I just really want to know the truth. I want to know what happened to Suzanne. I want to see justice for her. I'm sure all of you feel the same, but we got to stick to the facts. But of course, I want to hear from all of you about what we went over today. I want to know where your mind is at. Has your opinion changed knowing the new discoveries that
I mean, it's just, it's so confusing. Do you think Barry is innocent? Do you think he's guilty? Do you think someone else was involved? I gotta know your thoughts. ♪
That is going to be it for me today, guys. Thank you for joining me for another episode and make sure you follow the show on Spotify and Apple podcasts. It really does help me out. If you want to watch the video version of this show, you can find it on my YouTube channel, which will be linked, or you can just search Kendall Ray. I will be back with another episode soon, but until then stay safe out there.
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Welcome to another round of Drawing Board or Miro Board. Today, we talk brainstorms with UX designer Brian. Let's go. First question. You thought you'd see everyone's idea in the team brainstorm, but you've got a grand total of one. Drawing Board or Miro Board? Drawing Board. In Miro, the team can add ideas now or later. And with Privacy Mode, we can keep them anonymous until they're good to share. Correct.
And
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