CHAFFEE COUNTY, Colo. — Barry Morphew was back in court for a status conference on Thursday for multiple charges in connection to the disappearance of his wife, Suzanne Morphew.
Suzanne Morphew, 49, was reported missing over Mother’s Day Weekend in 2020. In a press conference earlier this month, Chaffee County Sheriff John Spezze said that although no body has been recovered, his “belief is that Suzanne is not alive at this time.”
On Thursday, Judge Patrick Murphy granted that the discovery would remain under seal. He hasn’t made a ruling on the lengthy arrest affidavit yet.
Barry Morphew faces seven charges:
- Murder in the first degree
- Tampering with a deceased human body
- Tampering with physical evidence
- Possession of a dangerous weapon – short rifle
- Attempt to influence a public servant
- Forgery of Public Records
- Misdemeanor Elections-mail ballot offense
Morphew hired two attorney’s Iris Eytan and Dru Nielsen. Morphew has maintained his innocence. His attorneys and the state looked over the general discovery requests in court Thursday.
Nielsen and Eytan saw no reason that the discovery hadn’t been given to them yet, not even a page. They said it seemed like the prosecution was delaying the matter and they wanted to expedite as they could on behalf of Mr. Morphew to get him released.
The prosecution said they had 21 days starting today to hand over the discovery. The judge gave the state until Wednesday to provide the discovery to the defense counsel. Senior Deputy District Attorney Jeff Lindsey said they’ve been working on it since before Morphew’s arrest.
Morphew was arrested on May 5, without incident nearly one year, to the day, of his wife’s disappearance. He is being held at the Chaffee County Detention Facility without bond.
His next court appearance will be on August 9th at 8 a.m. for his preliminary hearing.
