Judge orders prosecution to turn over arrest affidavit to defense in Morphew murder case

SALIDA, Colo. (KRDO) -- Barry Morphew, the man accused of killing his wife Suzanne Morphew, was back in court Thursday for the second time since his arrest on May 5th.

The majority of Thursday's virtual hearing centered around evidence Morphew's defense team wants to be turned over. During the hearing, the defense claimed prosecutors failed to turn over any discovery within 21 days of Morphew's first court appearance.

However, the prosecution argued Morphew was officially charged on May 18, and his first court appearance since then was Thursday, meaning the 21 days began May 27. The prosecution said they are in the process of renumbering the documents.

While Judge Patrick Murphy agreed with the prosecution regarding the dates, he ordered them to give the defense the arrest affidavit by end of business day on June 2.

He did approve the defense to have immediate access to the search warrants.

In addition to the release of information, the defense brought up concerns surrounding preserving evidence. The defense requested the prosecution to "preserve" all text messages and emails exchanged between law enforcement and the District Attorney.

Murphy didn't immediately make a decision, saying he will read a court case presented by the defense regarding that motion.

According to available documents posted to the Colorado Courts website, Morphew now faces two additional charges; tampering with a human body and possession of a dangerous weapon.

These are all the charges Morphew now currently faces:

• Murder in the first degree
• Tampering with a deceased human body
• Tampering with physical evidence
• Possession of a dangerous weapon
• Attempt to influence a public servant

A legal analyst told our partners at 9News that the new charge of tampering with a human body, which documents say Morphew did between May 9th and 10th of 2020, could just be a suspicion by investigators. It could also mean they found a location where the body may have been at some point and has been either hidden somewhere else or destroyed.

If Morphew is found guilty of tampering with a human body, he could face up to 32 years in prison for that charge alone.

The possession of a dangerous weapon charge means Morphew had to have a firearm silencer, machine gun, short shotgun, short rifle, or ballistic knife.

Morphew was also charged with forgery of a public record and election ballot defense for allegedly using his wife’s ballot to cast a vote for President Donald Trump in the 2020 election.

The arrest affidavit for the murder charge that Morphew faces is still sealed, and opposing parties have until May 27th to submit documents in response.

During Thursday's hearing, Murphey did not make a decision regarding public access to the arrest affidavit, saying a decision will be made at a later date. That decision could be made in another court hearing.

For the time being, all other documents being released to the defense will remain sealed from the public.

Due to a crowded docket and a long backlog due to COVID-19, the the next hearing won't be until the end of summer.

Morphew is set to be back in court in August for a joint Proof Evident Presumption Great and Preliminary Hearing.

Those dates are:

• Monday, August 9 at 8 a.m.
• Tuesday, August 10 at 9:30 a.m.
• Monday, August 23 at 8 a.m.
• Tuesday, August 24 at 9:30 a.m.