Judge decides murder case against Barry Morphew will go to trial despite defense asking for dismissal
FREMONT COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) -- Judge Ramsey Lama issued an order Friday afternoon officially announcing that the murder case against Barry Morphew will move forward to trial, despite Morphew's defense attorneys filing a motion to dismiss the case.
The defense asked for sanctions against the prosecution, one of them being the dismissal of charges against Morphew. The defense requested sanctions because they say the DA's Office kept evidence from them. They also requested sanctions because one of the key witnesses in their case, former CBI Agent Joe Cahill, said during an Internal Affairs investigation that he believed arresting Morphew when they did was "the worst decision that you can make."
In his 20-page order, Judge Lama said that he finds a "continuing pattern" by the prosecution of an "inability and failure to comply" with their obligations to disclose evidence and follow pre-trial procedure. Judge Lama said that he believe the prosecution's actions "amount to negligent, and arguable, reckless disregard" for their duty to abide by court orders and follow pre-trial procedure.
Despite his concerns, Judge Lama said he didn't find that the prosecution was willfully violating procedure, so the case will move forward to trial, saying that without willfulness on the part of the Prosecution to violate procedure, "dismissal of the case is beyond this Court's discretion."
The court is sanctioning the prosecution for their continued violations by excluding 11 out of 16 of their expert witnesses to testify at trial, saying that because of that, "the Court does not find a reduction of the charges to be an appropriate remedy."
The murder trial is set for April 28.
Morphew is accused of murdering his wife, Suzanne, in Salida around Mother's Day of 2020. Her body still has not been found, but no one has heard from her since. Morphew was arrested almost exactly a year after she vanished in May of 2021.
He was originally facing trial in Chaffee County, but Judge Lama changed the venue to neighboring Fremont County in February, citing pre-trial publicity as the main reason for the change.
