Suzanne Morphew still missing three years later

SALIDA, Colo. (KRDO) -- Suzanne Morphew disappeared from her Salida home three years ago on Mother’s Day 2020. Her body has never been found.

On May 10, 2020, Morphew supposedly went on a bike ride along County Road 225 and West Highway 50 in Chaffee County and never returned home. A neighbor reported her missing and her bike and helmet were eventually found along the side of the road the day she disappeared.

Barry Morphew, her husband, told investigators he was out of town for work when Suzanne disappeared and believed something happened to her while she was on her daily bike ride.

"It shook people and understandably so," said Dan Shore, the mayor of Salida. "It was a very scary time and also a ton of uncertainty."

Nearly a year after Suzanne’s disappearance, Barry was arrested and charged with first-degree murder, tampering with a deceased human body, tampering with physical evidence, possession of a dangerous weapon, and an attempt to influence a public servant.

The case received global attention. Martin Smallwood learned about the case through YouTube. All the way from Ireland, he has joined a Colorado-based nonprofit called HopeRox — an organization that relies on crowdsourcing to search for missing people.

"It had so many twists and turns," Smallwood said about the case. "It's a bit of a circus."

Text messages between the couple, brought to light in court proceedings, showed Suzanne wanted to leave Barry two days before she went missing. The messages also reveal Suzanne suspected Barry of having an affair and the couple would often fight about money.

Six months after Suzanne’s disappearance, law enforcement learned she was having an affair with an old classmate who lived in Michigan.

Photo evidence in the case shows Barry inside a Broomfield hotel on the day his wife disappeared. Several photos show him making trips to different dumpsters to drop off trash. When asked about why he did that, he told investigators that he's a "tightwad", and didn't like to pay to dump the trash.

The 11th Judicial District Attorney’s Office got into hot water early in the trial though. A handful of the prosecution’s witnesses weren’t allowed to testify, because they either didn’t show up to court or were part of a court sanction.

One of the witnesses was a veterinarian who was expected to testify about animal tranquilizers and how it affects them. The prosecutors said they had hoped it would help allow a jury to infer how it could possibly work on humans. A sheath to a tranquilizer dart was found in Morphew's dryer.

However, the judge ruled against allowing the veterinarian to testify, citing a lack of evidence of Suzanne Morphew's DNA on the cap. These problems persisted, as the defense continually asked the court to dismiss the case entirely because of the prosecution’s court violations.

On April 19, 2022, the 11th Judicial District Attorney’s Office dropped the charges against Barry "without prejudice" because of a lack of evidence.

"I thought it was probably the best thing at the time, because the chances of them winning the case I thought was nil," Smallwood said. "Their case didn't hold water. It was comical really."

Nearly a year after the dismissal, Barry’s defense attorney, Iris Eytan, detailed dozens of violations for court and attorney rules by DA Linda Stanley and her office, including failure to uphold victim rights, dishonest and unethical practices, and the repeated failure to turn over evidence.

In one instance, the prosecution failed to turn over evidence to the defense showing Suzanne Morphew’s missing phone was initiating and receiving calls after the time that the prosecution theorized she was murdered.

DNA of an unknown man was also found in Suzanne’s car. That DNA was later matched to three unsolved sexual assault cases in Arizona and Illinois. However, none of that information was shared with the defense.

This month, Barry filed a civil lawsuit against several prosecutors, Chaffee County, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

According to the lawsuit, Morphew is seeking $15 million dollars for "the damages caused by the defendant prosecutors, Chaffee County, and law enforcement officials."

The complaint alleges that the prosecutors, Chaffee County, and both state and federal law enforcement agencies "conspired to deprive Barry Morphew of his due process rights and his right to be free from seizure, incarceration, deprivation of property, and restrictions on liberty."

In a statement, Barry and his two daughters, Mallory and Macy Morphew, said, “We have heavy hearts today. We have missed our mom and wife, Suzanne Morphew, every single day for the last three years. We keep hoping that DA Stanley and Law Enforcement will use every resource to find her.”

Smallwood claims HopeRox has narrowed down the locations of where Suzanne's body could be. He said it's necessary to find a body to move the case forward.

"I really do think they need to find a body for this trial to happen," Smallwood said. "Even if they find a body, I don't know if the trial will happen."

With no body and no conviction, Mayor Shore said the community is still waiting for closure.

"I would love to think at some point there's resolution for everybody," Shore said. "In the meantime, it's just playing the waiting game and keeping one's fingers crossed that more information will come forward."

If you have any information about the disappearance of Suzanne Morphew, contact the FBI at 719-312-7530.