Lawsuit brought by Barry Morphew against FBI, CBI, prosecutors and Chaffee County dismissed
CHAFFEE COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) -- Barry Morphew filed a civil suit in May of 2023 against several prosecutors, Chaffee County, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI), and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
According to the lawsuit, Morphew was seeking $15 million dollars for "the damages caused by the defendant prosecutors, Chaffee County, and law enforcement officials."
The murder case against Barry Morphew in the disappearance and death of his wife Suzanne was dismissed on April 19, 2022. He was accused of killing his wife who was reported missing on Mother's Day 2020. Her body was found on Sept. 22, 2023, and after an autopsy, her death was ruled a homicide.
The 314-page federal lawsuit asserted 13 different claims all surrounding Morphew being prosecuted for his wife's disappearance and murder.
The complaint alleged 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, to fabricate evidence against him, to manipulate witness testimony, to suppress, conceal and omit exculpatory evidence, to falsify charges, to commit the misconduct described in this Complaint, and to conceal the knowing and reckless misconduct and to protect one another from liability for depriving Barry Morphew of his constitutional rights."
The lawsuit was dismissed without prejudice on Sept. 24, 2024.
In the ruling, U.S. District Judge Daniel Domenico concluded that "anyone" accused of a crime deserves better than what happened in Barry Morphew's case.
He also suggested that Barry Morphew may be right that the immunity doctrine should be revisited, and said it should be easier to sue for mishandled prosecutions.
However, he said he had to apply the law as it is currently written and therefore had to dismiss the claim made by Barry Morphew.
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