Former DA: Morphew case would have resulted in ‘not guilty’ verdict

Former 4th Judicial District Attorney Dan May said if prosecutors would have gone forward with the Barry Morphew murder trial, which was scheduled to start in nine days, it would have likely ended in a not guilty verdict. 

"There just isn't any evidence to present," said May, in regards to the Morphew judge ruling that 12 of 14 expert witnesses for the prosecution could not testify.

Morphew's wife, Suzanne disappeared in May of 2020. To this day, the Chaffee County woman's body has not been found.

"The judge's previous orders pretty much gutted their case, took away their experts.  It isn't just 12, it's who the 12 are.  You're tracking his [Barry's] directions, you're tracking where he's going around the state, and now you can't present that to the jury.  The DNA is taken away.  The defense can present what it wants, but you're limited on what you can present for DNA."

May admitted he was surprised about the motion to dismiss, but more so that the 11th Judicial District Attorney's Office didn't file an appeal with the Colorado Supreme Court, in regards to the judge's voiding of expert witnesses.  But now that Morphew's charges have been dismissed, an appeal with the state's supreme court is off the table.  Moving forward, if prosecutors want to still use the same expert witnesses in a re-filing of charges, they face an "uphill battle" to get the judge to agree to allowing the experts to testify. 

In DA Linda Stanley's motion to dismiss Morphew's charges without prejudice, she wrote that the People have reason to believe Suzanne's body is located in a more mountainous region near the Morphew residence -- but five feet of snow have concealed the location, hampering excavation efforts.  DA Stanley wrote that law enforcement believe they are close to finding the location of the victim's body.