Remains found in Colorado identified as Suzanne Morphew, who disappeared in 2020
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LAKEWOOD, Colorado (AP) — Searchers have found the remains of a woman who was reported missing on Mother’s Day in 2020 after she did not return from a bike ride near her home in the Salida area in southern Colorado.
Agents with the Colorado Bureau of Investigation found the remains of Suzanne Morphew, 49, during an unrelated search near the small southern Colorado town of Moffat on Friday, and her remains were positively identified Wednesday.
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Morphew’s husband, Barry Morphew, had been charged in her presumed death, but prosecutors dropped charges against him last year just as he was about to go on trial. Prosecutors had been barred by a judge from calling most of their key witnesses for repeatedly failing to follow rules for turning over evidence in his favor. That included DNA evidence linked to sexual assault cases in other states that raised the possibility of a different person being involved.
At the time, prosecutors said they wanted more time to find Suzanne Morphew’s body. Barry Morphew’s lawyers announced in April that they had filed a complaint asking that the prosecutors be disciplined for allegedly intentionally withholding evidence in the case.
Barry Morphew filed a $15 million lawsuit in May against prosecutors and investigators, accusing them of violating his constitutional rights.
The charges against him were dismissed without prejudice, leaving the door open should prosecutors later decide to pursue charges against him again.