Remains of missing Colorado mother Suzanne Morphew found more than three years after she vanished
Suzanne Morphew’s husband Barry was named as a prime suspect in her murder before charges were later dropped
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The remains of missing Colorado mother Suzanne Morphew have been found more than three years after she vanished, say authorities.
The Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) announced on Wednesday that they had positively identified remains found near Moffat, in Saguach County, during an unrelated investigation.
Morphew, 49, was reported missing on Mother’s Day, 10 May 2020, after she reportedly left the home she shared with her husband in Chaffee County, Colorado, to go on a bike ride.
Authorities launched a massive search and found several items belonging to her four days later.
A cause of death has not yet been released, and no arrests have been made since the remains were discovered, investigators said.
Suzanne Morphew’s body is in ‘a very difficult spot’, prosecutors say – three years after disappearance
Barry Morphew says wife Suzanne made ‘bad decisions’ as he speaks out three years on from disappearance
Barry Morphew’s daughters say they know he is innocent of mother Suzanne’s murder after charges are dropped
Morphew’s death has long been believed to be a homicide after it emerged she was having an affair with an old high school friend and had asked husband Barry Morphew for a divorce days before her disappearance.
In 2021, Mr Morphew was arrested and charged with his wife’s murder.
Investigators produced text messages in court showing Suzanne Morphew had asked her husband for a divorce four days before she disappeared.
“I’m done. I couldn't care less what you're up to and have been for years. We just need to figure this out civilly,” Suzanne texted her husband on 6 May, according to court records.
Prosecutors sensationally dropped charges against him on the eve of the trial in April 2022 after a judge barred them from calling key witnesses for failing to turn over evidence.
The charges were dismissed without prejudice, meaning that they can be refiled at a later date.
Barry Morphew has since filed a $15m lawsuit against prosecutors and investigators alleging they violated his constitutional rights.
Chaffee County Sheriff John Spezze said specific details about the location where Morphew was found and the “state of the remains” were being withheld.
“While this case has garnered attention from around the world, it has touched our community and the sheriff’s office deeply,” he said.
“We have never stopped our investigation and will continue to follow all leads in pursuit of justice for Suzanne.”
Sheriff Spezze added that locating the remains was a “critical component of this investigation”, but that investigators were left with “many more questions than answers”.
In an interview in March on the third anniversary of his wife’s disappearance, Barry Morphew told Good Morning America that he had nothing to worry about as he had “done nothing wrong”.
“They’ve got tunnel vision and they looked at one person, and they’ve got too much pride to say they’re wrong and look somewhere else,” Mr Morphew said in a joint interview with his two adult daughters Macy and Mallory.
Mr Morphew told Good Morning America that his heart had been “broken” by revelations of the affair, which came to light when investigators found a spy pen in his wife’s closet.
Suzanne had bought the spy pen hide in her husband’s car as she suspected that he was also having an affair.
Mr Morphew said his wife had “made some bad decisions” prior to her disappearance, but insisted they had a “wonderful” marriage.
In June, investigators told a court hearing were continuing to search for the missing mother and insisted they had a “strong idea” where her body was.
“She is in a very difficult spot. We actually have more than just a feeling … and the sheriff’s office is continuing to look for Mrs. Morphew’s body,” prosecutor Mark Hurlbert told the hearing.
The hearing was called after Mr Morphew’s lawyers requested that court records be sealed indefinitely.