Amanda: Hey there, all you true crime fans. I'm your host Amanda Russell, and this is Colorado crime. I cover cases from coast to coast with a special emphasis on cases that happen right here in colorful, crime filled Colorado. Today's case is a case that I'm sure most of you have heard of. We're going to be discussing the disappearance of Suzanne Morphew. Suzanne is presumed dead, and her body has not been found. I'm not making any accusations. This information came from the 129 page arrest affidavit that was made public. I want to be very, very clear here and say everyone is innocent until proven guilty, and I am in no way, shape, or form accusing Barry Morphew of harming his wife. Now that we got that out of the way, let's jump in. So, before the Morphews were plastered all over the nation's news stations, they appeared to be a typical family of four. Suzanne had been married to her husband Barry since 1994. They attended the same high school, but Barry was four years her senior. Barry was a star baseball player and was actually drafted to the Toronto blue Jays, but suffered a career ending injury very early on. Tragedy struck for the first time when Suzanne was diagnosed with non hodgkin's lymphoma. Barry was her rock and stayed by her side, even though they were a relatively new couple. Suzanne beat cancer for the first time, and the couple married and prayed to grow their family. Their prayers were answered twice, and they welcomed their first daughter, Mallory, and a few years later, a second daughter, Macy. At the time of Suzanne's disappearance, she was a beautiful 49 year old. She was caring, compassionate, and a deeply religious woman who put her husband and daughters first always in Alexandria, Indiana, where the family lived. Before they moved to Colorado, barry started a landscape business that became so successful that they were actually able to pay off their house. They raised their girls, ran their business, were idolized as the It couple. But friends close to the couple began to see the cracks. According to friends of Suzanne, barry was always very controlling over her, always asking where she was, who she was with, controlling what she wore, what she ate, and how much money she was and wasn't allowed to spend. Suzanne and her family moved to Salida, Colorado, in 2018. The couple claimed they moved to follow their oldest daughter to college, where she was attending western state university in Gunison. But friends of the couple suspected it was a fresh start for a troubled marriage. Just before their move to Colorado, suzanne was diagnosed for a second time with non hodgkin's lymphoma. Her health was declining, and her marriage was failing. This seemed like a last ditch effort to repair a marriage that couldn't be terminated due to, quote, biblical reasons. While in Colorado, Suzanne started mountain biking and quickly became addicted to those high altitude endorphin rushes. Although this was a new hobby. Suzanne was sure to be careful, always wearing her blue helmet and carrying her hydration pack. This area was a pretty wooded area, so Suzanne was always alert when it came to animals. There were mountain lions, wild turkeys, and bears seen regularly. Barry was an avid hunter, so she was aware of how frequently animals were seen, not to mention the numerous trail cameras that Barry had mounted all through the property. Barry started a Colorado based landscape company and began working from sun up to sundown, leaving Suzanne alone often. Suzanne used this time to enjoy the company and friendship of her daughters. On the weekend of May 9, 2020, mallory and Macy were on a camping trip to Idaho with friends, so Suzanne was alone. Suzanne spent Saturday morning texting friends, hanging around the house, cleaning for her daughters and friends arrival the next day and sunbathing outside. She sent a photo at that would go on to be referred to as her, quote, proof of life photo. Aside from Barry, this is the last account of Suzanne being alive. On May 10, 2020. It was Mother's Day. Barry claims he left the home at 05:00 a.m. To head to Broomfield, Colorado, which was roughly 150 miles away, for a work project. Even though he wasn't planning to leave until later that day. Suzanne's daughters sent a text message wishing her a happy Mother's Day, but they grew concerned when they didn't receive a response back. The girls were expected to return home later that day. After several hours of not being able to reach their mother, they called their father, who called a neighbor to check on Suzanne to see if her bike was there. The Morphew family home was located on seven acres of heavily wooded property. When the neighbor arrived, they knocked, rang the doorbell, and tried to peek into the windows. No one answered. They heard no shuffling, nothing but silence. Immediately, they called Barry and told him no one was there, and the bike was gone. They called police reported her missing, and Barry headed back to his Salida home after leaving tools and shovels in the lobby of his Broomfield Hotel. When Barry arrived back, it was dark, and investigators were scouring the area for any sign of Suzanne. Her bike had been found on a steep embankment, no skid marks, no disturbances in the dirt, almost as if it had been placed there. There was slight damage done to the front tire, but otherwise the bike was in good condition. There was no blood or physical evidence that indicated Suzanne had met foul play. Macy's boyfriend was called by Macy, explaining that they couldn't reach her mom and asked him to go to the house and check on her. When officers arrived, he was at the home and was captured on police body camera footage stating that Barry and Suzanne had some marital troubles in the past, but seemed fine, aside from the usual husband and wife stuff. Investigators kept searching for any clue as to where suzanne could be. A few days after the bike was discovered, her blue helmet was found. While the helmet showed signs of normal wear and tear, there was no damage. It was located right off of highway 50, just shy of 1 mile from where the bike was located. A cursory search of her 2015 range rover revealed that her sunglasses and hydration pack were left behind. Other items were sent off to be tested for DNA. Local and state police brought in the FBI and CBI to conduct searches, as well as several civilian search groups who searched for suzanne. Local waterways were searched by dive teams, and several searches of the morphew home were conducted. On May 12, 2020, investigators requested phone records for all four individuals living in the morphew home. Police were trying to establish a daily pattern for Suzanne's phone use to see if any of that information might point them in the right direction. Suzanne's internet use comes into play here on May 8, 2020, beginning at there appeared to be some pretty uncharacteristic facebook activity on suzanne's account. During this time frame, suzanne sent friend requests to 20 males and three females in the arrest. Affidavit. Several of these people are questioned, and each one of them felt it was odd that suzanne would reach out to them after so long. They all appeared to be former classmates and friends of Barry and suzanne for some context. Suzanne had accepted roughly 20 friend requests in total in 2019. All of these were sent over a two day period. On May 13, 2020, barry was photographed during an interview with authorities, and he appeared to have scratches on his arms and hands that would be consistent with defensive wounds. Barry claimed these injuries came from trees while he was out searching for suzanne. On May 19, 2020, a box was discovered during a search for a tranquilizer gun, but the box was empty. A tranquilizer dart was recovered from under a bench in the garage. A hypodermic needle sheath, also known as the lid that covered the needle of the dart, was found in the dryer of the morphew family with sheets from one of the secondary bedrooms. Later testing would confirm that suzanne's DNA was on this item, but berries was not found. On May 20, ten days after suzanne was reported missing, a spy pen was discovered in the master bedroom closet. Investigators discovered that this pen was purchased by a good friend of suzanne's so that suzanne could catch Barry having an affair. This pen was also voice activated. On May 23, 2020, investigators sent the pen off to colorado springs police department digital forensic unit, and on the 24th, the pen's recordings began to be reviewed. One of the recordings, Barry, is recorded on a trip to pueblo. He was listening to forensic files. One of the several cases he listened to was the murder of vicky Lynn hoskinson, who went missing after riding her bike. Two previously deleted files were retrieved from the pen. These were recorded sometime in February and March of 2021. File was a recording of Barry and Suzanne. It sounded confrontational with raised voices. The second was a recording of an unknown male and a female Suzanne. This recording was intimate in nature, and investigators began to develop the theory that Suzanne was having an affair. They just needed to confirm who this male was so they could speak with him. Meanwhile, investigators began to dig deep into Barry's alibi. On the evening of May 9, 2020, the evening police suspect Suzanne was killed, barry told investigators that he and Suzanne had grilled steaks, had sex, and went to bed around 08:00 p.m.. However, Barry's truck computer showed activity at 09:30 P.m.. It showed the truck being put into reverse and backing up closer to the home. During Barry's first official interview on May 13, 2020, barry tells investigators that he woke up on May 10 at 04:30 A.m.. To his alarm. Barry goes on to tell investigators that he can hear Suzanne lightly snoring. Barry claimed that Suzanne was wearing white shorts and a white string type shirt. He then showered, left the home around 05:00 A.m. And went straight to the hotel and checked in. Once in his room, Barry rested for a short time. He then went to the job site and called an employee, asking if they would bring an additional person due to the workload. This was around 10:00 A.m., he claims. He added, quote, it's just hotel and job back and forth, unquote. According to Barry, he went to McDonald's near the job site and cleaned his windshield and then went back to his hotel room. When asked what he ate that day, Barry said he, quote, kind of looked for something to eat. I saw McDonald's pulled in there. I don't like crap foods, so I thought, I'm not going to eat here. End quote. He stated he always kept granola bars in his truck, so he ended up eating those. Barry stated he received a call from his neighbor Gene around 05:00 P.m. And quote, I was at the job site when Jean called me. End quote. So he left the job site, went back to the hotel, where he dropped off tools. He then drove back to his house in Salida. When asked why Barry was working on Mother's Day, he told investigators, quote it's Mother's Day. It's not like it's Husband Day, end quote. When investigators asked Barry to take a polygraph, he declined, saying he would think about it because, quote, he didn't want to do anything that wasn't 100% accurate. He went further and said they, quote, weren't admissible in court. End quote. Investigators began to receive requested copies of cell phone records, vehicle records, camera history, and pretty quickly saw that Barry's story and evidence had some pretty glaring discrepancies. According to the computer on Barry's F 350 truck, the truck began to register door activity between 03:00 A.m. And 04:00 A.m. In the early morning hours of May 10. However, per Barry's own admission, he was still sleeping during this time. He would later claim that he was probably loading work related items into his truck. The next discrepancy was the fact that Barry didn't head straight to work after leaving the home. Barry's truck computer registered him turning left out of the neighborhood versus the typical right. His truck continued to travel on this road in this direction for several minutes before turning around and taking highway 50 to highway 285. This is relevant to the case because this road, highway 50, travels right by the spot where Suzanne's blue helmet was found. His truck computer also registered five different stops, all near trash bins in Broomfield. So investigators requested security footage from the area's. Barry's truck logged stops, and it was discovered that Barry was throwing items in the trash cans. Barry claimed this is something he had done frequently to avoid costs incurred by trips to local landfills. The first stop lasted for about 90 seconds, and Barry had the driver and passenger doors open. Barry then went to the hotel, checked in, and parked his truck next to a trash can. The doors opened and closed again. Barry's third stop was at McDonald's, where at one point he told investigators he was throwing wrappers away. But in later interviews, Barry claimed to, quote, not recall what he had thrown away there. After Barry left McDonald's, he traveled to a men's warehouse store where he parked by another large trash bin, this time for roughly 40 minutes. Barry's final stop on the trash runs was back at the hotel, where he threw away a full trash bag, a tree planter, and a camouflage jacket. According to cell phone data, it appeared that Barry's phone was in the area near where Suzanne's bike was discovered at 03:51 A.m. On the morning of May 10. This was never officially confirmed by investigators, however, due to poor cell phone coverage in that area. As far as cell phone data goes, this case is heavily reliant on it. So let's start to break down Barry's phone records. In January of 2020, Barry spent quite a bit of time looking through different porn sites, according to his deleted phone website history. During an interview with police early on, barry denied viewing pornographic material because he said it was against his religious beliefs. On April 24, 2020, Suzanne texted Barry regarding his, quote, mistress and how he's, quote, bullying her. This was an ongoing accusation from Suzanne. She was constantly accusing Barry of having an affair. On May 4 2020, barry called Suzanne for 3 seconds. This was the first call he placed to her since February 7 of 2026. More calls are placed between the two of them until six seven p. M. On May 6, 2020, between eight six a. M. And eight thirteen a. M. Barry called Suzanne six consecutive times at 10:13 a.m.. On may 6, a text message that was deleted from barry's phone shows that suzanne texts barry, quote, I'm done. I could care less what you're up to and have been for years. We just need to figure this out civilly. End quote. This message was four days before she was reported missing. Later on, on may 6, same day, between 02:43 p.m.. And 05:00 p.m., barry sends suzanne several suicidal related text messages saying, quote, when I'm dead, going to see my savior. This life on earth is mere grain of sand compared to eternity. End quote. On may 8, 2020, the last recorded call between barry and suzanne lasted for 73 seconds. On may eigth, at 07:18 p.m., barry's phone registers its last event on may 9 at 06:46 a.m., barry's phone is then taken off of airplane mode. This becomes a hot topic because barry states that he doesn't use airplane mode very often and that he meant to turn the phone off, but somehow it got onto airplane mode. But going through his phone history all the way back to january, there's multiple times that he has his phone on airplane mode. And even after suzanne goes missing in those first few days, there's several days where he has his phone on airplane mode for several hours. And I don't know if this is because he was with investigators and the dates are just not lining up or what the reasoning is there, but that, I thought, seemed a little bit odd. You would think he would want to be able to have his phone accessible in case somebody called saying they found her or something along those lines. So in an interview on may 21, 2020, in regards to the evening of may 9, barry stated that he and suzanne discussed purchasing a home in town for 800,000. He also stated that suzanne wasn't on her phone that evening that he knew of. When investigators asked barry if he set his alarm for 04:30 a.m. The next day, he responded that he, quote, just woke up on my own without an alarm, end quote. Investigators then told barry they had spoken with some of his employees, and they had remarked that the hotel room in broomfield smelled of, quote, chlorine, end quote. Quote. And he said he didn't know why, but maybe the hotel staff did something to clean it, as COVID was a large concern. According to investigators, barry was supposed to pick up one of his employees on the morning of may 10, but he never showed up. This employee did state that they heard barry's truck outside. Apparently he had a very distinct exhaust system, and his truck sound was very notable, but barry never showed up to pick them up. When asked about this, barry stated, quote, I didn't want her to ride with me because she smokes. I told her to drive her car. She was going to follow me. End quote. Barry's third interview with police occurred on May 20, eigth this time, investigators questioned Barry about a tranquilizer dart gun that was found during a search of the Morphew home. Barry then goes into a story about how he used to raise deer in Indiana and that he used to tranquilize them to transport them, but he only did that in Indiana and never in Colorado. I will note that according to a veterinarian who is mentioned in the arrest affidavit, it is illegal for a civilian to purchase these or to possess these tranquilizers in the state of Colorado. A few days pass, and a fourth interview occurred on June 2. Barry said that Suzanne may have left him, but she would never leave their girls. It definitely appeared that Suzanne and her daughters had a very close relationship, and later on you'll see the length that Suzanne goes to protect her daughters, as that really seemed to be her biggest concern. Early on in the investigation, Barry suggested that maybe a mountain lion had attacked Suzanne, except there were no signs of a struggle, found no clothing and no blood, so that seemed unlikely. Barry then goes on to accuse Suzanne of abusing drugs and alcohol. I would guess hypothetically here, that someone who was battling cancer would probably use marijuana, not to mention that it is legal in Colorado. It's not clear what drugs he was implying, but that would be my guess. And as far as alcohol goes, barry seems to be the only one to state that Suzanne was struggling. If this was mentioned once, it wouldn't have bothered me, but according to the 129 page arrest affidavit that I scoured with a fine tooth comb, barry mentions this multiple times. He seems to take advantage of every opportunity to shame Suzanne or paint her in an unbecoming light. Personally, I disagree with this tactic, as she's not here to defend herself. That being said, let's chat about the suspected affair. After an unknown man's voice was found on the spy pen, investigators searched for six months until Jeff Libler was found. Jeff is a husband and a father of six who lives in Michigan. He and Suzanne knew each other from high school. They had a brief fling right out of high school while Suzanne was dating Barry. And when Barry found out, he threatened Jeff. And that was the last time that Suzanne and Jeff spoke until 2018, when Suzanne reached out to Jeff via LinkedIn with a message stating, quote, hey stranger. End quote. Their relationship started off as friends, but turned romantic in 2019. They spoke daily and even discussed Suzanne's marriage to Barry. Jeff told investigators that he didn't come forward because he didn't want to hurt Suzanne's daughters. The two began taking secret trips together in 2019. From the text receipts, the recorded spy pen conversation, and what Suzanne told a close friend. Suzanne and Jeff were in love, and Suzanne was prepping to leave Barry to be with Jeff. Jeff provided investigators with phone records, passwords for the accounts that he deleted after Suzanne went missing, as well as DNA. During the weekend Suzanne went missing, jeff had an airtight alibi and receipts to support it, one from Costco and one from Menards. He was at home in Michigan building a dock. Jeff appears to be the last person to communicate with Suzanne before her disappearance. Suzanne sent Jeff a photo via LinkedIn. On May 9, 2020. At jeff responds to Suzanne, but his message goes unanswered. That morning, May 9, 2020, suzanne and Jeff had sent 59 messages to each other before she went silent. According to Suzanne's phone records, she consistently told Jeff, good morning and good night. May 9 was the last good morning text he received. Barry claimed that he was unaware of the affair until he was informed by officers. Jeff does go on to tell investigators that he felt shame for the affair with Suzanne. Jeff does go on to talk about Suzanne and Barry's marriage. Suzanne was pretty open with him and told him how unhappy she was, and she definitely implied that Barry had been physical with her at least once. On December 16, 2020, investigators received an anonymous tip from a woman who claimed her friend was in a romantic relationship with Barry Morphew. The next day, the 17th, investigators brought Shoshana Dark in for questioning. She denied sexual and romantic relationships with Barry and claimed that they were just friends and was very evasive. Investigators already had her on their radar as Barry's vehicle was seen at her address multiple times a week, often late and sometimes not leaving until the morning. Shoshana claimed she reported strange vehicles in the area of Puma path around the time Suzanne disappeared. As she was in the area cleaning the Morphew's neighbor's home, shoshana stated that she did not know Suzanne, but quote, Suzanne, she's my age. A lot of people say I resemble her, end quote. Which I just feel is kind of an OD thing to say. I feel like you're the new girlfriend. You shouldn't be comparing yourself to his missing wife. But that's just me. All right, so let's chat about some other sketchy things. On May 9, 2020, barry's phone activity showed some erratic behavior between 244 and 247 p. M. This is where the chipmunk alibi comes into play. Barry was asked by investigators about this OD activity, and Barry stated, quote, I've killed 85 chipmunks at my house. End quote. I find that so OD. Who counts how many chipmunks they've killed? I mean, I would, but I'm not a hunter. I think if I hurt one animal, I mean, I would be devastated. But Barry was an avid hunter, so the fact that he had a number for these chipmunks was kind of OD. And this wasn't the only time he says that. He does mention that twice in different interviews. He goes on to excuse the OD behavior by saying that he got home and immediately started shooting and chasing chipmunks. Let me give you a little idea of what this house is like. This is a 3200 square foot house. This is not a tiny little condo. There are five pings from a cell phone that come from all different locations inside and around the home in the picture. These are mapped out in the house. And imagine someone drawing like a figure eight with like a slight tilt. These activities are not in a circle. They cross through each other. And his phone was inside and outside of that home. So it gets a little tricky here. So stay with me. The first ping is going to be at the bottom left of this picture. This is at 244 two to 244 five. The second ping is going to be at a diagonal. But above that ping comes at 244 six to 244 nine. Then the ping shoots down to the opposite corner. Now in the right hand corner, the right hand bottom corner. And this ping is at 244 ten to 244 eleven. The next ping comes ping four at 244 twelve to 244 23. And that goes up. The final ping is in the middle of the home. And that ping comes at 245 43 to 247 43. Investigators claim that Suzanne was laying out sunbathing during this time. The photo that she sent Jeff confirms this. I would like to note that the towel that she can be seen laying on has never been found. And there's also a leather bound journal that is still missing as well. So a common theory that investigators have laid out is that Barry shot Suzanne with a tranquilizer dart when he found out about Suzanne's affair. The vet that I had mentioned earlier does go on to state that depending on the amount, any one of the three tranquilizers Barry kept on hand could have been fatal to a human. The erratic movement through and around the home is Barry chasing a quickly weakening Suzanne. They believe she made it to her bedroom where she locked the door, but Barry kicked it open, which is why there is a cracked door jam that Barry can't explain. And previous owners state that it was not there during the time they owned the home. Again, this is a theory that investigators have put forward. In no way am I claiming that this is what I think happened. So let's talk about the DNA results. Like I mentioned, there were several things that were sent off. Suzanne's bike was sent off. They tested the seat. That came back with four profiles. Suzanne, Barry, who did touch the bike seat when he first got on scene. After the bike was found, a Chaffee County Sheriff's officer and an unknown. Suzanne's bike grips were tested. Those also came back with four profiles. Suzanne, a Chaffee County Sheriff's officer and two unknowns barry was excluded. Suzanne's bike brake on her handlebars was tested. That also came back with four profiles. Suzanne, two chaffee County Sheriff's officers and an unknown Barry was excluded from this. So the one that really throws me for a loop, and I don't know if it's just a red herring or what, but I can't explain how this got here. There was an unknown male DNA that was found in Suzanne's Range Rover on her glove box. Now, Barry is excluded from this, but there was a partial match. The suspects wanted in unsolved sexual assault cases in Tempe, Phoenix, and Chicago. This one throws me for a loop. This is where I think maybe somebody else could have been involved. So fast forward to May 5, 2021. Barry Morphew was arrested for first degree murder, tampering with a deceased human body, tampering with physical evidence, possession of a dangerous weapon, and attempt to influence a public official. He would later be charged with forgery of public records and misdemeanor elections. Mail ballot offense. We'll get into that one in just a SEC. But on September 20, 2021, barry Morphew posted a 500,000 cash only bond and was released to await trial. Okay, I find this a little bit wild. $500,000 in cash. I wonder where he got that money. And also, I feel really bad for whoever had to process that bond and count all that cash. When I was 16, I worked at a bank, and I remember counting cash and how my thumbs would start to hurt by the end. I can't imagine even, like, gosh, even 10,000, my hands would hurt 500,000. That's just a ton of money. But let's continue. Also on September 20, 2021, shoshana Dark was arrested for second degree criminal trespass on the Morphew's former property. During this time, the Morphew, Barry Morphew, decided to sell the property on Puma Path, and the current owners had video footage of Shashana taking a package from the front door. Later on, on December 21, 2021, these charges were dropped. The homeowner wanted to press charges, but the DA felt there wasn't enough there to convict on July 21, 2022 so this year, Barry Morphew pleaded guilty to the forgery charge. He submitted Suzanne's ballot in the 2020 election, quote, just because I wanted Trump to win and I know she was going to vote for Trump anyway, that's where the forgery and the election charges come from. It was noted when they received the ballot that Suzanne's name was on a missing persons list, and that's what alerted officials. If your name's not on the ballot, you cannot submit it. I thought that was kind of like a well known fact, but apparently it's not. If it doesn't say your name, don't open it. That's mail fraud or election fraud if you're submitting a ballot, apparently. Then on April 17, 2022, roughly ten days before Barry was set to stand trial for the murder of his wife, the District Attorney filed a motion to dismiss the charges without prejudice. This means that if further evidence is found that proves Barry was guilty. Of the crimes he was accused of, then he can be charged again and not risk double jeopardy, which double jeopardy prohibits anyone from being prosecuted twice for the same crime. Barry left the Fremont County Jail a free man with his unwaveringly supportive daughters by his side. And that is where the case sits today. So what do you think happened that Mother's Day weekend at 19 00:57? Puma Path? Was Susanna a victim of her husband? Did an animal attack and take her? Or could this unknown DNA found in her car hold all the answers? Let me know what you think happened. Thank you so much for tuning in this week. This really was a hard case for me to cover. I'm finishing this and I'm feeling like I knew Suzanne. I feel terrible for her daughters and for her family. And unfortunately, her father passed away in 2020, and he never got to see justice for his daughter. I find that really sad. Anyone with information about the disappearance of Suzanne Morphew is asked to call the tip line at 719-312-7530. Thank you for tuning in this week. I will be back next week with a new case. New episodes are released every Friday at 10:30, a.m. Mountain Standard Time. Please follow me on Instagram at coloradocrimepod for updates on next week's case, as well as other true crime happenings. If you have any cases you'd like me to cover, please send me an email at
[email protected]. I hope you have a beautiful day wherever you are. And as always, stay safe.
