0:00
Suzan,
0:14
are you okay? So, I'm the daughter's boyfriend. Okay. And I'm here. Is
0:20
this your truck? That's my truck. See my ditch Never mind. I got
0:25
something here. Where is it? Where's the bike? Oh, it's right there. Where was it? It was like just right down here in this
0:31
little embankment right here. So,
0:36
sorry, dude. We got the husband on the scene here with me. Um, I know this is a weird question, but
0:42
um, did Barry and Suzanne get along pretty well? Uh,
0:48
the date was May the 10th, 2020, Mother's Day. And on this day, beloved mother and wife Suzanne Morphw had
0:54
vanished from her home in Colorado. What officers found were the hallmark signs of a terrible crime. To begin with, her
1:02
bike had been discovered not far from the family home, lying awkwardly at the base of a steep drop. However, not only
1:09
was there no damage to the frame and no skid marks, but her helmet, which was found more than a mile away, made no
1:16
geographical sense either. And when they got round to checking the family home, well, that would lead to only more
1:22
concern and confusion. However, one thing was for certain that Suzanne was now all of a sudden gone. And by the
1:29
way, there was no evidence to suggest that she ever intended to leave. No goodbyes, no text messages, and no
1:36
further online activity. In fact, there are a lot of nos in this story, as you are just about to find out. In a town
1:43
surrounded by wilderness, it was almost as if Suzanne had been swallowed by the forest, leaving behind nothing but
1:50
silence and a thousand unanswered questions. However, piece by piece, detectives would build an incredibly
1:57
solid case that would essentially solve this mystery. Welcome, or welcome back to Coffee House Crime, folks. My name is
2:03
Adrian, and today we're diving into a story filled with lies, sneaking around, and a whole lot of evidence. We're
2:09
diving straight into this one, folks. So, please grab yourself a coffee, subscribe for more stories like this
2:14
every week, and let's brew up an investigation. This is the case of Suzanne Morphw.
Suzanne Morphew
2:29
It's hard to believe that such a story could ever happen in a town like Celita, Colorado, where the forests stretch
2:35
endlessly beneath crisp mountain air and the Arkansas River carves through the town that seems to be frozen in time. It
2:42
is the kind of place where life does seem to move a little bit slower. In Celida, porch lights flicker on at dusk,
2:49
and the loudest sound at night is the wind through the pines. People here don't seem to lock their doors out of
2:55
habit, but merely out of routine, because crime, well, that tends to happen somewhere else. But saying that,
3:01
something about Celita made it the perfectly ominous place for a mystery like this. Because behind those postcard
3:08
perfect views and sundappled trails, the isolation here seems to cut both ways.
3:14
And when the forest swallows a secret hole, it rarely gives it back. It was at 5:46 p.m. on May the 10th, 2020, which
3:22
just so happened to be Mother's Day, that concerned neighbors called the police to report Suzanne Murphy as
3:28
missing. Her children had got in touch with them to voice their concerns because Suzanne hadn't been responding
3:34
to any of their messages or phone calls. Her daughters were away from the property at the time, as was her
3:40
husband, Barry. So, the plan was for officers to meet the neighbor, Martin, who confirmed that he had knocked on the
3:46
property's front door, but received no response. Suzanne was known to ride her bike in the area, as biking was one of
3:53
her favorite hobbies, and it was also noted by the neighbors that her bike did seem to be missing from the property at
3:59
this time. By 7:30 that evening, her disappearance had begun to grow more urgently, and so officers made their way
4:06
along County Road 225, which is a narrow, winding road branching off from Highway 50 and not far from the Morphew
4:14
residence. By the way, this is a note to say that we'll be looking at body cam footage for a few minutes for valuable
4:20
context. I have tried to condense this down to the bare minimum and then we'll go back to the usual format after.
4:26
Officers crept along the path slowly, scanning the steep incline that boarded the road and hoping to spot any trace of
4:33
Suzanne or her bicycle. And then, just as they turned a bend near the base of its hill, that is when they saw it. A
4:40
blue Santa Cruz mountain bike, which was lying awkwardly near the edge of a ravine with its front tire pointed
4:46
sharply downward and towards the creek below. Now, at first glance, it did look like the kind of spot where a serious
4:53
crash might have happened. But as they approached the area, something did seem
4:58
to feel off. There was no blood and no sign of impact. In fact, the whole surrounding vegetation was completely
5:06
undisturbed. Not bent, not trampled, and not flattened in any way. In other
5:11
words, if someone really had fallen here, then they didn't land the way that you'd expect. And despite the steep,
5:17
rocky drop, the bike itself was not damaged whatsoever. There was no bent frame, no broken gears, and no scuffs
5:25
along the handlebars. In fact, it didn't look like it had been ridden down the hill at all. More like it had been
5:31
placed there. When Deputy Brown picked up the bike and then returned it to the path, he noticed something else. The
5:38
front brake pad was seized and the handlebars had been twisted completely to the left, therefore causing the brake
5:44
cables to wrap tightly around the frame and therefore making the bike kind of difficult or even impossible to ride.
5:51
They also examined the dirt shoulder, which was just above where the bike had been found. They noted that if Suzanne
5:57
had in fact lost control coming down that hill, then there should be signs like tire tracks, skid marks, and
6:03
disturbed soil. But lo and behold, there was nothing. That is when they decided
6:08
to head to the property and meet with Suzanne's daughter's boyfriend. And what he had to share with the officers was
6:15
very interesting. Are you? Okay. So, I'm the daughter's boyfriend.
Meeting with the boyfriend
6:22
Okay. And I'm here. Is this your truck? That's my truck. See my ditch Never mind. I got
6:28
something here. So, you haven't seen the mom at all, have you? Yep. So, the two daughters are gone
6:34
right now at the moment. The dad is in Denver for a job and they text her cuz of Mother's Day and they haven't heard
6:41
the text never went through. Like, it never delivered since this morning. And she's a big mountain biker. She
6:47
normally takes her car. Yeah. And her bike's normally in the back of that. It's gone. Was this open when you came here?
6:54
Um, the neighbor was here that opened it and then she shut it and she went back to her house. Her house is right over there. What kind of jackets does she wear?
7:00
I mean, a windbreaker. A windbreaker. I don't know what color. I saw her. I mean, we don't even know what time she
7:05
left today. Yeah. Yeah. But they have cameras. They have cameras, but they've been out of commission for a while.
7:13
So, her bike was close to the road. Yeah. Martin on that right now. Um, I know this is a weird question, but
7:19
um, did Barry and Suzanne get along pretty well? Uh,
7:25
you can answer. You know, I think I think they've had some problems. Okay. Yeah. in the past like just normal
7:32
normal husband and wife type deals. Oh, they like talk about separating or anything like that.
7:37
They have. Yeah, I would. Yeah. And just like that, officers now had their first whiff of a potential motive.
7:44
Of course, should Suzanne's disappearance be more than a temporary thing. And then finally, not even half
7:50
an hour later, her husband Barry arrived at the scene.
8:00
What? Where is it? Where's the bike? Oh, it's right there. Where was it? It was like just right down here in this
8:05
little embankment right here. So,
8:11
check. We got the husband on the scene here with me.
8:19
Okay. I'm going to get my daughter. Okay. All right. Yeah, you can go down
8:24
there. Is it a crash? I mean the bike looked the way it was laying it kind of looked like it but there's not really that much
8:30
damage to the bike lion. Yeah. No lion.
8:36
As you can see Barry seems to be genuinely shocked and distraught that his wife was now all of a sudden
8:41
missing. However, let's just say that there was a lot that officers didn't know and a lot more that he didn't
8:47
either. Because as it turns out, detectives had already swept the property and what they found were a few
8:53
interesting clues left behind. But before we get to that, let's first talk about Barry and Suzanne and what their
8:58
relationship was really like. Because as you know, several people around them already knew that things were shaky to
9:06
say the least. Growing up in the same town, the two met as teenagers in the late 1980s, and with them meeting so
9:12
long ago, there is a lot of history between the two. Beginning with Suzanne, she was born on
Barry and Suzanne
9:19
April the 30th, 1971 and grew up in the same small town of Alexandria, Indiana.
9:25
As the youngest of four children, she was known as a friendly and popular girl in her community and graduated
9:31
Alexandria Monroe High School in 1989. She then went on to Peru University
9:37
where she earned a degree in elementary education. And after college, she returned to her hometown and became an
9:43
elementary teacher who was beloved by her students and colleagues alike. She was known for her kindness and her
9:50
patience. And those who knew Suzanne well described her as warm, compassionate, and devoted to her
9:56
family. Four years older than Suzanne, Barry Morphw was born on October the 17th, 1967, and of course also grew up
10:03
in Alexandria. Within this tight community, the Morphw name was actually wellknown. Barry was a star athlete in
10:10
high school and a talented baseball player who was even drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays. He was outgoing,
10:17
athletic, and loved the outdoors. And after his brief brush with a potential baseball career, he decided to settle
10:23
into life in Indiana. He became an avid hunter and eventually a deer farmer,
10:28
raising trophy deer on a farm property before then going on to build a successful landscaping business from the
10:35
ground up, earning a reputation for being a provider for his family and a man proud of his work ethic. But the
10:41
story between Barry and Suzanne actually started a few years prior and the two began dating when she was still in high
10:48
school and after Barry had graduated. They say that the young couple were absolutely smitten and they gladly
10:55
shared the same Midwestern roots and Christian values. The pair married on August the 5th, 1994 when Suzanne was 23
11:03
and Barry, 27. It was a picture perfect summer wedding and the couple seemed
11:08
destined for a happy life together and they would have that too for quite a long while. In the early years of
11:15
marriage, they remained near their families. Suzanne became a school teacher and Barry a landscaping business
11:21
owner. And with both of their careers thriving, it allowed them to provide a comfortable life for their future
11:27
family. After 6 years of marriage, Barry and Suzanne finally welcomed their first daughter, Mallerie, and four years later
11:34
in 2003, their second daughter, Macy. It is safe to say that these two girls
11:39
became their everything. And on the sidelines, the Morphws were active in their church and their community. And by
11:45
all appearances, they had a strong familyoriented and faith-c centered marriage. But sadly, they faced
11:52
adversity together, too. When in her 20ies, Suzanne was diagnosed with Hodkins lymphoma. And although she would
11:58
eventually beat it, she had to face a second round only a few years later. But thankfully, all this did was make the
12:04
family's bond stronger, and Barry stood by Suzanne throughout the entirety of her chemotherapy. And when she finally
12:10
went into remission in 2018, it felt like there was a whole new lease of life for the family. It was around this time
12:16
that the Morphew family decided for a big change and they moved to Colorado in 2018 when they purchased a $ 1.5 million
12:23
home on a 7 acre plot of land. I mean, all of this made sense because by now
12:28
their oldest daughter, Mallerie, had started attending college in Colorado. And with all of the stress of Suzanne's
12:34
health, they decided to have a fresh start somewhere new. However, unofficially, friends began to whisper
12:39
that their marriage had unfortunately become under strain, and this relocation was an attempt to rekindle their
12:46
relationship in a new environment. The initial years in Colorado seemed
12:51
good for the family. Suzanne adored the mountains, and Barry was still able to continue his landscaping business, and
12:58
together they spent a lot of good time in the great outdoors. There are many photos to show the couple on hikes and
13:05
at their daughter's school events. However, behind closed doors, trouble was unfortunately brewing.
Barrys controlling behavior
13:13
Over time, Suzanne's close friends began to hear troubling things about their marriage. And according to her siblings,
13:20
she confided that Barry not only had a temper, but was controlling, too. Apparently, he would obsessively monitor
13:26
her whereabouts and was even possessive. In fact, Suzanne even made implications
13:32
that she was concerned about her own safety around Barry and that perhaps the marriage had started to deteriorate
13:39
quite significantly. And here comes the sticky part. But by 2018, and unknown to
13:45
Barry, Suzanne had actually reconnected with an old friend named Jeff from high school. And what began as a casual
13:52
check-in soon blossomed into an intense emotional affair, and only one year later, a physical one. While Barry was
13:59
busy with his work, Suzanne and Jeff would secretly speak to each other through burner phones. They would even
14:05
secretly meet in person during Suzanne's trips out of town, beginning in 2019 and
14:11
continuing right the way through to a secret holiday in Florida in early 2020.
14:16
It is no surprise that by now Suzanne's text messages to friends had become rather harsh towards her husband. She
14:23
described Barry's mood swings and his controlling behavior in greater detail, claiming that not only did she want
14:30
peace, but also hoping that Barry would merely get fed up and leave. I mean, she
14:35
even kept a private list on her phone, which was titled 50 reasons why I want Barry to leave. When your breakup has
14:41
its own spreadsheet, you know it's serious. I'm just surprised that she kept it at 50. By the year 2020, Suzanne
Suzannes disappearance
14:49
had finally made her mind up and was going to leave Barry and officially end the marriage. In fact, on May the 6th of
14:55
that same year, she would even explicitly tell him that she was done. Of course, she disappeared only a few
15:01
days later. And no surprise, but when officers learned of that detail, they became very suspicious. I mean, they
15:07
already knew that the two were having issues. But that moment, that would have been extremely emotional for Barry. In
15:13
fact, as you can see here in a text message, Suzanne wrote, "I'm done. I could care less what you're up to and
15:19
have been for years. We just need to figure this out civily." And so, after 26 years of marriage, the life that
15:25
Barry knew, including his family, his pride as a provider, and his very identity wasn't only threatened, but
15:32
essentially obliterated overnight. And soon enough, the world would learn that there were dark occurrence beneath his
15:38
wholesome persona. But were they really dangerous enough to insinuate murder? Well, as we know, only a few days after
15:45
Suzanne told Barry that she was done, she suddenly disappeared. It was Mother's Day, and by midm morning, both
15:51
of their daughters had texted her, but unfortunately, to their surprise, got no reply. Suzanne, who was always ever
15:59
attentive, wasn't responding to any of her calls or messages. And as the hours
16:04
passed with silence, her girls grew worried and then contacted their father. But Barry was not near the property
16:10
either. Apparently, he was in Broomfield, Colorado for a presscheduled landscaping job. In fact, surveillance
16:17
cameras would even record him at that hotel at 11:38 that morning. So, he
16:23
couldn't have possibly been home when she had vanished. Right. Barry tried to call Suzanne, but of course was also met
16:30
with silence and by the afternoon had asked a neighbor to check on her. He also specifically asked the neighbor to
16:36
see if Suzanne's mountain bike was in the garage, which, okay, was a little bit of an odd request, but maybe it was
16:43
just a hunch. By late afternoon, deputies arrived, which of course would then lead us to that body cam footage in
16:50
question. Now, when informed about the bike, you might have expected that Barry would then race home in a panic, but
16:56
instead, he remained on the job for several more hours. Phone records show that after getting the phone call, he
17:03
then traveled past his hotel in Broomfield, where he then dropped off some tools and a shovel and only left
17:09
after 6:00 p.m. By the time he got home, it was nearly 9:00 p.m. where, of
17:14
course, in body cam footage, he then looked frazzled and worried. Whatever the case, by sundown, the search for
17:20
Suzanne was in full swing. Teams of police officers, volunteers, neighbors, and even the FBI combed the area, which
17:28
included the use of ATVs, boats, and even helicopters. In the days immediately following her disappearance,
17:34
both Barry and their daughters would put on a show of desperate hope. In fact, he would even go live on television to
17:41
release this emotional video. Oh, Suzanne, if anyone is out there that can hear this that has you,
17:50
please, we'll do whatever it takes to bring you back. We love you. We miss you. Your girls need you.
17:58
No questions asked. However much they want, I will do whatever it takes to get
18:04
you back. Honey, I love you. I want you back.
18:09
But as investigators dug deeper into Suzanne's case, bizarre clues slowly
18:14
began to emerge. And those clues shifted their focus. Inside of Suzanne's SUV,
18:20
deputies found her sunglasses and a hydration backpack, items which she was known to always take on her rides. It
18:27
now began to look like she never went on a bike ride at all that day, and investigators quietly began to suspect
18:34
the scene was staged to mislead them. Meanwhile, inside the home, they noticed what could be minor signs of a struggle.
18:41
For instance, a door frame to the master bedroom was cracked, a dark vertical split in the wood that was not there
18:48
when the house was sold to them. Meanwhile, in the laundry room, another hint of foul play turned up. While
18:54
collecting evidence, police officers found a plastic cap for a syringe inside of the dryer. They noted that the cap is
19:02
the type typically used on a tranquilizer dart. And her husband did own a tranquilizer gun that was used for
19:08
animals. In fact, Barry was even known to keep tranquilizer darts and a dart gun as part of his deer farming and
19:15
hunting hobby. But why would a cap from a tranquilizer syringe be found in the dryer with bedding? Speaking of bedding,
19:22
an unspent bullet casing was found next to the couple's bed. And on that note,
19:27
why had all of the linen been cast to the side in their daughter's bedroom, too? All of this was just a little bit
19:33
odd. Another dramatic discovery came 10 days after Suzanne vanished, because tucked
Spy pen
19:40
away in the back of her closet was what looked like an ordinary pen. However, in reality, it was actually a spy pen, that
19:47
being a recorder that was disguised as one. As it turns out, Suzanne believed that Barry was actually the one having
19:53
an affair and she wanted to catch him out on it. But ironically, the only thing the device would record was many
19:58
phone calls of her own affair instead. Now, believe it or not, but it would actually take the investigators 6 months
20:04
to identify this mystery man on the recordings. Because this guy, Jeff, who lived in Michigan with his own wife and
20:10
children, would not actually come forward after her disappearance. In fact, he'd even taken multiple steps to
20:16
delete all of their messages out of fear. But once he was finally tracked by the officers, he fully cooperated. And
20:22
not only did he have a lot of information to share with them, but he was also cleared of any suspicion. That
20:27
is with the police at least. But I'm sure that his actual wife found him to be entirely culpable. Now, there is
20:33
actually a lot more to this affair. It turns out that Jeff and Suzanne actually first hooked up at a house party in
20:40
college decades prior. And with her and Barry already a couple back then, even that encounter was unfaithful. Only a
20:47
couple of days later, Barry found Jeff on the golf course where he was moments away from quote beating him down. He
20:54
only stopped after Jeff convinced him that it simply wasn't worth it, and he promised to leave his girlfriend alone.
21:00
After that encounter, Jeff and Suzanne didn't message each other again until the year 2018. It was Suzanne who broke
21:06
the ice by messaging him on LinkedIn saying, "Howdy, stranger." From that point onwards, they began to talk on the
21:12
phone platonically before eventually starting an affair. All while Suzanne gave him numerous reasons why she wanted
21:19
to leave Barry. It is worth noting here that by now Jeff was already married to another woman and had several kids. As
21:26
the affair amped up, so did the tension between Suzanne and Barry. Barry grew paranoid and was quite suspicious of his
21:33
wife. And Suzanne, well, she certainly did not help that situation. However, Barry responded in concerning ways, too.
21:40
He often asked to see her phone and would even stalk her while she was with friends. I mean, it turns out that he
21:47
did actually have a reason to be suspicious because between October of 2018 and December of 2019, Jeff and
21:54
Suzanne called each other a staggering total of 738 times. Now, although she believed that
22:01
Barry was also having an affair, there is actually no concrete evidence to suggest this. He even sent her a message
22:08
several days before she disappeared to say, "I promise you were wrong about all the crazy thoughts about me. I have
22:14
always been faithful. Only a fool would stray from an angel like you." But the deeper that investigators looked, the
22:21
worse it became. In an interview with officers, one of the daughters confirmed that their marriage was not doing well,
22:28
that they had also discussed divorce in the past, and that a separation was probably for the best. However, the
22:34
other daughter denied knowing about any marital issues and would even go on to describe their marriage as very loving.
22:41
But apparently Barry's interview with officers was rife with suspicion. And throughout this interview, detectives
22:47
would notice several glaring inconsistencies. To begin with, he explained that he left the property at
22:53
5:00 a.m. that morning and that he left his wife sound asleep in bed. Later on in the day, he then texted her, "Happy
23:00
Mother's Day," but never received a response. However, not only had his story changed of when he last saw
23:06
Suzanne, but both phone and vehicle data would later confirm that his entire account of where he was that morning was
23:13
incorrect. Both the drive to the hotel and the times he was there were inconsistent. He would also consistently
23:20
flop between describing their marriage and their final night together as perfect to then going on to admitting
23:25
that they did in fact have quite the horrible argument. And remember his drive to Broomfield on the morning she
23:31
disappeared? Well, it turns out that he was actually supposed to drive there with a colleague the following day, but
23:37
instead he left the home alone at 5:00 a.m. that Sunday morning. Safe to say that detectives were now very suspicious
23:44
of Barry, as were many other members of the public, too. And as the days turned into weeks, there was still no sign of
23:51
his wife whatsoever. It was kind of like she had just disappeared that morning, never to be seen again. Almost an entire
23:58
month went by and search parties were still out there every day looking for her. Barry stuck to his story,
24:04
suggesting that maybe his wife had been abducted, murdered by friends, or even taken hostage by a mountain lion. In
24:11
fact, that did seem to be his leading theory, while also blaming detectives, as seen in this video here. What seems
24:17
to have happened from the investigators and they don't give much and I've got private people
24:24
working for me is maybe she was abducted right here and
24:31
they found an article going west of hers. They won't tell us what it is. So,
24:37
they sent another team after they found the article that covered this hillside
24:43
all the way down to the river pretty good. My concerns were
24:50
this way and that way if it was the cat cuz the cats, they dragged their prey up
24:58
the mountain and out of people's. We can't find sign for the cat, but we got rain like right away. We put a
25:05
washed away sign. So, they found her bike just right against that tree down there. Well, no, it was on the ground. It was
25:11
the wheel was facing and the and the uh sheriff's department uh they screwed
25:16
everything up. They shouldn't have touched it all. Left its evidence. They
25:22
pulled it up and then the sheriff had we had cars over here. Well, the
25:28
sheriff let everybody drive through here covering all or messing up
25:33
all the evidence. They were walking all over this area, which if somebody abducted her, they would have had foot
25:40
tracks. They would have had fingerprints on the bike. They left 10 other people touched the bike.
25:46
Oh, man. I mean, we was really upset that first night that I was in Denver, so Oh, you were?
25:51
I didn't get here until 9:00 that night. Yeah. And my friend's an army ranger
25:57
and he knows this stuff better than anybody. Despite everything they had against him, detectives decided to hold
Liquidation
26:02
off for a while. Because without a body, well, building a solid case against Barry would be next to near impossible.
26:08
In the months that followed, Barry began to liquidate all of the family's assets. This included selling their first home
26:14
in Indiana. And only 2 months after Suzanne disappeared, even selling her Range Rover, which is kind of strange,
26:21
right? Because surely if your wife just suddenly vanished without a trace, then you'd want to hold on to her car just in
26:26
case she came back. And if that wasn't enough already, then only a few months later, he would go on to sell their very
26:32
own home on Puma Path and not for pocket change either, because that would sell for a cool $1.6 million. Whatever
26:40
happened to Suzanne, and whether he had anything to do with it or not, it looked like Barry was ready to close this
26:45
chapter of his life, cash in, and then move on. And he did so with the full support of his daughters. However, that
26:52
would not last very long because as the one-year mark approached, detectives came knocking at his front door, and
26:58
what they had in their hand was an arrest warrant. On the morning of May the 5th, 2021, Barry was finally
Arrest
27:05
arrested near his home in Poncha Springs. He was then arrested and charged with multiple counts, including
27:11
firstderee murder, tampering with physical evidence, and attempting to influence a public servant, with that
27:17
last charge related to false statements that he gave to investigators. The news of Barry's arrest shocked some but
27:23
validated others. And to those who had followed the case closely, it actually felt inevitable. As the case moved
27:30
towards its preliminary hearing, parts of the evidence became public, and the released affidavit painted a very dark
27:37
picture. Investigators testified about the tranquilizer dart cap found in the dryer, the discovery of Barry's
27:43
tranquilizer gun and darts in the garage, and a damning timeline pieced together from his cell phone and truck
27:50
data, which they argued tracked his suspicious movements on the day of the crime. And surprisingly, that is not
27:57
even counting what we've already discussed, because trust me, there was a lot more. For example, Barry's GPS data
28:04
from the day that Suzanne vanished showed some seriously strange behavior. At precisely 2:47 p.m., his phone was
28:11
switched into airplane mode, cutting it off from the network, and over the next hour or so, the GPS picked up frantic
28:18
movement. It showed that his phone was darting all over the property, bouncing from point to point. Now, apparently
28:26
Barry would later claim that he was outside shooting chipmunks with a rifle, which is a bizarre explanation at the
28:32
best of times, and the investigators were not buying it either. They believed that Barry had actually tranquilized
28:38
Suzanne and was then chasing her around the house as the drug slowly took effect, which is a terrifying thing to
28:44
think about, as this means that Suzanne would have been slipping into unconsciousness as she tried to run
28:50
away. And then were the photos. Images taken of Barry the next day show scratches and abrasions all across his
Timeline
28:57
hands and arms. Now Barry claims that they were actually from work, but in my mind, these marks look far more like
29:04
defensive wounds. Kind of like someone had clawed at him with their fingernails as they fought back. And as for Barry's
29:10
time in Broomfield, well, that didn't exactly help his case either. Investigators believe that he staged
29:16
Suzanne's bike down a hill to make it look like an accident or possibly an abduction. and along the highway on his
29:22
way out of town. They suspect that he then tossed her helmet out of his truck window. By that point, Suzanne was
29:28
likely unconscious or maybe even perhaps dead. It is theorized that Barry then secured her body, probably hidden at
29:35
another location and then planned to deal with it once he had more time. Between 3:25 and 3:48 that morning, the
29:43
doors to his Ford F350 were opened and then closed multiple times. At 3:56, his
29:49
phone was unlocked. And then at 4:23, Suzanne's phone registered with a local cell tower for the very last time. At
Trash Runs
29:57
around 5:00 a.m. and confirmed by his own reports, and as the sun was just beginning to rise, Barry then hit the
30:03
road toward Broomfield for what he claimed was a work trip. However, he was not only carrying tools, because, as it
30:11
turns out, he was also carrying incriminating evidence. By 8:00 a.m., he checked into his Broomfield Hotel, but
30:18
strangely didn't do much work on the job. Co-workers say that he seemed agitated, and one would even say that
30:24
they saw him carrying large trash bags to the dumpsters. And that is true because over the next few hours, he made
30:30
five separate stops at dumpsters all across the town. Surveillance footage later captured him dumping trash at
30:37
random spots, including behind a gas station, into a McDonald's bin, and even at a dumpster near his hotel. He would
30:44
even claim that he traveled to McDonald's to buy a Big Mac, but then changed his mind and ate a granola bar
30:50
instead. I guess it turns out that he was on a diet of lies and deceit. Investigators believe that all of these
30:56
were strategic trash where he then discarded bloody rags, packaging for the tranquilizer darts, and anything else
31:03
that might connect him to the crime. In one of those dumpsters, police would later find an empty tranquilizer dart
31:09
case matching the exact kind that Barry had. And here is the real kicker, but all of these trash runs happened before
31:16
anyone knew that Suzanne was missing. So if Barry really were innocent, then he
31:21
spent all of Mother's Day frantically dumping trash and bleaching his hotel room without once trying to call All
31:27
Wishes Wife a Happy Mother's Day. He then traveled back to his hotel and between 12:42 and 6:03 p.m. he didn't
31:35
leave. When he did finally check out, a cleaner claimed that apparently the room rire of bleach. Wet towels were
31:42
scattered all over the place. Now Barry claims that he was just merely washing off dust, but the smell, well, that told
31:49
a different story. It kind of smelled like someone had been scrubbing something away. And to investigators,
31:54
this wasn't merely odd. It was damning. However, this case was still far from over because despite all of this
The Aftermath
32:01
evidence being available, they still didn't have one crucial thing, and of course, that was a body. As a result, he
32:08
pleaded not guilty to all counts, and with no body and well, largely circumstantial evidence, the prosecution
32:15
faced an uphill battle. Even still, they remained confident. In the meantime, Barry's defense team highlighted that
32:21
there was no proof that he actually harmed Suzanne, including no eyewitnesses or a confession, and the
32:27
case was almost derailed entirely when the prosecution failed to meet multiple deadlines for submitting evidence. And
32:34
that's because the prosecution was still desperately searching for her body. And then, believe it or not, but facing the
32:40
possibility of going to trial without one, the DA then made the dramatic call to dismiss all charges against Barry.
32:47
Which means just like that, he was effectively a free man and legally an innocent one. And only days later, he
32:54
walked out of the Fremont County Courthouse with a broad smile and both daughters. Mary, how does it feel?
33:00
Barry Morphw was flanked by his family. His mother and sister were there, but closest to his side were his two
33:06
daughters. While Barry is smiling, you can see his youngest daughter is beaming.
33:12
The family ended up driving around the backside of the jail shortly after where they continued to finalize details of
33:18
his bond. While they offered no comment, the entire time you can see Morphw and his daughters appeared to be elated. His
33:24
daughters have been by his side since his arrest about 4 and 1/2 months ago. As you can see, his daughters continued
33:31
to stand firmly by his side, visibly overjoyed that their father was now finally free. As for Barry, he kept a
33:39
relatively low profile after that. He and his daughters moved out of Celita, reportedly settling in another part of
33:45
Colorado for a while before then eventually moving on to Arizona. Soon enough, Barry then decided to push back
33:52
against the authorities. He filed notices of intent to sue those he believed had wronged him. And in May of
33:58
2023, he and his legal team filed a $15 million lawsuit against prosecutors and
34:04
all the investigators involved in his case, citing the year that he had lost to false accusations and the deep toll
34:11
that it took on him and his family. One strange thing to mention here is that during this time, Barry found himself
34:18
convicted of voter fraud after voting in the US election under Suzanne's name. When the FBI later asked why he did it,
34:24
Barry shrugged and said that he just wanted Trump to win and figured she was going to vote for him anyway. Now, Barry
34:30
claimed that he didn't actually realize this was illegal, even if it was for your wife. But he did ultimately plead
34:36
guilty to forgery. And although he received no jail time, to many it actually said a lot. It showed that he
34:42
was willing to bend the rules and even lie to get what he wanted. And it really does seem like he was becoming a little
34:48
bit too arrogant here because unknown to him at the time, the police were on to something.
The Discovery
34:54
On September the 22nd, 2023, Suzanne was finally found. Deep in the rugged
35:00
wilderness of Sagawachi County, Colorado, and about 45 mi south of their
35:06
home, an investigation team conducting an unrelated search stumbled upon a shallow grave. Inside they discovered
35:13
skeletal remains and shreds of clothing and within days dental records confirmed
35:18
that it unfortunately was Suzanne. The location was remote. It was a dry high
35:24
desert clearing near the tiny town of Moffat, far from any main road or highway. But several details were both
35:30
alarming and incredibly revealing here. For one, many of Suzanne's bones were significantly bleached, indicating that
35:38
they had been on the surface and exposed to the sun for quite some time. Secondly, several parts of her skeleton
35:44
seemed to be missing, including bones from her feet, and her shoes were also not present. Investigators would also
35:51
find fragments of her bike clothing, and also a single unfired bullet near the grave. Given that her remains were both
35:58
scattered and sunbleleached, anthropologists believe that Suzanne's body had likely decomposed at a
36:04
different location before then being moved on to this site at a later date. In other words, she was murdered and
36:11
then left somewhere and then moved many months later. The implication here was
36:16
chilling. Perhaps spooked by the ongoing searches or upcoming trial, had someone secretly transported her bones to a more
36:23
distant hiding spot. Now, there is no public information on to when the remains were placed here. However, it is
36:30
a question that will likely be answered in a trial yet to come. Tonight, we are learning more about the discovery of the remains of Suzanne
36:37
Morphw, the Salida mom who went missing on Mother's Day of 2020. The Colorado
36:42
Bureau of Investigation announced it had discovered her remains near the town of Moffett. That's about two hours
36:49
southwest of Colorado Springs and not far from Sand Dunes National Park in Swatch County. Gio News Channel 13's
36:56
Annabelle Childers is live in Moffett at the area locals believe that discovery
37:01
happened. Annabelle, we are right off Highway 17 in Moffett
37:07
surrounded by bits and pieces of caution tape and you can see two pieces right there tied to these plants. Now, the
37:13
Colorado Bureau of Investigation will not confirm that this is exactly where Suzanne Morphw's remains were found. But
37:19
several locals, including the Moffett fire chief, believe it is because they say they saw investigators here for
37:25
multiple days over the weekend. As you can imagine, this moment was bittersweet for her family. On one hand,
37:31
it removed any hope that Suzanne was still alive, but on the other, it meant that they could finally lay her to rest.
37:38
But perhaps even more importantly, it would also offer fresh evidence. Because when this autopsy was publicly released
37:44
in April of 2024, not only would it confirm that she was murdered, but also provides some brand new and shocking
37:52
clues. Toxicology tests found traces of BAM in her system, which stands for these three things. But more
37:58
specifically, BAM can only be found in wildlife tranquilizers, which does ring a bell, doesn't it? And if that wasn't
38:04
enough already, well, detectives had long known that Barry was actually the only person in the entire state of
38:11
Colorado to be licensed and purchased it recently. And so with that in mind, an
38:16
arrest warrant was made for Barry once again. On June the 21st, 2025, Barry was once
The Arrest
38:23
again arrested in Arizona. He didn't resist either. In fact, he reportedly told the officers that he had long
38:30
suspected to this day might come. Within days, he was extradited back to Colorado, and this time he is definitely
38:37
going to trial. The federal, state, and local authorities all made it very clear that this indictment was based on new
38:44
facts and evidence that hadn't been available back in 2021. And sure enough, the new details focus heavily on the BAM
38:51
tranquilizer, particularly Barry's exclusive access to it. Records show that Barry obtained multiple
38:58
prescriptions for BAM while he was still living in Indiana. Not only that, but he was using it on deer as recently as
39:04
April of 2020. That being only one month before Suzanne was murdered. Turns out
39:10
that between 2017 and 2020, not one single zoo, vet, or wildlife official in
39:16
the entire region reported any use or purchase of BAM except Barry. So, if
39:22
traces of BAM were found in Suzanne, well, there's really only one likely
39:27
source. Despite this, Barry's daughters, who are both now in their 20ies, still remain by his side. They continue to
39:34
believe that their father is being unfairly persecuted. Looks like lovers blind, especially when it's your own
39:40
family. As of the time this video is being posted, Barry is once again awaiting trial. He has already made his
39:47
first court appearance, and the judge has set his bond at a steep $3 million
39:52
in cash only. Prosecutors believe that they now have the upper hand. And with Suzanne's body and the chemical evidence
39:59
at their disposal, yes, absolutely, their case is now stronger than ever. But the chances are that Barry will not
40:06
go down without a fight. And so I am sure that his legal team are preparing for war.
Conclusion
40:13
So that is basically where we're at for now. And although Barry hasn't yet stood trial, I do think it's kind of obvious
40:20
which way this will go. I did also want to cover this case while I could because honestly, I do see this becoming the
40:26
next Chris Watt story. And by the way, it is no surprise to learn that Barry's lawsuit against law enforcement has
40:31
basically all but fallen apart. I don't think he'll be worrying about that much longer. Over the 5 years since that
40:37
fateful Mother's Day, this story has taken some dizzying turns. Basically cycling through theories, arrests,
40:43
setbacks, and now finally a trial. And while the outcome feels all but inevitable, it is clear that this story
40:49
is not yet over. It is a tragic one, no doubt. And Suzanne, she definitely did not deserve to die. But that is not to
40:56
say that she handled everything perfectly either. From having a long-running affair to planting secret recording devices in her own home, it is
41:03
clear that there were multiple layers of dysfunction here. But then again, if this really was an abusive relationship,
41:09
then simply walking away is well, never as simple as it seems. In hindsight,
41:14
this marriage should have definitely ended multiple years prior. And in those hundreds of messages between the two,
41:20
Barry came across as both self-loathing and explosively reactive. So that is
41:25
basically where we're at for now. And I'm sure that once this case actually wraps up and the dust settles, I will
41:30
probably revisit it again. But for now, that is all I have on this one, folks. And by the way, thank you so much for
41:36
making it this far and watching until the end. I really do appreciate you. As always, I'll see you again the same time
41:42
next week. But in the meantime, make sure to look after each other and of course stay curious. Thank you and
41:48
goodbye.