Barry Morphew pleads not guilty to the murder of his wife in longrunning case

Barry Morphew pleaded not guilty today to the murder of his wife Suzanne, who first went missing on Mother’s Day 2020. A jury trial was set for October.

Morphew was arraigned this afternoon in an Alamosa County courthouse about 40 miles south of where Suzanne’s remains were found in 2023. The case has attracted intense attention from the vast online true crime community from the beginning.

The attention has led to the court to strictly limit who is allowed to view the case through live stream, after online channels shared court hearing recordings against the judge’s orders.

Morphew, dressed in a button up shirt, is out of jail on bond while he awaits trial. His attorney David Beller entered the plea of not guilty on behalf of Morphew, and told the judge that Morphew waives his right to a trial within 180 days.

“Unfortunately, with the amount of data, the length of the trial, we do not, the defense does not think that it's realistic to have the trial set within 180 [days],” Beller said.

The judge asked Morphew if he understood that he was waiving his right to a speedy trial, and he responded, “yes, your honor.”

This is the second time he has faced murder charges for the death of his wife. In 2021, he was charged by the then 11th Judicial District Attorney, Linda Stanley, but the case fell apart because overwhelmed prosecutors could not keep pace with court deadlines, and Suzanne’s body had not yet been found.

Stanley was disbarred in 2024, in large part over her handling of the Morphew case. Stanley conducted inappropriate interviews with YouTube true crime shows while the case was active, and launched an investigation of the judge in that case due to rulings against the prosecution.

In 2023 the case broke open, state authorities discovered Suzanne’s remains on a remote patch of land south of the town of Moffat. An autopsy completed in 2024 found the presence of an animal tranquilizer called BAM that Barry Morphew has access to, according to investigators.

Morphew was arrested again in Arizona last year after a grand jury returned an indictment for murder of Suzanne. He was transported to Colorado to face the charges.

Morphew was eventually released from jail after posting a $3 million bond. He was allowed by the court to use a bail bonds company, after the couple’s daughters argued that their father should be released while he awaits trial. He was able to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash to secure the bond — Morphew’s attorneys have declined to reveal the source of the funds.