July 08, 2025
Forty-nine-year-old Suzanne Morphew was reported missing by a neighbour on May 10, 2020.
Her husband, Barry Lee Morphew, told police that she went on a bike ride on the day she went missing. The pair had two children together and lived in Mayville, Colorado, on a property reportedly worth $1.75 million.
They initially met in Indiana, and moved to Colorado several years ago. They had been married for twenty five years and have two daughters together who are now adults. Suzanne had fought brain cancer and survived, and mountain biking was one of her passions.
Suzanne went missing on Mother’s Day, and although her daughter’s sent her messages wishing her a happy day, she never responded.
Suzanne’s helmet and bicycle were later recovered in Chaffee County, both were found in different places and were said to be in an acceptable condition “without significant damage.”
When questioned by police regarding his wife’s actions before she went missing, Barry Morphew said he last saw her in bed at around 5am. She was sleeping, he said. They had gone to bed early the night before, Barry told them, adding that they ate steaks that night.
An affidavit states that in January of 2020, Suzanne "took clear, articulable steps in attempts to separate and divorce her husband, Barry."
The documents reads that Suzanne told family and close friends about her intentions and noted down instances of abuse in her phone. A few days before her disappearance, the document states that she sent a message to Barry in which she wrote: "I'm done, let's handle this civilly.”
Barry had allegedly destroyed evidence of unrest in their marriage, and portrayed his relationship with the victim as “perfect,” in what police said was an attempt to mislead them from discovering the truth.
Investigators uncovered information that in April 2018, around a month after Barry, Suzanne, and one of their daughters moved to Colorado, Suzanne had messaged an old school friend, Jeff Libler, writing: "Howdy Stranger."
Per the affidavit, Libler, who lives in Michigan, stayed in regular communication with Suzanne from then on. They started meeting in person across various states in 2019, and their relationship eventually became physical.
He said that he was a bad person because of the affair, and later stated that although he attempted to conceal it, one of his daughters had seen a message from Suzane on his phone.
He described Suzanne as "beautiful, kind, someone who treated people well and a good listener." He said she wanted to divorce Barry for herself. To get away from him.
Conversations with her best friend via Snapchat reveal that Suzanne had been given a "spy pen" to record conversations with Barry.
A file from the pen titled: 03/22/2020 appeared to have been recorded in Barry's vehicle, as he drove alone to Pueblo. While driving he was listening to episodes of Forensic Files, one of which was on the case of a little girl named Vicki Lynne Hoskinson, who was found murdered after going missing on a bike ride.
Barry became aware of the affair in January 2019, while he and Suzanne were staying at a resort in Mexico.
Barry’s knowledge of "a boyfriend" was stated in the victim's notes app on her cell phone, however, Libler’s identity was not known to Barry at this point.
Investigators determined Barry had accused Suzane of having a boyfriend on May 6, 2020.
May 9, 2020, was the last time they could determine that Suzane was alive.
At around 14:00 that day she sent Libler a selfie. She didn't message him back until around 45 minutes later. By 14:47, Barry's cell phone was in airplane mode.
When investigated about his whereabouts from May 9, 2020 - May 10, 2020, authorities say Barry came up with stories to explain away behaviour that made him look guilty.
He claimed a tranquilizer dart found on his property was shot at a deer, and lied about not having cell service during this time period, as well as his location at various points in time.
Barry began liquidating both their assets within a month of Suzanne's disappearance.
Barry Lee Morphew was charged with murder and tampering with evidence in 2021, as well as attempting to influence a public servant in connection.
Although he was the main suspect in Suzanne’s death, and pleaded not guilty in April 2022, and paid a $500,000 cash bond.
He was subsequently released from jail in September 2021, and the charges were dropped the following year.
In September 2023, Suzanne's remains were discovered in Saguache County, Colorado, almost 50 miles from where she allegedly rode her bike on the day she went missing. It took several months for the autopsy report to be released.
According to the autopsy report completed by an El Paso County coroner, the cause and manner of death was determined to be: “homicide by unspecified means in the setting of butorphanol, azaperone, and medetomidine intoxication.”
On June 20, 2025, Barry Morphew was once again, charged with Suzanne's murder- and it was the drugs found in her system that solidified investigators beliefs that Barry was the culprit.
The indictment states that police requested the medical examiner test for butorphanol, azaperone and medetomidine, after they found a needle cap left behind in a dryer at the couples residence.
This needle cap was said to be left behind after Barry dried the clothes he was wearing on the day of Suzanne's disappearance.
Barry claimed that he used the heavy sedatives on bucks, and said that he sedated them in his yard.
Records obtained by law enforcement revealed Barry was the only private person or business to purchase butorphanol, azaperone and medetomidine between 2017 and 2020 other than members of Colorado Parks and Wildlife and the National Parks Service.
Barry Morphew is currently in custody at Alamosa County Jail on a $3 million cash-only bond.
