Barry Morphew's $15M lawsuit against Colorado DA, FBI, dismissed 1 year after Suzanne Morphew's remains discovered

The lawsuit that Barry Morphew, Suzanne Morphew's husband, filed against the Eleventh Judicial District Attorney's Office, the Chaffee County Sheriff's Office, the FBI, and the CBI, has been dismissed by a judge. Barry Morphew filed the $15 million lawsuit for damages in regards to his arrest and detainment, claiming that he suffered "emotional distress, humiliation, loss of enjoyment of life, loss of future business earnings and other pain and suffering."

Suzanne Morphew was reportedly last seen on Mother's Day May 10, 2020, when she went for a bike ride and never returned. What happened next remains a mystery.

Suzanne Morphew left behind two teenage daughters and a husband, Barry Morphew, who was not only the prime suspect in her disappearance at the time but was also charged with her murder.  

Barry Morphew was arrested on May 5, 2021, on charges of murder after deliberation, tampering with physical evidence and attempting to influence a public servant. Less than a year later, in April 2022, a judge dismissed the case against Barry Morphew. 

TIMELINE: Suzanne Morphew case: Timeline of events in the death of the Colorado mother

At the time, the 11th Judicial District Attorney, Linda Stanley, filed the motion to "dismiss without prejudice" which means that prosecutors could file charges against Barry Morphew at a later date. Since then, a disciplinary board has recommended Stanley be disbarred because of improper statements made to the media during the investigation which they claim contributed to a change of venue for the trial. 

Barry Morphew filed the lawsuit claiming he was wrongfully charged in his wife's disappearance and, at the time, presumed death in May 2023. 

According to the CBI, Suzanne's remains were located during the course of a search in Moffat on Sept. 22, 2023, and those remains were positively identified just five days later as those of Suzanne Morphew by the El Paso County Coroner. Her death was determined to be a homicide of "undetermined means" and drugs typically used as tranquilizers for wildlife were detected in her remains.

No arrests have been made since her remains were discovered. The public is asked to continue to report any information about this case by calling (719) 312-7530 or emailing cdps_suzannemorphew_tipline@state.co.us.   

In the dismissal order for the lawsuit, Judge Daniel D. Domenico stated, "Plaintiff, like anyone accused of a crime, deserves better than what happened here. The People of the State of Colorado, on whose behalf and in whose name the charges against Plaintiff were brought, deserved better. And Suzanne Morphew certainly deserved better."

Barry Morphew's attorney released this statement in regards to the lawsuit dismissal: 

Mr. Morphew's legal battle is far from over.  As Judge Domenico ruled, "it appears everyone involved now agrees that Mr. Morphew should not have been arrested, at least not at that time" and agrees that the "uncertainties raised by some of this evidence would have made it very difficult for the prosecution to secure a conviction at trial beyond a reasonable doubt, and prosecutors, generally, understand they have an ethical obligation not to bring charges that they cannot prove beyond a reasonable doubt." 

"Did the investigators and prosecutors have an obligation to Plaintiff and the state courts to be more careful and candid? Yes. Did they fail to live up to that duty? By all appearances, yes." 

We maintain there was no fair probability that Barry was involved is Suzanne's murder.  The defendants maliciously prosecuted Barry Morphew, and as is stated: "there should be serious consequences for undermining the criminal justice system".  

Barry Morphew, who should not have been arrested and was wrongly prosecuted, has no recourse to get the costs of the damage to him back from the offending prosecutors because they cannot be sued in the United States. While DA Stanley must pay back costs to the Supreme Court lawyers who fought for her disbarment, and she is being asked to pay back Fremont County for costs of her defense, the law shields her from reimbursing Barry Morphew for wrongly locking him up and prosecuting him.