Colorado man charged with killing missing wife "hunted and controlled" her like an animal, investigators say
Investigators allege that a Colorado man charged with killing his missing wife decided to "hunt and control" her like an animal after she insisted on leaving him and later changed his statements as evidence in the case developed, according to a court document released Monday.
A judge allowed the release of the arrest affidavit laying out investigators' case against Barry Morphew after ruling last week that there was enough evidence for him to stand trial for murder in the presumed death of Suzanne Morphew. Barry Morphew has pleaded not guilty and was released from jail Monday after posting a $500,000 cash bond. TV footage captured by CBS Denver showed him walking out of jail with his two daughters with Suzanne Morphew.
Details about the couple's troubled marriage were previously discussed in court during a hearing on the evidence in the case.
In the affidavit, investigators said that after Barry Morphew realized he could not control Suzanne Morphew's insistence on leaving him "he resorted to something he has done his entire life - hunt and control Suzanne like he had hunted and controlled animals."
Barry Morphew refused to take a polygraph test in the days after his wife was reported missing on May 10, 2020, which was Mother's Day, the affidavit said.
Barry Morphew, an avid hunter and outdoorsman, did not initially tell investigators that he went out of his way as he left for work that morning, driving toward the place where his wife's bicycle helmet was eventually found. Later, he said he went that way because he had seen an elk cross the road, the affidavit said.
Suzanne Morphew's body has not been found.
Barry Morphew also is charged with tampering with a human body, tampering with physical evidence, possession of a dangerous weapon and attempting to influence a public servant.
Morphew's defense team told the judge they did not want the affidavit released because they believed the way the district attorney's office chose to write it in a way that would sway the media and taint a jury, CBS Denver reported. They argued it would decimate Morphew's right to a fair trial.
CBD Denver reports Morphew's defense requested he be allowed to reside in Gunnison County closer to one of his two daughters, but the judge declined stating he wanted Morphew to stay close by in Chaffee County where the case was centered.
He is also required to wear an ankle monitor which alerts authorities if he leaves.
