Barry Morphew has claimed that his wife Suzanne made some “bad decisions” prior to her sudden disappearance but insisted that they had a “wonderful marriage” as he spoke out three years on from the day that she was last seen alive.
Mr Morphew and the couple’s adult daughters Mallory and Macy Morphew spoke to ABC’s Good Morning America on what marks the third anniversary of Suzanne’s disappearance on Mother’s Day 2020.
Clutching his daughter’s hands, he continued to profess his innocence of any involvement in what happened to his wife and claimed that his life had been ruined by the murder charges which were brought against him – and then later dropped.
He denied that there were any issues in their marriage and claimed that “trouble with the chemotherapy and the drugs” led his wife to make “bad decisions”.
“We had a wonderful life, a wonderful marriage. She was just so loving and giving, and such a good mother,” he said.
“I know that she was going through chemotherapy for the last couple years before her disappearance. I know she was going through some hard things and made some bad decisions.”
When asked what he meant by that, he added: “She was really having trouble with the chemotherapy and the drugs.”
Despite his claims of a happy marriage, Suzanne allegedly had been having an affair with an old friend at the time of her disappearance.
Texts messages also revealed that she had told her husband she wanted a divorce just four days before she was last seen alive, according to court documents.
“Done, let’s handle this civilly,” she wrote.
She also referred to her husband as “Jekyl and Hyde” in messages to a friend and had been recording the couple’s arguments and his alleged abuse with a recording pen and in written notes on her phone, prosecutors said.
When asked about the affair, Mr Morphew told GMA that his heart was “broken” when he learned about it.
”My heart was broke. My heart was broken. I didn’t believe it,” he sobbed.
The mother-of-two vanished without a trace after she reportedly left the home she shared with her husband in Chaffee County, Colorado, to go on a bike ride.
Mr Morphew told police he left his wife at their home early that morning to travel to a construction job in Denver.
She was reported missing by a neighbour when the couple’s two daughters were unable to get in contact with her while they were on an out-of-state trip. Her bike was found on a trail close to their home.
Extensive searches have been carried out at various locations including land around the Morphew’s home and on a plot of land previously owned by Mr Morphew, but her body has never been found.
The 49-year-old has never been seen or heard from since and she is presumed dead.
In May 2021 – almost exactly one year to the day after his wife’s disappearance – Mr Morphew was arrested and charged with first-degree murder, tampering with a human body, tampering with physical evidence, possession of a dangerous weapon and attempting to influence a public servant.
He denied the allegations and the couple’s daughters stuck by their father.
But, in a dramatic twist, prosecutors dropped all charges against him just days before his murder trial was about to start in April 2022.
The charges were dismissed without prejudice which means that they can be refiled at a later date.
At the time, prosecutors said that investigators believed they were close to finding Suzanne’s body and said that they were not ruling out Mr Morphew as a suspect.
Mr Morphew is now suing prosecutors and law enforcement officials for $15m for allegedly violating his civil rights with his wrongful arrest and prosecution.
In the interview with GMA, Mr Morphew slammed authorities for having “tunnel vision” in the case and claimed that Colorado police have “too much pride” to admit that they were wrong in accusing him of Suzanne’s murder.
“They’ve got tunnel vision and they looked at one person and they’ve got too much pride to say they’re wrong and look somewhere else,” he said.
“I don’t have anything to worry about. I’ve done nothing wrong.”
When asked if he had anything to do with his wife’s disappearance and presumed death, Mr Morphew insisted: “Absolutely not. It’s very hurtful to lose your reputation and your integrity.’”
His two daughters – who stood by him from the get-go – said they have never doubted their father.
“I’ve never had a shred of doubt,” said Macy.
“Not one,” added Mallory.
The two daughters choked back tears as they spoke of the trauma of the past three years.
“So traumatic. Literally our worst nightmare,” said May.
The hardest part of the whole ordeal she said was: “Just not having mom.”
