Missing Colorado woman Suzanne Morphew’s body “is in a very difficult spot” but investigators continue to search for her, prosecutors have said.
Suzanne Morphew, 49, disappeared from her remote home in Salida, Colorado, in 2020 amid plans to leave her husband of 25 years Barry Morphew.
He was charged with her murder and was set to go on trial before the case was dismissed without prejudice in April 2022.
Authorities arrested Barry Morphew Wednesday and charged him with his wife Suzanne Morphew’s murder.— (Denver7 - The Denver Channel)
Now prosecutors say that it could be months or even years before they have enough evidence to prove Morphew was murdered or bring it to trial.
“That could be a long time. It could be quick, it could be long. It depends on a lot of our investigation,” said 11th Judicial Deputy District Attorney Mark Hurlbert in court on Monday.
But he insisted that investigators have a strong idea of where her body is.
“She is in a very difficult spot. We actually have more than just a feeling … and the sheriff’s office is continuing to look for Mrs. Morphew’s body,” he said, according to The Denver Gazette.
Barry Morphew leaving court with his daughters Macy (left) and Mallory (right) on Tuesday after learning the charges against him were dropped— (AP)
And he added: “We are going to continue to look for her body. We are simply trying to get this case prosecutable, whether that is against the defendant or against somebody else.”
The court hearing was held after Mr Morphew’s lawyers requested that records in the case were sealed indefinitely.
Attorney Iris Eytan told the court that prosecutors had been acting on a hunch when they charged Mr Morphew with murder.
Undated booking photo of Barry Morphew— (Chaffee County Sheriffs Office)
“There is a cloud of suspicion unfortunately that’s hanging over Mr Morphew’s head as a result of the prosecution’s continued statements that they have a hunch that he had something to do with Mrs Morphew’s disappearance,” Ms Eytan said.
Park County District Judge Amanda Hunter ordered the records, which contain statements made by Mr Morphew’s wife to her best friend Sheila Oliver before she disappeared, to be unsealed.
When she disappeared, Suzanne Morphew was having a long-distance affair with a man she went to high school with and wanted to leave her husband for him, an earlier evidentiary hearing was told.
The affair came to light when investigators found a spy pen in her closet, which she had bought to hide in her husband’s car as she suspected that he was also having an affair.
Barry Morphew has maintained he had nothing to do with his wife’s death. He was arrested in 2021 after a yearlong investigation and eventually released on bail.
