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Disclaimer: This article contains mentions of murder. Reader discretion is advised.
According to CNN, NBC, and CBS, a coroner who conducted Suzanne Morphew’s autopsy ruled her death a “homicide by unspecified means.” The Colorado mother went missing after going on a bike ride on Mother’s Day in 2020. The Gazette reported that the Colorado Bureau of Investigation discovered Suzanne’s remains in September 2023. The team was searching for a separate missing person when they made the discovery. Subsequent findings revealed that she had a drug concoction used in animal tranquilizers in her system.
Before investigators found Suzanne’s remains, prosecutors had charged her husband, Barry Morphew, in 2021. They suspected Barry was behind his wife’s death or disappearance, but he pleaded not guilty and denied the allegations. Then, in April 2022, prosecutors dismissed the charges, claiming they had hoped to find the victim’s body but couldn’t. The judge approved prosecutors could pursue the charges again, per CNN.
Suzanne Morphew’s murder case previously aired on CBS 48 Hours before the recent revelations from the autopsy surfaced. The episode “The Suzanne Morphew Case: Nothing Is What It Seems” premiered in April 2022.
What did Suzanne Morphew’s autopsy report reveal?
The coroner’s report on Suzanne Morphew’s autopsy revealed that they found drugs in her system, per CNN. The Gazette stated that these chemicals comprised butorphanol, azaperone, and medetomidine, which the coroner found in her femur. This drug fusion is commonly found in animal tranquilizers. The discovery brought an end to the four-year-old missing case. However, investigators and prosecutors have yet to name a suspect or file charges.
Reportedly, Suzanne mysteriously vanished after going for a bike ride near Maysville, Colorado, in 2020. One of her neighbors filed a missing persons report on Mother’s Day that year when she failed to return from the ride. CNN stated that her bicycle was found in a ravine and the helmet in a separate location “without significant damage,” said the coroner’s report, which revealed Suzanne Morphew’s autopsy details.
According to CBS News, Suzanne’s husband, Barry Morphew, claimed someone had abducted the mother-of-two. Then, in 2021, a year after Suzanne’s disappearance, investigators arrested Barry for killing his wife. They claimed to have arrested the accused after finding evidence that led them to believe he was involved in Suzanne’s disappearance or murder. Agents had reportedly found a tranquilizer dart cap in their family home.
NBC News stated that at the time, prosecutors had alleged that Barry murdered Suzanne using a tranquilizer gun. They claimed the accused was an avid hunter who often used tranquilizer darts to shoot deer. This enabled him to cut off deer antlers without killing them, per CBS. They stated Barry believed his wife was having an affair and wanted to divorce him, which was his motive for murder. Prosecutors had also mentioned a text message Barry sent to his wife, saying, “I’m done,” days before she went missing.
Nonetheless, prosecutors moved to drop the murder charges against Barry Morphew in April 2022. Their motion was to “dismissed without prejudice” so prosecutors could re-file the charges against him in the future. More than a year later, in September 2023, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation’s team found Suzanne’s remains while investigating a separate missing case.
Findings from Suzanne Morphew’s autopsy revealed her death was a “homicide by unspecified means in the setting of butorphanol, azaperone, and medetomidine intoxication.” Per CNN, these chemicals, present in wildlife tranquilizers, can sedate sedation someone. CBI director Chris Schaefer stated that their agents continue to look into “evidence and only the evidence as we seek justice for Suzanne’s death.”
CBS stated that after recent findings from Suzanne Morphew’s autopsy, Barry released a statement declaring his innocence. Moreover, his attorneys urged investigators to investigate specialized veterinarians. The attorneys suspect that authorities may find potential leads in and around the area where Suzanne’s remains surfaced last year. They also alleged that whoever murdered Suzanne likely acquired the drugs using a prescription.
In a statement to CNN, Barry Morphew’s attorneys, Jane Fisher-Byrialsen and Iris Eytan, said the autopsy leaves “more questions than answers” for the victim’s family. They believed the findings outline the “lack of justice for Suzanne, the family, and the community.” Fisher-Byrialsen and Eytan also claimed that investigators are yet to share updates on DNA evidence from Suzanne’s clothes and the unknown DNA they collected from the glovebox in her SUV.
According to NBC News, Iris Eytan also drew a comparison between Suzanne Morphew’s autopsy findings and other remains found in rural Colorado. The attorney noted the prevalence of the animal tranquilizer in Colorado. Eytan said. “The drugs are common use in Colorado with hunters and ranchers — and [Colorado] Parks and Wildlife.”
Lastly, Barry’s attorneys said on behalf of the family to respect their “privacy” and request “authorities to look at the case with fresh eyes, follow all leads, conduct all forensic testing, and solve Suzanne’s murder.”
Authorities are yet to make an arrest in Suzanne Morphew’s murder after the autopsy findings.
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