Colorado prosecutors are moving to dismiss first-degree murder charges against Barry Morphew for the presumed death of wife Suzanne Morphew, but he's far from in the clear.
Documents filed by the district attorney for the 11th Judicial District moved to dismiss the charges without prejudice. This means that they can refile them at a later date, and they plan to do just that. Prosecutors explained their motivation behind this move in the filings.
"Throughout the pendency of this case, the People and law enforcement have been unrelenting in our search for Ms. Morphew. For some time, a single location has been the target of ongoing investigation. For the reasons expressed below, the People have a good faith reason to believe further investigation into this matter is essential to answering the most consequential question presented by this case," they summarized.
"As this search cannot be accomplished in the coming weeks due to weather and snowpack conditions, the People respectfully ask this Court to dismiss the current indictment against the Defendant without prejudice."
Later in the filings, they explain in further detail that they believe they are close to locating Suzanne's body, but the unexpected weather conditions are making that search difficult. With the trial scheduled to begin later this month, they feel it would be a miscarriage of justice to allow it to move forward with this discovery hanging in the balance.
"The People were hopeful that the search for, and the discovery of, the victim's body would be concluded well before trial, but weather has complicated the efforts. Specifically, the area law enforcement has been focused on is in a remote and mountainous region nearby the Morphew residence," they explained.
"This area received a significant amount of snow over the winter months before a search could be completed. To date, the area has 5 feet of snow concealing the location where the People believe Ms. Morphew is located. As a result, the People cannot safely excavate this area and resolve this unanswered question."
The filing goes on to explain that finding the body would help make sure that justice is properly carried out, providing closure for the family and due process for Barry Morphew. Barry was arrested in May of 2021, about a year after Suzanne's disappearance on Mother's Day 2020. The family of Suzanne Morphew was made aware of and agreed to the legal strategy ahead of the filing.
