Barry Morphew murder case: Wife had extramarital affair before disappearance

The missing woman of a Chaffee County antheral had a two-year extramarital matter earlier she disappeared successful May 2020, a sheriff’s researcher testified Monday.

The preliminary proceeding for 53-year-old Barry Morphew began Monday. He is accused of sidesplitting his wife, Suzanne Morphew, 49, who disappeared from the family’s location adjacent Maysville successful May 2020. She was reported missing by a neighbor aft she failed to instrumentality from a Mother’s Day motorcycle ride, prompting an extensive, yearlong search earlier authorities charged against her hubby successful May 2021. Her assemblage has not been found.

Chaffee County Sheriff’s Commander Alex Walker testified during cross-examination that Suzanne Morphew had had a two-year extramarital affair.

The grounds against Barry Morphew has been kept concealed since helium was arrested. Investigators filed a 130-page affidavit detailing the case, but it was sealed by 11th Judicial District Chief Judge Patrick Murphy, who successful June denied a petition from The Denver Post and a radical of media outlets to marque the papers public, citing concerns astir Morphew’s close to a just trial.

“The Affidavit is, by far, the lengthiest and astir elaborate affidavit the Court has ever seen successful astir 30 years of acquisition with transgression cases,” Murphy wrote successful the ruling. “A important information of the accusation successful the Affidavit was not applicable to the Court’s uncovering of probable origin and perchance not admissible astatine proceedings nether the Colorado Rules of Evidence.”

He decided the affidavit would beryllium released 7 days aft Morphew’s four-day preliminary hearing, which is acceptable for Monday, Tuesday, Aug. 23 and 24. During the hearing, prosecutors volition contiguous grounds against Morphew, and Murphy volition determine whether to contradict him bail.

In summation to first-degree murder, Morphew is accused of destroying, mutilating, concealing, removing oregon altering his wife’s assemblage successful an effort to debar arrest, arsenic good arsenic possessing an amerciable abbreviated rifle and attempting to power nationalist servants.

In the 2020 statesmanlike election, Morphew filled retired his wife’s mail-in ballot, voting for Donald Trump. He is charged with forgery successful that case, which is abstracted from the execution case.