Barry Morphew has been returned to Colorado to face trial for the murder of his wife, Suzanne Morphew, in 2020.
Morphew is being held in Alamosa County and has a hearing scheduled on Wednesday, KKTV reported.
Morphew was living in Arizona when he was arrested on June 20, after being indicted by a grand jury in Colorado. This was previously reported by CrimeOnline.
He had already faced charges for her murder in 2021, but a judge in Fremont County dismissed the case without prejudice, leaving room for prosecutors to potentially refile it.
They did so earlier this month, and a grand jury returned a true bill for first degree murder.
Suzanne Morphew went missing on Mother’s Day in 2020 after her husband reported she did not return from a bike ride. Her bicycle was found later on Chaffee County Road 225, down a steep ravine. Investigators noted the bike showed no signs of damage or blood. Following her disappearance, Barry Morphew speculated that his wife might have been abducted.
Friends, however, told investigators that the Morphews had been arguing and that Suzanne Morphew may have had a boyfriend out of state.
Her remains were found in September 2023, scattered in a remote area in Saguache County. Reports indicated that she may have been buried in a shallow grave. Officials said dental records were used to identify the bones as Suzanne Morphew.
Last year, El Paso County coroners said testing of Suzanne Morphew’s femoral trabecular bone determined died of “undetermined means in the setting of butorphanol, azaperone, and medetomidine intoxication” — drugs that are marketed as a compounded, injectable chemical immobilizer for wildlife providing pharmacologically reversible analgesia, sedation, and immobilization.”
