How Barry Morphew begged for help to find wife Suzanne and offered $100,000 reward as he’s charged with murder
SUZANNE Morphew’s alleged killer husband made a plea for help and offered a $100,000 reward after she disappeared.
Barry Morphew, 52, was charged on Wednesday with first-degree murder, tampering with evidence, and attempt to influence a public servant, Fox reported.
Read our Suzanne Morphew live blog for the latest updates on the missing mother…
Former teacher Suzanne Morphew, 49, from Maysville, Colorado, was reported missing by neighbors on Mother’s Day 2020 after leaving her home and failing to return.
“Oh Suzanne, if anyone is out there and can hear this, that has you, please, we’ll do whatever it takes to bring you back,” her husband begged in a video at the time of her disappearance.
“We love you, we miss you, your girls need you.
“No questions asked, however much they want – I will do whatever it takes to get you back. Honey, I love you, I want you back so bad,” he said.
The husband also offered a $100,000 reward for information on his wife’s whereabouts – an amount matched by a concerned family friend.
However, on Wednesday, Barry was slapped with murder charges following his wife’s disappearance.
9News reported that court documents do not reveal the victim’s name but that the Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office and the 11th Judicial District Attorney’s Office are expected to make a “major announcement” later today on Suzanne’s case.
“My first reaction is relief,” Melinda Moorman, Suzanne’s sister, told Fox 21.
“And grateful. I’m just so grateful.” Moorman said she is thankful for law enforcement’s “tireless” work throughout this investigation, noting Chaffee County Sheriff John Spezze called her this morning to tell her about the arrest.
“Today, justice is beginning for my sister,” Moorman added.
“It’s been a journey that no one ever imagines that they’ll take.”
Her adult daughters, Mallory and Macy, reportedly asked the neighbor to check on her when they couldn’t get in touch after they returned from a camping trip in Idaho.
The former teacher, from Maysville, Colorado, reportedly left her $1.5million property in Maysville on a bike ride and never returned.
She is thought to have been riding in the area between West Highway 50 and County Road 225.
Suzanne was believed to be alone at the time as Barry was in Denver, 140 miles away, for volunteer firefighter training,
Authorities used dive teams, drones, and cadaver dogs to search for her but she has never been found.
During the search, authorities announced a “personal item” belonging to Suzanne had been found yet did not elaborate on what it was.
Authorities also took custody of the couple’s $1.5m mansion to carry out a search with cops taking evidence bags and equipment from the home.
A search was also carried out on a separate residence where Barry had previously carried out work as a landscaper.
The search on the riverfront Salida property 12 miles from the Morphew home took three days.
A concrete slab on the site was dug up but reportedly did not yield any further leads on Suzanne’s disappearance.
Morphew has maintained his innocence throughout the year-long investigation into her disappearance.
In media interviews, he pushed the possibility that Suzanne went missing due to an animal attack, an accident with someone on the road, or a run-in with another person as the cause.
Despite Barry’s public comments, Suzanne Morphew’s brother, Andrew Moorman, has previously said he believed he had something to do with her disappearance.
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He told Dr Phil that he believed his sister was “abducted, and in this case, murdered.”
“I don’t think she was taken to a second location, I think it happened at home,” he said.
Andrew claimed he thought Barry was guilty “based on the behaviors and things that happened” but that he would “pray it’s not.”