Seven shocking details in Suzanne Morphew murder case from husband Barry’s chipmunk alibi to spy pen to catch affairs
QUESTIONS remain in the murder of Suzanne Morphew – from her husband Barry’s chipmunk alibi to a spy pen used to catch affairs.
Since Suzanne vanished on Mother’s Day 2020, several questions are still unanswered in the investigation surrounding the Colorado mom-of-two’s mysterious disappearance.
Suzanne had just celebrated her 49th birthday days before she went missing on May 10, 2020, from the $1.7million mansion she shared with her husband and their two adult daughters Mallory and Macy Morphew.
Her body has not been found and she’s presumed dead. A cause of death hasn’t been revealed.
She had allegedly gone for a bike ride and never returned. A neighbor raised the alarm after Mallory and Macy were unable to contact her on returning from a camping trip to Idaho.
Husband Barry Morphew had allegedly been in Denver, 140 miles away, and stayed in a hotel there the night before she vanished as he prepared for a landscaping job.
Officials in Chaffee County received a report of a missing woman, sparking a search as drones and scent-tracking dogs were used to try and track down the former teacher.
Law enforcement teams conducted various searches near her home in Salida and received more than 1,000 tip-offs.
Most read in The Sun
Authorities used dive teams as they searched for Suzanne but she remains missing and authorities don’t know where her body is located.
Prosecutors ultimately arrested Barry for first-degree murder despite his wife’s body never being found, but he pleaded not guilty.
And now, more approximately two years after Suzanne went missing, journalist Peter Van Sant and true-crime series 48 Hours have investigated the case in The Suzanne Morphew Case: Nothing Is What It Seems, which will air on January 22, 2022, at 10pm ET on the CBS TV Network and Paramount+.
BODY NEVER FOUND
A press release for show explains that Barry was “arrested for first-degree murder even though Suzanne Morphew’s body was never found.”
It continues: “In their arrest affidavit, prosecutors spelled out what they believe happened to her: ‘It had become clear that Barry could not control Suzanne’s insistence on leaving him, and he resorted to something he has done his entire life – hunt and control Suzanne like he had hunted and controlled animals.'”
Barry walked out of jail after posting $500,000 in cash bail in September 2021.
The dad-of-two will have to wear an ankle monitor as he awaits trial for murder and evidence tampering.
While he is required to stay in the Chaffee County area as he awaits trial, he is allowed to have contact with his two daughters.
The trial is expected to begin in May 2022.
SPY PEN
It has also been revealed that Suzanne used a spy pen, a device that looks like a pen and can automatically record conversations when sound is detected, due to suspicions of her husband having an affair, according to The Associated Press.
Inside Edition reported in 2021 that evidence of Suzanne’s alleged affair was revealed from the Spy Pen.
According to the report, the pen was placed inside Barry’s car because she suspected he was cheating on her.
The pen instead captured Suzanne talking to her alleged lover as she was heard saying: “Your heart, that’s what I crave. I love how you love me.
“You’re the sweetest thing I’ve ever known.”
TRANQUILIZER DART & CHIPMUNK ALIBI
The Suzanne Morphew Case: Nothing Is What It Seems news release explains how investigators noticed Barry’s cell phone “appeared to be pinging all around his house on Mother’s Day weekend 2020.”
Despite their findings, Barry insists the “pinging” was due to him chasing and shooting at chipmunks.
“Investigators also found a plastic cap for a syringe that they believe was used to load a tranquilizer dart in the couple’s dryer,” the press release states.
“Barry Morphew, investigators say, told them he didn’t know how the cap got there, but admitted he was an experienced tranquilizer dart gun shooter.”
It was later discovered that the plastic cap had Suzanne’s DNA on it, not her husband’s.
AFFAIRS & MOVE TO ECUADOR
Suzanne was considering moving to Ecuador with her married lover before she disappeared, it was revealed on the first day of her husband’s murder trial in August 2021.
During a hearing at the Chaffee County Courthouse, the court heard that Suzanne had allegedly planned to run away to Equador with Jeff Libler, a married father of six, the DailyMail.com reported.
Libler and Suzanne – both former classmates at an Indiana high school – were having an affair for two years, the testimony revealed.
Speaking at the hearing, Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office Commander Alex Walker said law enforcement discovered the affair last year and learned that Libler had met up with Suzanne six times.
KXRM-TV reported that Libler spoke with special investigators and told them Barry learned about some of the messages being sent between him and Suzanne.
It was revealed in court Monday that Libler, a Michigan man, had suggested back in December 2019 that Equador had low living costs and good healthcare.
Suzanne had looked up language schools in the South American country after Libler made the suggestion, according to her internet searches, the Daily Mail reported.
MYSTERY NOTE
Days after the mom’s disappearance, it’s reported that Barry knocked on the window of local store Poncha Marker and handed the manager a note.
It contained what he said was a description of Suzanne and asked the manager to keep an eye out for her.
The scrawl read: “Baby blue bike helmet. Bikers clothing.”
But, it contained no physical description of his missing wife and he didn’t leave any contact information.
Barry even offered a $100,000 reward for information on his wife’s whereabouts.
He also posted videos online last year as he claimed he hoped for her to return home.
In a Facebook video, he said: “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.
“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.”
Barry branded Suzanne “the love of his life” as he said the pair had been in love since 1988.
DNA IN CAR OF MAN CONNECTED TO SEXUAL ASSAULTS
“Investigators also uncovered DNA on the glovebox of Suzanne’s Range Rover, which traced back to an unknown male connected to three sexual assaults,” according to The Suzanne Morphew Case: Nothing Is What It Seems.
Colorado Bureau of Investigation Agent Joseph Cahill testified in August 2021 that the unknown male DNA was connected to cases in Arizona and Chicago, KUSA reports.
The three unknown matches were found in the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS),
Defense attorneys said Barry’s DNA was excluded from the glove box sample, according to the report.
SEARCH CONDUCTED AT BARRY’S WORK SITES
Back in May 2020, the search for Suzanne turned to her husband’s construction site.
The owner of the property confirmed to KCNC-TV in Colorado that Barry was hired to lay dirt on the riverfront land.
FBI agents could be seen with buckets going through the material, according to the TV station, and an evidence response team truck was close by.
“A search being conducted at a residence on the east side of Salida in connection with the Suzanne Morphew missing person case has concluded for the day,” the Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office said.
“Investigators with the Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office, CBI and FBI plan to return to the site to continue the search on Saturday, May 23, 2020.
“In response to widespread rumors, the Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office relays that Ms. Morphew has not been located and there have been no arrests in the investigation.”
The owner cooperated with investigators and was not connected to Morphew’s disappearance, according to authorities.
We pay for your stories!
Do you have a story for The US Sun team?
Email us at exclusive@the-sun.com or call 212 416 4552.
Like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/TheSunUS and follow us from our main Twitter account at @TheSunUS