Suzanne Morphew’s sister still loves brother-in-law ‘though he’s done a terrible thing’ as he’s charged with murder
SUZANNE Morphew’s sister has claimed she still loves her brother-in-law but that he’s done a “terrible thing” after he was charged with murder on Wednesday.
Melinda Moorman said it was the “beginning of justice” after Barry Morphew, 53, was arrested today almost a full year after his wife went missing from their Colorado home on May 10, 2020.
The body of the mother-of-two Suzanne Morphew, 49, has never been recovered.
“My first reaction is relief,” Moorman told Fox 21. “And grateful. I’m just so grateful.”
“Today, justice is beginning for my sister,” she added.
“It’s been a journey that no one ever imagines that they’ll take.”
Barry was charged on Wednesday with first-degree murder, tampering with evidence, and an attempt to influence a public servant.
9News reports 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.
Moorman also confirmed that the sheriff’s office had called her on Wednesday morning to tell her about the arrest.
She thanked law enforcement for their “tireless” work on the investigation.
“He promised her from the get-go, when he first talked to her, that she would be the first person that he would tell when an arrest was made,” FOX21 reporter Lauren Scharf said.
One of Moorman’s employees also described to Fox21 how they had witnessed him being taken into custody from his construction job.
He had reportedly been working at one of his job sites in Chaffee County.
The arrest came just days after the family celebrated what would have been Suzanne’s 50th birthday.
They released balloons at the Morphews’ shared home in Maysville, Colorado, on Monday and held a separate tribute in her hometown of Alexandria, Indiana.
Suzanne’s brother has previously voiced his fears that her husband was involved in her disappearance.
Andrew Moorman 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.”
He launched an independent search for his sister last September in which he hit back at Barry’s claims about his wife’s disappearance.
“My sister was murdered,” he told Denver7.
“And she was hidden within a three-and-a-half-hour window. So that — I can draw a circle on that and tell you she’s within that circle. And that’s what I know happened.”
Andrew added that he believes she never got on her bike that day as it was found without damage at the bottom of a hill.
“I believe the bike was picked up and thrown over the hill by human hands,” he said.
He also blasted Barry’s claims about an animal attack, claiming that the dogs used in the search would still have picked up on her scent.
Suzanne Morphew was reported missing by her neighbor on Mother’s Day, last May 10.
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 $1.5 million 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 took custody of the couple’s 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.
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Barry Morphew has maintained his innocence throughout the year-long investigation.
No suspects had been named by authorities until the arrest today.
Fox reports that Suzanne’s family is now expected to travel to Colorado for the next steps in the case.