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A judge hiked accused wife killer Barry Morphew’s bond to $10 million after he allegedly fled a crash following an airport run to pick up his daughter.
A grand jury indicted Barry Morphew on June 20, 2025, on a charge of first-degree murder after deliberation in connection with the death of his wife, Suzanne Morphew, 49, a mother of two daughters. Suzanne Morphew vanished on Mother’s Day 2020 in Colorado, where the couple resided. Barry Morphew was taken into custody in Goodyear, Arizona, nearly 11 hours away from the location where his wife was last seen.
Prosecutors allege that Barry Morphew was involved in a hit and run accident on Aug. 26 at 7:30 p.m., where an individual observed him driving “aggressively” before striking two cars. CBS News obtained a video of the driver’s interaction with Morphew, where he refused to give his name or identification, also indicating he didn’t have insurance. He was arrested by Boulder County sheriff’s deputies on Sept. 3 and remains behind bars.
Officials said Barry Morphew offered the other driver $300 for damage caused to her car, which she refused. Barry Morphew was seen on video buffing scratches on the other driver’s car with a T-shirt and his hand.
BARRY MORPHEW USED FAKE NAME, LIVED WITH WOMAN UNTIL ARREST IN WIFE’S MURDER CASE EXPOSED HIM: POLICE
Barry Morphew was arrested on Sept. 3 following an alleged hit and run incident. (Boulder County Sheriff’s Office)
At the time, prosecutors said Barry Morphew was picking up his daughter from the airport.
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Prosecutors said that once the other driver turned down Barry Morphew’s $300 offer and told him she intended to contact police, he left the scene, nearly striking another person and mounting a curb as he did so.
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The conditions of Barry Morphew’s original bond included not traveling outside of his home except under specific circumstances like work or a medical emergency and would be monitored by GPS.
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Alamosa County District Judge Amanda Hopkins on Tuesday increased Barry Morphew’s bond to $10 million cash after prosecutor Fred Johnson argued that he is a flight risk and could leave the country.
“Mr. Morphew has shown time and again that he has no respect for any order of this court, and he is not going to comply with it if it is an inconvenience to the lifestyle he wishes to live while out on bond,” Hopkins said.
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Barry Morphew (R) in a booking picture at the Alamosa County Jail next to a picture of Suzanne Morphew (L). (Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office and the Alamosa County Sheriff’s Office)
“We are very, very concerned he has just demonstrated what he’s going to do when push comes to shove,” Johnson said during the hearing.
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Barry Morphew’s lawyers argued that he is not a flight risk, stating that he hasn’t fled over a period of five years and said the recent accusation doesn’t warrant an increase in bond.
Prosecutors wrote in the June 2025 indictment that the chemicals butorphanol, azaperone and medetomidine were found in Suzanne Morphew’s bone marrow. They alleged that Barry Morphew used “BAM” deer tranquilizer to sedate and transport deer on his farm when he lived in Indiana. He has pleaded not guilty to one count of first-degree murder.
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Morphew was also the only person with a prescription for the deer tranquilizer within the area of the state he lived in, prosecutors said. The only two other entities with access to the BAM compound within the surrounding counties were Colorado Parks and Wildlife and the National Park Service, officials said.
“Ultimately, the prescription records show that when Suzanne Morphew disappeared, only one private citizen living in that entire area of the state had access to BAM: Barry Morphew,” the indictment states.
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Barry Morphew leaves a Fremont County court building in Canon City, Colo., with his daughters, Macy, left, and Mallory, after charges against him in the presumed death of his wife were dismissed, Tuesday, April 19, 2022. In an interview with “Good Morning America” broadcast on Monday, May 15, 2023, Morphew said authorities in Colorado have been wrong to focus on him as the person responsible for the death of Suzanne Morphew. (Jerilee Bennett/The Gazette via AP)
Morphew’s attorney, David Beller, previously told Fox News Digital Morphew “maintains his innocence.”
“Yet again, the government allows their predetermined conclusion to lead their search for evidence,” Beller said. “The case has not changed, and the outcome will not either.”
Fox News Digital reached out to Morphew’s lawyer for comment.
