Prosecutors In Barry Morphew Case Could Call More Than 500 Witnesses, Including The Couple's Two Daughters

A Colorado judge released the entire file in the murder case against Barry Morphew on Monday, revealing a possible witness list for the prosecution with more than 500 names on it and records of continued sparring between prosecutors and the defense over evidence, media coverage of the case and Morphew’s residence while out on bond.

Barry is expected to go on trial for the murder of his wife Suzanne, 49, who disappeared around Mother’s Day of 2020, next year, but the two sides have already been facing off for months, according to the 454-page file obtained by The Denver Gazette containing motions, filings and court orders dating back to the spring.

The file includes a list from prosecutors of more than 500 possible witnesses for the upcoming trial, including the couple’s two daughters Macy and Mallory Morphew, Fox News reports. Other witnesses include family members, friends, officials from local law enforcement offices and the FBI, and credit card reporting companies.

One notable name on the list is Jeffrey Libler, a Michigan man with whom Suzanne Morphew had been carrying on an affair for nearly two years before her presumed death.  

The documents also include at least 10 protective orders filed against Barry from Suzanne’s family and friends, neighbors and one of his former employees, that prevent Barry from contacting them.

One of the couple’s neighbors, Jeanne and Martin Ritter, had asked that Barry leave his home in October while they built a security fence around their property after voicing that they were afraid of the 54-year-old, according to the records.

Another motion by prosecutors asked a judge to remove Morphew from the home of a couple who had taken him in after he posted a $500,000 cash bond in September because they argued the home was too close to two potential witnesses in the case, according to the documents also obtained by Fox News.

Just last month, a judge ruled that Barry would be able to stay in an Airbnb rental not far from the home he had once shared with his wife, even though there are issues with the GPS monitoring reception. The judge decided to let Barry remain at the property as long as he reports to nearby Poncha Springs each day so that authorities can download his GPS data.

The file also illustrates ongoing battles between the prosecution and defense team about evidence in the case, including a DNA swab collected by investigators from the glove box of Suzanne’s Range Rover that was allegedly linked to a registered sex offender living in Arizona.

The defense has argued that prosecutors knew about the DNA match that suggested an alternate suspect in the case long before they provided the information to the defense team.

District Attorney Linda Stanley addressed the accusation in a response dated Aug. 3, writing that investigators assigned to the case did not do any work on the match when it was first discovered on June 2. It’s not clear whether they ever looked into the lead.

Barry's attorneys also argued that they did not have access to some of the evidence in the case, including recordings from Suzanne’s spy pen that she had allegedly used to capture arguments between the pair, as well as forensic images of Barry’s cell phone.

They accused prosecutors of burying them in piles of paperwork, which have hindered their trial preparations.

Stanley wrote in a reply to that accusation that the case involves a terabyte of discovery, which has been provided to the defense throughout the summer.

“Discovery is an ongoing process and will continue until the conclusion of the case,” she wrote, according to the filings.

The defense team’s contention that prosecutors have been hiding evidence in the case was also the focus of a four-hour hearing on Tuesday, according to local station KRDO.

The defense argued that several items related specifically to what law enforcement officers knew about the case haven’t been released.

They also argued that a CBI agent who took the stand during a preliminary hearing was not forthcoming about what he knew about the DNA match on Suzanne’s car that linked to a potential alternate suspect. They argued that had more information been presented about the DNA match during the preliminary trial,  Morphew may have received a lower bond or the judge could have determined there wasn’t enough evidence to move the case forward to trial.

A judge scheduled a later hearing on Dec. 14 to address the allegations.

In the court documents released on Monday, the defense team also requested that the judge limit the pre-trial publicity in the case and asked for possible sanctions against Stanley for media interviews she has given.

Barry is facing charges of first-degree murder, tampering with physical evidence and attempting to influence a public servant in connection to the presumed death of his wife, who disappeared Mother’s Day weekend of 2020. He's pleaded not guilty.

Prosecutors believe Barry killed his wife that weekend sometime after she last texted Libler a selfie of herself sunbathing at home on the afternoon of May 9, 2020.

They say just days before she disappeared, she had texted Barry that she was done with the marriage.

“I’m done,” she wrote to Barry on May 6, 2020 according to an earlier affidavit obtained by Oxygen.com. “I could care less what you’re up to and have been for years. We just need to figure this out civilly.”

The affidavit also paints a picture of a marriage beset with financial struggles, cheating and accusations of both physical and emotional abuse.

Barry’s attorneys have continued to maintain his innocence, suggesting several possible theories about where Suzanne could be today.

The trial is slated to begin May 3 and last four weeks, although the defense team has requested an additional week to provide the jury with time to listen to more than 30 hours of interrogation tapes and videos in the case.