lSuzanne Morphew mystery: Was a missing Colorado mother murdered or abducted?
CBSN
When Suzanne Morphew, a Colorado mother of two, vanished on Mother's Day 2020, authorities initially thought maybe she was taken while riding her mountain bike. Authorities also had her husband Barry in their sights. Then, bizarre clues emerged – a chipmunk alibi, a tranquilizer gun, a spy pen and an affair. ANDREW MOORMAN [talking to searchers, CBS Denver news report]: We're gonna fan out and were gonna work that area very carefully, OK? ANDREW MOORMAN [to CBS Denver]: I hope to find her alive and at some point, you have to realize when somebody's been missing after so long, that the chances of that diminish dramatically. BARRY MORPHEW: Where are you from? BARRY MORPHEW [to Draper]: The first night there was a mountain lion that officers seen that walked by the car. So, we thought that maybe she got attacked by a lion. "He won't speak of divorce …" NEWS REPORT: Tonight, the husband of Suzanne Morphew is behind bars accused of killing her. … The Chaffee County Sheriff's Office says that Barry Morphew was arrested this morning. "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."
The case gave investigators a mound of evidence to sift through. TYSON DRAPER: I'm from Arizona. "I feel no peace when he's here …"
Investigators noticed Barry's cell phone appeared to be pinging all around his house on Mother's Day weekend 2020, which he maintains was because he was 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. Barry, investigators say, told them he didn't know how the cap got there, but admitted he was an experienced tranquilizer dart gun shooter. The cap, however, had Suzanne DNA on it, not Barry's. Investigators also found a spy pen right out of a James Bond movie that was able to capture and record conversations. The pen captured several intimate conversations between Suzanne Morphew and a secret lover. Investigators also uncovered DNA on the glovebox of Suzanne Morphew's Range Rover, which traced back to an unknown male connected to three sexual assaults. BARRY MORPHEW: OK. "I wouldn't feel safe alone with him …"
