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TWISTED MYSTERY
Barry Morphew murder case dismissal ‘does NOT prove he’s innocent & evidence could emerge if wife’s body is found’
BARRY Morphew's shock murder case dismissal does NOT prove his innocence and damning evidence could emerge if his wife's body is found, an expert has claimed.
Morphew, 54, was initially charged with first-degree murder in connection with the May 2020 disappearance and presumed death of his wife, Suzanne.
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The mom-of-two, who would now be 50, was last heard from on May 9, 2020, the day before Mother's Day.
District Attorney Linda Stanley filed the motion on Tuesday that asked Judge Ramsey Lama to dismiss Morphew's case without prejudice, meaning charges could be filed again at a later date.
In the motion, investigators claim they're close to locating Suzanne's body.
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Neama Rahmani, a former assistant U.S. attorney and president of West Coast Trial Lawyers, exclusively gave his opinion on the case progressing in an interview with The Sun.
He said: "Law enforcement may have found the body which makes all the difference.
"Authorities are always going to prefer prosecuting a murder case with a victim’s body over a no-body, circumstantial murder case.
"It's also about the defendant’s right to a speedy trial because prosecutors can't put everything on hold while they examine the body.
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"The nearest thing they have to pausing the case is to have a judge dismiss it and then to refile charges later on.
"Colorado, just like every other state, has no statute of limitations on murder.
"Prosecutors have an absolute right to have a homicide case dismissed and refile it later on against the same defendant.
"The defense is making a big deal out of nothing, the dismissal doesn't in any way prove that Barry is innocent," Rahmani claimed.
He went on: "This could just as easily be bad news for the defense, because before the body was located they were dealing with a circumstantial case built around indirect evidence such as allegations of infidelity, inconsistent statements to law enforcement and phone records.
"Depending on what authorities discover on the body, the evidence against Barry could be a lot more damning or it could help exonerate him, such as if authorities discover DNA from another person."
Rahmani says it could take authorities weeks to get to Suzanne's remains, examine them and do all the analysis they need to do.
POLICE EDGING CLOSER
Police believe her body is in a remote and mountainous region near the Morphew residence.
However, the weather has complicated recovery efforts, according to court documents seen by The Sun showed.
The area in question was coated with a significant amount of snow before the search could be completed.
"To date, the area has 5 feet of snow concealing the location where the People believe Ms. Morphew is located.
"As a result, the People cannot safely excavate this area and resolve this unanswered question,” court documents showed.
Rahmani told The Sun they will probably need to bring in a medical examiner, a pathologist, a criminologist and other specialists as they seek to determine the manner and cause of death.
"It's extremely rare for authorities to announce that they may have located a victim's body just days before a trial is set to begin," he said.
"It's unique in terms of the timing, but this body may be located in a rural part of Colorado and it's not unusual for police to have trouble finding bodies in remote areas."
DEFENSE'S ARGUMENT
Meanwhile, Morphew's defense attorney argued in court that the case should be dismissed with prejudice so that it could not be refiled.
His daughters, who have supported him, addressed the court Tuesday.
"We fully support this dismissal. We know our dad didn't have anything to do with it," Mallory said.
Macy added that she was looking forward to taking time to heal and "hopefully finding out what really happened to our mom."
A neighbor raised the alarm after Mallory and Macy were unable to contact their mother.
Morphew had allegedly been staying in a Denver hotel 140 miles away the night before Suzanne vanished as he prepared for a landscaping job.
Morphew claims he went to bed at 8pm the night Suzanne went missing, but his car data tells a different story, according to investigators.
Barry Morphew
Data pulled from his truck's computer appears to reveal movement of his car on his property at 9:30pm, which contradicts what he told officials.
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Car data from the following day shows that Morphew drove past the location where Suzanne's bike helmet was later found on his way to a work location.
On the way to the worksite, Morphew pulled over at a bus stop, a hotel, a McDonald's, and a dumpster, disposing of trash at all locations, prosecutors have said, citing security footage and vehicle data.
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