FREMONT COUNTY, Colo. (KDVR) — After a judge ruled to dismiss charges against Barry Morphew without prejudice, including the first-degree murder charge of his missing wife Suzanne, his legal team criticized the investigation and the prosecutors leading the case.
Dismissing the charges without prejudice means the district attorney could charge Morphew at a later date, but indicated investigators are close to finding Suzanne’s body and want to wait until that is accomplished.
“Barry and his daughters are relieved, but they’re sad because they too want to know where Suzanne Morphew is,” defense attorney Iris Eytan said.
Eytan said Suzanne’s location remains the big question mark. She said even if prosecutors do find her body, she’s confident they won’t recharge Morphew because “they are not going to find a body that is linked to Mr. Morphew.”
Eytan is disappointed the case won’t go to trial after charges were dropped just nine days before the trial date.
“We’ve lost that ability to present the truth,” Eytan said. “That’s what the courtroom is for: the truth. Now the community is wrongfully going to believe that Barry just got away with murder.”
Eytan accused the prosecution in this case of “manufacturing a murder case,” specifically calling out District Attorney Linda Stanley for her handling of the case. Morphew’s team argued the prosecution was at times unresponsive when the defense team requested discovery and information shared on the case, to which a judge agreed, ordering the prosecution to release emails and documents in the case.
“These prosecutors have committed so much misconduct, and they’re trying to escape it with a motion to dismiss,” Eytan said.
“No body, no evidence, and they locked Mr. Morphew up in a jail cell for five months,” Eytan said. “They absolutely dismissed charges in this case because they knew they were gonna lose this trial.”
Eytan vowed to dedicate her time moving forward to prosecutorial abuse in Colorado.
“How many innocent people, how many wrongfully-convicted people has the 11th Judicial District put behind bars?” Eytan said. “They’re held to a higher standard and they certainly didn’t show it here.”
You can watch the full press conference on FOX31 NOW in the player above.