Colorado man accused of killing missing wife submitted ballot for Trump in her name, cops say

SALIDA, Colo. — Barry Morphew, the Colorado man charged with killing his missing wife last May, now faces allegations that he voted for former President Donald Trump in her name during the 2020 presidential election.

Morphew, 53, of Poncha Springs, is charged with forgery of a public record and an election mail ballot offense, according to authorities. Fox 31 in Denver reported that bail was set at $1,000 on the new charges.

>> Related story: Colorado man charged with murder of wife missing since last Mother’s Day

Morphew is being held without bond, however, on charges of first-degree murder, tampering with physical evidence and attempting to influence a public servant, according to the Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office.

He is accused of killing Suzanne Morphew, 49, who was reported missing May 10, 2020, by a neighbor who said the wife and mother failed to return from a bike ride. Her bicycle was found abandoned less than a half-mile from the Morphew home at 19057 Puma Path in Salida.

An arrest affidavit obtained by Fox 31 laid out the charges related to the election.

Investigators were called to the Chaffee County Clerk and Recorder’s Office in October after Chaffee County Clerk Lori Mitchell realized her office had received a completed mail-in ballot from Suzanne Morphew.

Mitchell was aware of the high-profile search for the missing woman. According to the affidavit, Suzanne Morphew’s signature was not on the ballot but her husband was listed as a witness to her vote.

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The ballot was seized as evidence, the news station reported.

FBI agents last month spoke to Barry Morphew about the ballot and he admitted to submitting the document, the court records state. They asked him why.

“Just because I wanted Trump to win,” Morphew said, according to the affidavit. “I know (Suzanne) was going to vote for Trump anyway.”

Morphew told the agents that he believed the “other guys” were cheating in the election so he was determined to give Trump another vote.

The FBI investigators asked Morphew if he was aware that what he’d done was illegal.

“I didn’t know you couldn’t do that for your spouse,” he told them, according to Fox 31.

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Detectives investigating Suzanne Morphew’s disappearance believe that her husband already knew she was dead when the ballot was sent in. Last May, a week after Suzanne was reported missing, Barry Morphew recorded a video message pleading for his wife’s return.

“Oh Suzanne, if anyone is out there that can hear this, that has you, please, we’ll do whatever it takes to bring you back. We love you. We miss you,” Barry Morphew said in the video. “The girls need you. No questions asked. However much they want, I will do whatever it takes to get you back. Honey, I love you. I want you back so bad.”

Despite extensive searches by law enforcement and Suzanne Morphew’s family, her body has not been found.

Following his arrest, Barry Morphew refused to answer detectives’ questions, The Associated Press reported. He requested a lawyer, and questioning came to an end.

Details of the case against Morphew have not been revealed. According to the AP, District Attorney Linda Stanley said last week that the probable cause affidavit in the case had been sealed.

Court records indicate that Barry Morphew’s defense team is seeking to keep it that way. They filed a motion Thursday seeking to limit public access to the records already filed in the case.

“Until the court resolves the motion, the arrest affidavit, the motion and any response to the motion are to remain inaccessible to the public,” Judge Patrick W. Murphy wrote.

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