Barry Morphew pleaded not guilty to the first-degree murder charge in the killing of his wife, Suzanne Morphew, during his arraignment in 12th Judicial District court on Monday. His defense is anticipating a six-week jury trial starting in October.
Morphew, now out on bail and appearing in court with his defense counsel, also waived his right to a speedy trial. In Colorado, after pleading guilty or not guilty to a crime, defendants have the constitutional right to a trial within six months. David Beller, Morphew’s counsel, said that it was not realistic to start a trial within 180 days.
Beller said he did not anticipate the trial lasting any longer than six weeks and said there’s a “possibility it may be shorter.”
Chief District Judge Amanda Hopkins asked Morphew a series of questions to make sure he understood what he was agreeing to by waiving his rights to a speedy trial. Morphew answered simply “Yes, Your Honor,” and “No, Your Honor” to Hopkins’ questions.
Morphew said nothing else during the roughly 20-minute court hearing.
The hearing then shifted to connecting calendars and getting dates for motions hearing and status conferences. With the trial starting on Oct. 13, District Attorney Anne Kelly told the court that she proposed to work alongside Morphew’s counsel to develop the case management order, which entails witness disclosures and setting pre-trial deadlines.
The first set of motions is due to be filed by April 13. Then begins a back-and-forth until trial.
Beller told the court that the defense discussed proposing monthly status conferences.
A “motions week” is set for July 6-10 where the prosecution and defense will iron out details of their requests with the judge.
Morphew is facing a grand jury indictment charging him with the murder of his wife, Suzanne Morphew, who was found in a shallow grave in Saguache County in September 2023. Suzanne Morphew was first declared missing on Mother’s Day in May 2020. Barry Morphew has maintained his innocence since he was first charged with her murder in the 11th Judicial District in 2021. Those charges were later dropped and he was then indicted in the San Luis Valley. The next court date is for a virtual status conference on March 9 at 1:30 p.m.
Watch the hearing in full HERE.
