Barry Morphew's bond increased to $10M after accused of violating terms of release

Barry Morphew was arrested last week for failure to comply.

A judge increased Barry Morphew's bond to $10 million after prosecutors accused the murder suspect of violating the conditions of his release while out on bond following his arrest last year in connection with his wife's death.

Prosecutors asked that his $3 million bond be increased to $10 million after they said GPS data showed him traveling for non-work purposes, including to the Denver International Airport, in alleged violations of his initial bond conditions.

The alleged violations came to light after Morphew was accused of being involved in a hit-and-run incident in Denver last month that was in part captured on video. He was arrested on Thursday on an outstanding warrant from Alamosa County for failure to comply.

"Mr. Morphew has shown time and again that he has no respect for any order of this court, and he is not going to comply with it if it is an inconvenience to the lifestyle he wishes to live while out on bond," Judge Amanda Hopkins said during a hearing Tuesday while increasing his bond to $10 million cash only.

Morphew is set to go on trial next year after being indicted on first-degree murder over the death of his wife, Suzanne Morphew, whose body was found more than three years after the mother of two was reported missing. He pleaded not guilty and has denied any involvement in her death.

The conditions of his $3 million surety bond included that Morphew only leave his home for work, medical appointments or emergencies, and meetings with his legal team and court. Prosecutors argued during Tuesday's hearing that a review of the GPS data for Morphew from Aug. 23 to Aug. 29 showed "very little work, if any."

On Aug. 26, the date of the traffic incident, prosecutors said he appeared to pick up his daughter and another individual from the airport, then is "just out and about with his day, no work whatsoever," before the alleged hit-and-run incident.

In the days following the incident, Morphew allegedly made a "series of trips that are not work-related," including going to trailheads, a steakhouse and Whole Foods, prosecutors said.

"With an indictment for first-degree murder sitting on all our desks, he's walking around doing whatever he wants in violation of the court's bond conditions," Special Deputy District Attorney Fred Johnson said during Tuesday's hearing.

While requesting that the bond be increased "significantly," Johnson argued that Morphew posed a flight risk and has shown "no respect for the conditions the court has set to ensure that he's here for trial."

The defense asked Tuesday that Morphew be placed on home confinement, except for meetings with his counsel, arguing that full home confinement would be "sufficient." The defense said there were no notifications from Morphew's GPS provider regarding his recent activity because he had an "open window" for work, and that home confinement will "fix that." They also argued that he is not a flight risk.

"This case has been going on for six years, and Mr. Morphew is still here," one of his attorneys, Jane Fisher-Byrialsen, said during Tuesday's hearing. "He is all over the internet. Everybody knows what his face looks like. Everybody knows his name. I mean, there's no fleeing from him."

"He wants his day in court. He wants this to be over. So there's zero motivation for him to flee," she continued.

Raising his bond at $10 million is "basically giving him zero opportunity to make it," the defense also said.

Hopkins said she found that Morphew's bond should be increased, calling the travel to the airport alarming. She said he has not provided a legitimate reason for being at the airport or the other locations highlighted by prosecutors.

"Mr. Morphew has clearly shown a capacity to commit new offenses while out on bond," she said.

If he is able to post bond, Morphew will have a GPS monitor installed and will not be allowed to leave his home without the court's permission, except for a medical emergency or to attend court, among other conditions, the judge said.

Morphew is set to go on trial for murder in July 2027.

His wife was reported missing on Mother's Day in May 2020. Her remains were found in September 2023 while investigators were searching in an unrelated case. Her death was subsequently ruled a homicide.

Her death was determined to have been caused by homicide "by undetermined means in the setting of butorphanol, azaperone, and medetomidine intoxication," according to the autopsy.

Morphew had previously been charged with his wife's presumed murder in 2021, but those charges were dropped in April 2022, just before the trial was supposed to begin.

Sponsored Content by Taboola