A Colorado mom who vanished during a bike ride died by homicide and had drug cocktail in her system, coroner finds

By Andi Babineau and Christina Maxouris, CNN

(CNN) — An autopsy conducted on the remains of a Colorado mother who disappeared while on a bike ride in 2020 and was found dead three years later determined she died by homicide and had a drug cocktail in her system that is used to immobilize animals.

Suzanne Morphew, 49, vanished while on a bike ride in May 2020. Her husband was initially charged in the killing, but prosecutors dropped the charges in 2022, saying they had hoped her body would be found. Morphew’s remains were discovered in September 2023 roughly 50 miles south from where she was reported missing. No one is currently charged in the case.

The autopsy conducted on Morphew’s remains found her death was a “homicide by unspecified means in the setting of butorphanol, azaperone, and medetomidine intoxication,” according to a report released by the El Paso County coroner. The combination of the three drugs is often used to immobilize wildlife and can cause analgesia and sedation, the coroner’s office said.

In a statement on Monday, Colorado Bureau of Investigation Director Chris Schaefer said investigators working on the case continue to “follow the evidence and only the evidence as we seek justice for Suzanne’s death.”

Twelfth Judicial District Attorney Anne E. Kelly’s Office said in a separate statement she was unable to comment as the case remains under active investigation, but added her office continues to “seek justice for Suzanne.”

Morphew was reported missing by a neighbor on Mother’s Day 2020 after she went cycling near Maysville, Colorado, and never came back home. Maysville is in Chaffee County. According to the coroner’s report, Morphew’s bike and helmet were found in separate places in the county “without significant damage.”

In 2021, Morphew’s husband, Barry Lee Morphew, was charged with murder, tampering with physical evidence and attempting to influence a public servant in connection with Suzanne Morphew’s death. He pleaded not guilty, and in April 2022, prosecutors moved to dismiss the charges, saying they hoped his wife’s body would have been found by the time the trial started. A judge ruled prosecutors can still pursue the same charges against him in the future.

Suzanne Morphew’s remains were found more than a year later in neighboring Saguache County.

The couple shared two daughters together.

Barry Morphew’s attorneys, Jane Fisher-Byrialsen and Iris Eytan, said in a statement sent to CNN after the coroner’s findings were released that the Morphews have been “left with more questions than answers and a lack of justice for Suzanne, the family and the community.” The attorneys said authorities have not shared with Morphew’s family whether her clothes have been tested for DNA and alleged there was unknown DNA found in her car.

CNN reached out to the CBI for a response to the attorney’s allegations but the agency declined to comment. CNN also reached out to the district attorney’s office for comment.

“The family asks for privacy and implores the authorities to look at the case with fresh eyes, follow all leads, conduct all forensic testing, and solve Suzanne’s murder,” Barry Morphew’s attorneys said.

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