Missing Colorado woman Suzanne Morphew's body is apparently located in "a very difficult spot," prosecutors revealed this week.
Morphew, 49, disappeared during a bike ride on Mother's Day in 2020 and is now presumed dead.
"She is in a very difficult spot. We actually have more than just a feeling … and the sheriff’s office is continuing to look for Mrs. Morphew’s body," 11th Judicial Deputy District Attorney Mark Hurlbert said in court Monday, according to the Denver Gazette.
Prosecutors initially alleged that Morphew's husband, Barry Morphew, murdered his wife after she decided to leave him, but they later asked a judge to drop and dismiss the murder charges without prejudice in April 2022.
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Text messages from Suzanne, released for the first time on Tuesday, suggest that both she and Barry were having affairs with other people while married.
In a March 7, 2020, message to a man named Jeff Libler, who the Denver Gazette described as a high school flame, Suzanne wrote: "Nobody loves you...like the way I do. I crave time with you. I crave the feeling I get when we connect. Physically or emotionally. You’re my guy. Always."
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On May 8, 2020, she again messaged Libler: "You’re the only real love I’ve known...the only love I want."
Barry's attorney, Iris Eytan, said her client "did not know" about Suzanne's "two-year" affair with Libler, who she said has never been "fully investigated" by law enforcement.
Texts also revealed Suzanne's belief that Barry, too, was having an affair.
"Oh, I’m sure your mistress has you all happy now so you can say you love me but bully me when you’re with me… yea that’s love," she said in an April 24, 2020, text to Barry. She sent a text to him in March that said they needed to "figure this out civilly."
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Prosecutors said last year they believed they were close to finding Suzanne's remains, though they have yet to be recovered.
Hurlbert said it could take "a long time" to gather evidence to prove the missing woman was murdered.
"That could be a long time. It could be quick, it could be long. It depends on a lot of our investigation," Hurlbert said, according to the Denver Gazette.
Eytan noted that the DA's office previously said they thought they were going to find Suzanne in April 2022, "[T]hen in October 2022 said they were wrong about that and now claim that it could be quick or take years to find Suzanne and that it could be Barry or someone else."
Barry Morphew filed a lawsuit against Colorado prosecutors on May 2, arguing that 11th District prosecutors violated his civil rights with the accusations made against him.
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In a May 2 statement about Barry Morphew's lawsuit, Eytan said the 55-year-old father "suffered the indignity of being wrongfully arrested, jailed and prosecuted for a crime he did not commit."
"We will not rest until those responsible for this miscarriage of justice are held accountable," she said.
Last month, Eytan filed a complaint against 11th Judicial District Attorney Linda Stanley and six other prosecutors for "a pattern of ethical violations eviscerating public trust in the criminal legal system and disregarding the rights of Mr. Morphew and his daughters."
Stanley told FOX 31 Denver in a statement that the "potential filing of a complaint against an attorney is not equivalent to the attorney engaging in any misconduct" and "anyone can file a complaint against a lawyer with the Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel."
In a statement ahead of Mother's Day, Barry and his daughters with Suzanne, Macy and Mallory, said they have missed Suzanne "every single day for the last three years."
"We keep hoping that DA Stanley and Law Enforcement will use every resource to find her," the family said.
