Suzanne Morphew's autopsy report finished

Seven months after her remains were found in a shallow grave south of Moffat, Suzanne Morphew’s autopsy report is finished, investigative sources confirmed. 

The autopsy took longer than usual because forensic testing had to be completed, a source said, who asked not to be identified because they're not authorized to speak publicly.

The FBI training and research center in Quantico, Virginia consulted on the testing, sources said. The autopsy report was not immediately available to the public. Autopsies are public records.

A call to Chaffee County Coroner Jeff Graff, where Morphew's remains were last known to be stored, was not immediately returned. 

The Denver Gazette has requested a copy of the autopsy report. 

Sources said that the actual autopsy was done by the El Paso County Coroner's office.

Suzanne Morphew, 49, was reported missing on Mother's Day, May 10, 2020. Her husband, Barry Morphew, was the last known person to see her alive, an arrest document stated. Though he was originally charged in the case, those charges were dropped in April of 2022.

Morphew's remains were found scattered in a dry, high-desert field south of the town of Moffat on Sept. 22. 

The discovery of her remains in Saguache, a bordering county to where she was originally thought to be located, brings in a new law enforcement body — namely the Saguache County Sheriff's Office.

After she went missing, thousands of people turned out to look for her on horseback, on foot and in the streams and rivers. No one thought to look south of town where her remains were found by a Colorado Bureau of Investigation team who stumbled across her bones while they were looking for the remains of a different victim.

Barry Morphew was arrested nearly a year after his wife disappeared, May 5, 2021, on suspicion of first-degree murder and tampering with physical evidence in her disappearance.

The following September, after a four-day August preliminary hearing, Colorado 11th Judicial District Judge Patrick Murphy ruled there was enough probable cause to take the case to trial. After a five-month COVID-riddled jail stay, Morphew was released on $500,000 cash-only bail and walked into the arms of his adult daughters to await trial.

The case was dismissed without prejudice just nine days before the trial was to begin in April 2022. Without prejudice means that prosecutors can re-file charges. There is a question as to where the case would be tried if that happens. The 19th Judicial District, run by District Attorney Linda Stanley, may relinquish the case to the 12th Judicial District, which is based in Alamosa and run by District Attorney Anne Kelley. 

Mallory and Macy Morphew reportedly still support him. Barry Morphew and Morphew's daughters will be having a celebration of life for Suzanne Morphew on May 4 at Trinity Baptist Church in Westfield, Indiana. 

Morphew maintains his innocence in the case. He has moved from Colorado to Indiana, where he and Suzanne first met when she was in high school and he was in college.