A judge on Tuesday increased the bond to $10 million for Barry Morphew, a Colorado man accused of killing his wife, citing concerns that he is a flight risk. The decision came after Morphew fled from a car crash in Denver shortly after picking up his daughter from the airport.
Morphew had been free on a $3 million surety bond. Prosecutors argued that his actions on August 26, where he fled the scene of a crash, violated the terms of his release. These terms stipulated that he could not travel away from home except for specific reasons like work or medical emergencies, and his location was to be monitored by GPS.
Prosecutors had asked for the bond to be raised, with one prosecutor stating in court that Morphew could easily have boarded a plane and fled the country. Morphew's attorney argued that he had not fled during his years of prosecution related to his wife's death. However, the judge noted that Morphew had not provided evidence for a legitimate reason for being at the airport.
Morphew has pleaded not guilty to the charges in the death of Suzanne Morphew. Suzanne Morphew disappeared in 2020, and her skeletal remains were discovered off a dirt road in southern Colorado in 2023. Charges against Barry Morphew were previously dropped in 2023 but he was subsequently charged again with first-degree murder.
Investigators found no signs of trauma on Suzanne Morphew's remains. However, traces of a drug cocktail commonly used to tranquilize wildlife were found in her bone marrow. Prosecutors allege that Barry Morphew was the only individual in the area, besides wildlife officials, authorized to use such chemicals.