Suzanne Morphew's daughters battle family over her remains as accused husband Barry faces October murder trial. Legal fight reveals deep family divisions.
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Prosecutors stopped Suzanne Morphew's cremation at the last minute, and say Barry Morphew ordered it: docs
Barry Morphew, the man charged with his wife Suzanne's murder, personally authorized her cremation in February, just before prosecutors stepped in to stop it, they claim in new court filings.
In February, attorneys for Macy and Mallory Morphew, who are Suzanne Morphew's daughters, filed a motion to force the state to release her remains. The motion was withdrawn on Thursday.
Attorneys for both Macy and Mallory Morphew said in their initial filing that
their mother's remains were at Swan Lake Funeral Home in Colorado Springs, and had a funeral service planned for their mother when law enforcement took possession of the body.
The lawyers argued that law enforcement in Colorado had "stopped them from exercising their constitutional rights" to hold a funeral for their mother and bury her remains.
"This government conduct is outrageous, cruel, and shocking to the conscience," attorneys for Macy and Mallory Morphew argued.
Responding to attorneys for Suzanne Morphew's daughters, prosecutors said that Barry Morphew signed off on the cremation of Suzanne Morphew. In a court filing, Barry Morphew did not take a position on the release of her body.
Prosecutors said that Suzanne Morphew's remains are "material evidence" to their
murder case against Barry Morphew, asking the court to deny the motion to release her body.
"The Defendant in a murder case authorized the release of the murder victim’s remains, prior to pending motions litigation and jury trial, and paid to have them cremated prior to disclosures of his experts’ opinions or court rulings on admissibility of scientific testing regarding said remains," prosecutors wrote.
Notably, Suzanne Morphew's sister Melinda Balzar and brother David Moorman both "strongly object" to the release of her body, according to prosecutors.
Colin McCallin, a Colorado-based lawyer and former deputy district attorney for the 18th Judicial District Attorney's Office in Colorado, told Fox News Digital he would be concerned as a prosecutor if the remains were released.
"If I were a prosecutor on this case, I would be very concerned if the remains were turned over to the family. [If] Ms. Morphew's remains were cremated, and then somehow the defense wanted to allege later that they wanted access to the body for their own testing, for their own forensic examination, for example. And then they claim, 'oh, we can't do that because we don't have access to body.'"
A hearing regarding Suzanne Morphew's remains is scheduled for March 30. A trial in the case is currently scheduled to begin Oct. 13.
Timeline, according to prosecutors:
- Jan. 29, 2026: Barry Morphew signs off on the release of Suzanne Morphew's remains from the El Paso Coroner’s Office to the Swan-Law Funeral Directors funeral home.
- Feb. 17, 2026: Law enforcement was notified that Suzanne Morphew's remains had been released to a funeral home and began the process to apply for a search warrant to take custody of the remains as "material evidence."
- Feb. 18, 2026: A court authorized the search warrant for law enforcement to take possession of Suzanne Morphew's body.
- Feb. 19, 2026: While collecting Suzanne Morphew's remains, Undersheriff Alex Walker was informed that the remains were set to be cremated the next day.
- Feb. 24, 2026: A court authorized another search warrant for documents related to Suzanne Morphew's remains, which include "two signed forms with Defendant Barry Morphew’s signature on them." One of the forms authorized the cremation of Suzanne Morphew.
- March 19, 2026: Suzanne Morphew's daughters withdrew their attempt to force the state to release their mother's body.
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