A Colorado judge has sharply increased Barry Morphew’s bond after prosecutors accused him of repeatedly breaking the terms of his release while awaiting trial in the death of his wife, Suzanne Morphew. The alleged violations included eating at restaurants, traveling to the airport and leaving the scene of a crash.
District Court Judge Amanda Hopkins ordered on Sept. 8 that Morphew’s bond rise from $3 million to a cash-only bond of $10 million. The judge agreed with prosecutors that stricter restrictions were necessary, according to court records obtained by Oxygen.
“Mr. Morphew has shown time and again that he has no respect for any order of this court,” Hopkins said in announcing her decision, according to ABC News. “And he is not going to comply with it if it is an inconvenience to the lifestyle he wishes to live while out on bond.”
Barry Morphew Accused of Violating Bond Conditions, Going to Airport
Morphew, who has pleaded not guilty to the murder charges, had been released on a $3 million bond that allowed him to leave home only for work, legal meetings, medical appointments or emergencies, according to The Denver Post.
The 58-year-old was later arrested after prosecutors said GPS information from his court-ordered tracking device showed he had repeatedly violated those conditions.
On Aug. 26, prosecutors alleged that Morphew drove to Denver International Airport to pick up his daughter. They said he later left the scene of an accident while he was “just out and about with his day, no work whatsoever,” ABC News reported.
Court records obtained by Oxygen state that Morphew allegedly struck two vehicles, offered one driver money to avoid the required legal process, and then drove away after learning police had been called. Prosecutors said he fled by “driving over a curb to do so.”
“The Defendant did not report this incident to police, this Court, or any authority whatsoever,” prosecutors wrote. “And had to be caught on camera by a witness before the matter was brought to this Court’s attention.”
Morphew now faces five charges tied to the alleged hit-and-run, including careless driving, leaving the scene of a crash and driving without a license, The Denver Post reported.
Prosecutors also said Morphew had made trips to a steakhouse, Whole Foods and trailheads.
“With an indictment for first-degree murder sitting on all our desks,” Special Deputy District Attorney Fred Johnson said, per ABC News, “he’s walking around doing whatever he wants in violation of the court’s bond conditions.”
Johnson went on to argue that he believed Morphew was a flight risk and could have easily boarded a plane at the airport in an effort to avoid prosecution.
READ MORE: Tennessee Wendy’s Manager Fired After Video Shows Neurodivergent Employee Tied to Kitchen Equipment
Johnson explained, per CNN, “We are very, very concerned he has just demonstrated what he’s going to do when push comes to shove.”
However, Morphew’s attorney Jane Fisher-Byrialsen argued that Morphew had never missed a court appearance since he was implicated in his wife’s death. She denied prosecutors claims that he was a flight risk.
“This case has been going on for six years, and Mr. Morphew is still here,” she noted at the hearing, per ABC News. “He is all over the internet. Everybody knows what his face looks like. Everybody knows his name. I mean, there’s no fleeing from him.”
She added in a court motion obtained by Oxygen that he has never made an “attempt to hide from anyone.”
According to Fisher-Byrialsen, Morphew is eager to clear his name.
“He wants his day in court,” she said, per The Denver Post. “He wants this to be over.”
What is Barry Morphew Accused Of?
Morphew was indicted in June 2025 on first-degree murder charges in the death of his wife Suzanne, according to a statement from the Colorado Bureau of Investigation.
She was reported missing on Mother’s Day in 2020. Though Morphew was first arrested in connection with the death a year later, those charges were ultimately dismissed without prejudice in 2022.
Investigators caught a new break in the case in 2023 when Suzanne’s remains were discovered in a shallow grave near the town of Moffat in Saguache County, Colorado. Authorities found traces of a prescription animal tranquilizer in her bones which prosecutors have said Morphew had access to, according to The Denver Post.
At the time of her death, Suzanne had been having an affair and allegedly told a friend she didn’t feel safe alone with her husband, the outlet reported.
Morphew—who has continued to deny any involvement in his wife’s death—is slated to go on trial next year.
If Morphew is able to post the $10 million cash bond, he will not be able to leave his San Luis Valley home without permission of the court, except for a medical emergency or court appearance, per the court records.