ALAMOSA — Barry Morphew was released from the Alamosa County Detention Center on Friday after posting bail in the amount of $300,000.00.

Morphew is accused of killing his wife, Suzanne Morphew, who went missing from their home in Chaffee County in 2020. Her body was found in Saguache County in 2023.

In July, a grand jury indicted Morphew in her death, leading to his being taken into custody by law enforcement in Arizona and transported to Alamosa.  

When Morphew first appeared in court, DA Anne Kelly requested bail be set at $3 million cash, which the court granted.

Morphew’s defense attorney, David Beller, subsequently filed a motion claiming the $3 million cash was too high and requesting the amount be reduced to $500,000.

Both parties appeared in the court of District Judge Hopkins.

Beller argued that he is representing “an innocent man” who has not been difficult for law enforcement to find and was taken into custody without incident.  

Kelly argued that Morphew was a flight risk; he has no connections to the San Luis Valley, had recently been moving around “large sums of money”, went by different names and changed the license plates on his car depending upon where he was driving. 

After listening to arguments, Hopkins declined to lower the bail and, instead, modified the conditions, keeping bail at $3 million but setting it as cash surety or property bond. That paved the way for a bail bond company to post Morphew’s bail for a non-refundable fee of $300,000.

In her decision, Hopkins cited Morphew’s daughters who were in support of lowering bail as a significant consideration. She also said she did not consider Morphew to be a flight risk but, should he think of fleeing, he should remember he will “have a bondsman looking for him.”  

Morphew may have been released from jail, but his movements will still be limited.

Included in conditions of his bail set out by the court, Morphew is prohibited from leaving the state for any reason. He must wear a GPS monitor and cannot leave his home other than "to appear in court, meet with his attorneys, attend a doctor’s appointment or for a medical emergency.”  Morphew must also surrender his passport, must not use any other name, is only allowed to drive vehicles registered to him and is prohibited from possessing or controlling a firearm.

Both the defense and prosecution agree that the trial will hopefully be held within a year and is expected to take a month.

Morphew’s next appearance in court is November 3. He has not yet entered a plea.