Today, her husband Barry Morphew was arrested on murder charges by Chaffee County Sherriffs Department. "Wait, what?" The husband of missing Colorado mother Suzanne Morphew has been arrested for her murder, nearly a year after she disappeared last Mother's Day. Your girls need you," he said in the clip, appearing to hold back tears. KRYSTAL LEE [points to fireplace]: Right there. Kelsey didn't tell her mother she and Frazee were breaking up when she spoke with her Thanksgiving morning. On Sunday three days after Thanksgiving there was a bizarre development that would send this case in a very different direction. Letecia Stauch is arrested and held without bond in Horry County, South Carolina, before she is extradited to Colorado Springs. I don't know if it's 'cause she knew she lived far away. And as for that chlorine smell in Barry's hotel room . The man whose DNA is in my wife's car, tied to past sexual assaults, that's your killer.". Prosecutor Jennifer Viehman | Teller County DA's Office: I don't think we would have known what happened to Kelsey without Krystal Lee. Meanwhile, Barry Morphews defense attorney, Iris Eytan, recently told ABC her team will be taking action against the district attorney on the case and will be calling for a probe into prosecutors mishandling of the investigation. Barry knew that his daughters would be away on their camping trip that Saturday afternoon and authorities say he took advantage of that opportunity to kill Suzanne and clean up the crime scene. Prosecutor Beth Reed: He actually had started calling our office while we were in the middle of trial. The law enforcement teams looked into more than 1,400 tips. All rights reserved. KRYSTAL LEE: I did. Ashley Franco: And at that point Krystal knows something has happened to Kelsey. Authorities provide the latest update on the search for Gannon. Aya Gruber:Yeah, that is you know just something that feels really unbelievable. Sometimes the smallest item will turn an investigation, and, in this case, agents seized on a clear plastic cap that a forensics team had found in the family's dryer. Who'd even wanna hurt her?". Details on the circumstances of the boy's death have been sparse, however, with authorities keeping a tight lip about the investigation. And Krystal Lee had already lied to law enforcement, so she's the one to blame for this. Cody Cox: She was a sweetheart. COLORADO There are more than 524 people currently missing for more than a year in Colorado. Peter Van Sant: Did Barry Morphew cooperate with investigators during the course of this? And with so few answers, rumors have persisted. MISSING MOM SUZANNE MORPHEW: COLORADO JUDGE DISMISSES CASE AGAINST HUSBAND WEEKS BEFORE TRIAL. / CBS News, [This story originally aired on January 22, 2022. At one point, Suzanne sends Jeff a selfie. But prosecutors then changed course, successfully asking a judge on April 19 to drop the charges. When investigators tell Barry of the affair, he denies knowing anything about it. Ashley Franco: She had been out here multiple times to see him and it was type a type of affair. Investigators noticed Barry's cell phone appeared to be pinging all around his house on Mother's Day weekend 2020, which he maintains was because he was chasing and shooting at chipmunks. We asked Dan Ridenour to read some of what Barry told investigators. The former inmate had watched a"48 Hours" episode on Kelsey Berreth's murder. Going to jump in the shower. I've gone to Colorado and looked at a few of his horses, and that's the extent of our relationship.". He said he felt he had to do something anything. And then says, "Oh, in the last month." ABC News was unable to reach Morphew's attorney. Clint Cline: He's kind of laid back, you know, kind of stays to himself. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Discovery Company. Peter Van Sant: Could you now demonstrate for me? Michelle Stein: And she said that he had told her it was because she wanted to take him back to court to get custody of the baby and he was in fear that she was going to harm the baby. They started a long-distance relationship. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. There's blood everywhere. Later, her son is in the bathroom and notices blood on the base of the toilet. Stein says she asked Lee why Frazee wanted to kill Kelsey. They bolstered their case with surveillance videos and photos, including one of the black tote in the back of Frazee's truck that Lee says he would use to dispose of her body. She lied about the time. I wiped the there was blood on the front of the dishwasher. Dan Ridenour: I came home every day and my wife asked me, "had they found her yet?". Initially, Barry told police that he set his alarm for 4:30 a.m. on Mother's Day and left the house by 5 a.m. to drive to a job site in Broomfield, a town near Denver, 150 miles from Salida. Dan Ridenour: Barry and Suzanne Morphew were not known well in Salida, Colorado They had only been here for a couple of years. Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. 2019 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. Keith Lonnquist and Reggie Franklin (left to right), with El Paso County Search & Rescue, launch a drone to search an area near Drennan Rd for missing, endangered child, Gannon Stauch on Sunday, Feb. 2, 2020. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, Stephen A. McCain is the development producer. The text read in part: "He's also been abusive emotionally and physically I feel more angry now. But first, Lee wanted a deal. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. And that leaves Laura Stutzman with one question: Why? "But as we investigate further that may change, so at this time I can't comment. Neither Barry, his daughters nor his lawyer had any advance warning. "There was blood on the wall here, there was blood on the wall here, and there was blood right here," Lee points out to investigators in video obtained by "48 Hours.". Lee claims Frazee invited his fiance to play a guessing game with candles. Patrick Frazee sits in a grim Cripple Creek, Colorado, jail - put there by his former girlfriend Krystal Lee - for the murder of his fiance Kelsey Berreth . Gannon's younger sister, Laila, also sat down with the parents for the statement. Girlfriend of convicted killer shows cops where she cleaned up victims blood. "This is just one piece in a very, very, very large puzzle," spokeswoman Jackie Kirby told ABC News. Suzanne competed for homecoming queen. In a Zoom interview, Melinda said she received Suzanne's text two days before she disappeared, and it was boiling over with anger toward Barry. Surveillance image of Kelsey Berreth on November 22, 2018, at the Woodland Park, Colorado, Safeway grocery store. Tools including a shovel. He agreed to provide access to his DNA, phone records and his passwords for those deleted accounts. The whole plan was stupid. DENVER (KDVR) The number of missing persons per year has been going up both in Colorado and nationally, though Colorados number are in the middle of the national pack. Please feel free to contact the Colorado Bureau of Investigation at 303-239-4211 if you have any further questions File: UPs in Colorado 2021 (PDF) Suzanne's sister Melinda reacted to the news of Barry's arrest. Officials said they had put in thousands of hours into search efforts, including through aerial drone footage and search and rescue canines. "They absolutely dismissed this case at this point because they knew they were going to lose this trial and Mr. Morphew was going to be acquitted and exonerated," she told reporters after the news of the dismissal. Involving Krystal was -- it was a stupid plan. Produced by Paul La Rosa. As Colorados population has gone up, so has its annual number of missing persons. Despite that, the judge ruled there was probable cause to go to trial. Details on what led to the discovery were not released, but the El Paso County Sheriff's Office asked for anyone who had seen Letecia Stauch in Florida from March 3 to 5 to come forward. Because it's hard for anybody to believe that Barry is not who they claim he was.". Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated. LOL??". Clint Cline has known Frazee for seven years. so, I was like. Here is somebody who arguably had the last communication with Suzanne before she went missing. In comparison, Arkansas has 25.77 missing persons per 100,000. During her interview with investigators, Lee said Frazee told her while baby Kaylee was in another room, he took a baseball bat and "he went to swinging.". Michelle Stein: This is the thing. Nikki Battiste: And the first idea on how to kill Kelsey was what? or redistributed. All Rights Reserved. On November 24, 2018, Patrick Frazee is captured on a Conoco gas station surveillance camera filling up a gas can. Ashley Cogburn: You know, he was, like, a country boy and that's what she was used to. Ashley Franco: The prosecution's case is that Barry snapped at one point the day before Mother's Day. It was just days after Suzanne Morphew went missing when investigators make that intriguing discovery. Despite the lack of a body, Barry was charged with first-degree murder, tampering with physical evidence, and a variety of other allegations. But it did partially match the DNA of an unknown male who had attacked other women and it raised a disturbing question: had Suzanne fallen into the hands of a sexual predator? "I'm literally just there to search -- I need to find her, need to bring her home, give her a proper burial and closure for my family," he told Denver ABC affiliate KMGH. So, what we mainly have connecting Patrick Frazee to an incredibly brutal and violent crime is Krystal Lee's testimony. She described to them how he said he lured Kelsey to her death. Patrick Frazee sits in a grim Cripple Creek, Colorado, jail put there by his former girlfriend Krystal Lee for the murder of his fiance Kelsey Berreth. Nikki Battiste: She only faces at max, three years in prison. Nikki Battiste: But, I think, Michelle, people watching will say "call the police." Nearly a month after Kelsey Berreth vanished, Woodland Park Police Chief Miles De Young made this grim announcement: CHIEF MILES DE YOUNG | WOODLAND PARK POLICE [to reporters]: Patrick Frazee was taken into custody this morning in Florrisant, Colorado, just after 7 o'clock this morning Mountain Standard Time. He said it was "unlikely" Suzanne had run off on her own, even though she and lover Jeff Libler had discussed moving to Ecuador. On May 9, 2020, the day before Mother's Day,records show Suzanne Morphew and Jeff Libler messaged each other 59 times leading up to the moment investigators believe Barry Morphew murdered his wife. Iris Eytan: There's DNA that is placed on all the critical items of evidence in this case on the bike, on the bike helmet, in the house, in the car that is linked to unknown males. But when the FBI made their initial call to Lee, she said she had "no idea" who Kelsey Berreth was. Kelsey Berreth " wasn't afraid to challenge the typical boundaries," said friend Nicole Haywood. If you are looking for statistics on missing persons in Colorado, our library can help. Imagine my son. The case has made national headlines and brought people across the country. "Its been an emotional rollercoaster, but we feel like we can finally take our first steps in healing, which is a blessing," Macy added. Peter Schweitzer is the senior producer. Stephanie Pagones is a Digital Reporter for FOX Business and Fox News. Prosecutor Beth Reed says the surprise witness was an inmate at the same jail where Patrick Frazee was being held. Ashley Franco: They asked her, "when was the last time you talked to him?" If the body proves to be there, further forensic examination could potentially inculpate or exculpate the Defendant," the filing states. So how did her phone end up in Idaho? One woman may have the answer. Her credibility was on the line. The Associated Press contributed to this report. AGENT: Can you show me where you left those? They've received 555 tips, but he still hasn't been found. There are two families who are suffering deeply. CHIEF MILES DE YOUNG [to reporters]: As you can tell from the arrest, sadly, we do not believe Kelsey is still alive. Lee told investigators after the cleanup she met with Frazee. Law professor Aya Gruber said the case was going to be an uphill battle for prosecutors even before she heard about the most recent sanctions. KRYSTAL LEE: blood all over the floor. The agents swab the inside of Suzanne Morphew's car and they found male DNA on the glove box, and it wasn't Barry Morphew's DNA. Aya Gruber: The prosecution's theory is that at some point, when Barry came home on the 9th and snapped, and decided to murder Suzanne, he used a tranquilizer dart that you would use on animals . Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell case: A timeline of events, Chad Daybell's kids claim he was "fooled in worst, most deadly way possible", Exonerated man fulfills dream of walking daughter down the aisle, Lamar Johnson: "I am a freed man and a blessed man". We love you. Nikki Battiste: Were they in a sexual relationship? I could care less what you're up to and have been for years. Dan Ridenour: They had a couple of daughters one in college And they had a daughter in high school . He knew how to load darts with paralyzing chemicals, having used them to illegally sedate deer and remove their antlers to sell. Aya Gruber: What he did was delete all his social media accounts that he had used to communicate with Suzanne. In this still image from video, Barry Morphew, center, appears in court in Salida, Colo., on May 6. A neighbor comes forward with surveillance footage that he says shows Letecia Stauch leaving the house with him and returning hours later alone. Tuesday is Colorado Missing Persons Day, an opportunity to honor more than 524 people currently missing for more than a year in Colorado. The sheriff's office said it worked with law enforcement partners to execute over 135 search warrants statewide and interview more than 400 people in multiple states. A neighbor reported her missing, officials said at the time. Stein claims she didn't know the full names of either Frazee or Berreth. For the year 2020, there are 1,186 missing persons cases that remain open. Ashley Franco: That he could be cleaning up a crime scene. Family members previously said Barry Morphew was out of town in Denver when his wife disappeared, CBS affiliate KCNC reported. Chromebooks are excellent alternatives to traditional laptops and have built-in security software. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. Peter Van Sant: And what kinda boss was he? DNA evidence made public for the first time now threatened to destroy the case against Barry. He is described as a fit trail runner, backpacker and climber with backcountry experience who may be wearing a brown beanie, yellow pants, a blue top layer and blue or red shoes, according to the NPS. Ben LeMere is an expert in the new field of vehicle forensics. Whether investigators ultimately were able to recover some of that missing data or received a tip about the location of Suzanne's remains is not known. Dan Ridenour [riding in car with Peter Van Sant]: What happened on this road is a real mystery. You know, it is a computer Log files, they only last so long. Prosecutors believe the cap was from a syringe used to fill a tranquilizer dart. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. He also returned Kelsey's belongings. Cases like the disappearance of Suzanne Morphew. Chaffee County Sheriffs Office via Facebook. This is a case without a lot of physical evidence. "So, what this case lives and dies on is the testimony of Krystal Lee. He was not happy that she didn't go through with it. What you need to know about bank, BestReviews.com - Top gifts to make everyone happy this spring, Mothers Day inspo: This foot massager has 20,000, Drew Barrymores Walmart collection is perfect for, Best Mothers Day gifts for the budding plant mom, Best Mothers Day Gifts for moms obsessed with books, Search continues for missing Lakewood man, Denver restaurant closes after 50 years in business, Set of quadruplets set to graduate from MSU together, Air pollution on the Front Range has gotten worse, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. But more than 5,600 cases for missing Native women or . And Barry's truck told a different story than what he was telling investigators. Aya Gruber: a couple of the pieces of evidence that I think are very harmful to his case come from the data in the car . Cody Cox was part of Barry's landscaping crew for nearly two years when Barry first arrived in Colorado. FAQs READ PROSECUTORS' MOTION TO DISMISS HERE: They wrote that investigators had hoped to recover Morphew's remains in a remote area near the couple's mountainous home before the trial, but weather stymied their efforts. Nikki Battiste: And she throws away a few items that she says she can't get clean. Dan Ridenour: And that's when the call to 911 was placed, that Suzanne is missing. A spokeswoman for the sheriff's office told ABC News that investigators have a copy of the video and do not dispute Drayton's description. Investigators also uncovered DNA on the glovebox of Suzanne Morphew's Range Rover, which traced back to an unknown male connected to three sexual assaults. April 30 is Suzanne Morphew's birthday. Why not just do it at one? What was I supposed to do? After checking out the work site, Barry headed back to his room at the Holiday Inn, and investigators say he stayed there from 12:42 p.m. to 6:03 p.m. By then, he'd already spoken to older daughter Mallory who told him she could not get in touch with her mother. It was a tough time, says her sister Melinda Moorman. Ashley Franco: She says, "I don't have a personal relationship with Patrick Frazee. "When something like this happens when somebody goes missing you want answers," Aya Gruber, a law professor at the University of Colorado and a former defense attorney, tells "48 Hours" correspondent Peter Van Sant. El Paso County Sheriff. Did you encounter any technical issues? ANDREW MOORMAN [talking to searchers, CBS Denver news report]:We're gonna fan out and were gonna work that area very carefully, OK? Market data provided by Factset. It was updated on August 1, 2020.]. Then, eight months before Kelsey disappeared, Lee and Frazee's relationship heated up. Copyright 2020 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. There's plenty of places to dispose of of a body. Laura Stutzman | Krystal Lee's friend: The Krystal I knew could do no wrong but the Krystal that has done the things that came out of her mouth is somebody I don't know. Andrew Katers: What I'm holding is a TeleDart model 706 rifle they use this a lot in parks throughout the country. Eytan said there was "not a single ounce" of physical evidence linking Barry Morphew to the case and noted that prosecutors have never before said they needed to find Suzanne Morphew's body in order to prosecute. Peter Van Sant: And what are you holding? It's unfortunately a part of my profession that sometimes in order to solve a case we have to give a deal to the devil. A bond hearing is scheduled for Thursday at 10:30 a.m. MDT. Trump asks for mistrial in E. Jean Carroll rape lawsuit, U.S. to let Afghan evacuees renew temporary legal status, First Republic Bank seized by regulators, then sold to JPMorgan Chase, Texas man who lost wife and son in shooting shares story, Tornado hits Virginia Beach, damaging up to 100 homes, More Americans escape Sudan as country teeters on edge of civil war, Mental health of LGBTQ youth worsening in current "hostile political climate", Stray bullet strikes college baseball player during game, Texas police say, MasterChef Australia host Jock Zonfrillo found dead at 46, Kelsey Berreth murder: Crime scene evidence photos. Aya Gruber | University of Colorado law professor: She says "I'll get the drugs. The way Krystal Lee tells it, she drove to Kelsey's house with that metal pipe, but didn't attack her and drove back to Idaho. And when the FBI went back at Lee a second time, she too was ready to talk. By Sunday night, Suzanne's daughters were back home but Suzanne is nowhere to be found. Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox. Nikki Battiste: And the alarms go off in their minds? He's got a lot to lose if revelations of this affair come out. She was a cowgirl who liked to have fun. But I don't think she would get very far. This image was captured shortly before her murder. And it's just not right. Frazee told authorities he drove their daughter Kaylee to his ranch for Thanksgiving dinner. Ashley Franco: Waits in the alleyway, walks up to Kelsey's door, knocks on the door, and tells , Ashley Franco: Kelsey opens it, tells Kelsey this elaborate story. Aya Gruber: he asks the agents, "Am I a target?". In her motion for dismissal, DA Stanley told the judge that officials believe they are close to discovering the location of Suzanne Morphew's body. Though widely visible, the Morphew tragedy is far from the only open missing persons case in the state. They believe he faked 19 calls between the two phones over Thanksgiving weekend and was sending texts between them including this one from Kelsey's phone: KELSEY BERRETH: I'm going running I'll call you guys when I get home. Heres the timeline of Suzanne Morphews disappearance: At one point in the investigation, police said they believed Suzanne Morphews body was in a remote and mountainous region near the Morphew home. "We just know our dad better than anyone else, and we know he was not involved in our moms disappearance.". Colorado mom Suzanne Morphew has been missing since May 10, with investigators now zeroing in on her social media presence By KC Baker Published on November 19, 2020 01:15 PM Suzanne, who shared two daughters with her husband, disappeared on May 10, 2020, near the small mountain town of Salida, in Chaffee County. Prosecutor Beth Reed painted a picture of Patrick Frazee. Ashley Franco: He says the last time he sees his wife is when she's sleeping in their bed. Another big question investigators had was when Frazee said he last saw Kelsey. The defense called no witnesses. Ashley Franco: Barry Morphew absolutely could say that. El Paso County Sheriff's Office Allen would not elaborate on what he believes happened to Gannon. Macy, 16 years old when her mom disappeared, lived at home. Tell me about him. Peter Van Sant: Give me a sense of how your technology, from your company, helps solve criminal cases. / CBS News, Produced by Marcelena Spencer and Susan Mallie, [This story previously aired on November 23, 2019. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. The first day authorities searched for Suzanne, they found her mountain bike close to the Morphew home. It's helped get people not convicted. Barry Morphew, alongside his daughters, walks out of the Fremont County Courthouse in Colorado a free man after all charges against him are dismissed on April 19, 2022. Sean Garrison, Grunwalds brother, told CNN that his brother is an adept hiker and climber who hiked the Pacific Crest Trail and most of the peaks in the Adirondacks in New York, along with other locations across the US and Mexico. The judge's penalty was to knock out 14 prosecution witnesses including experts in DNA and cell phone and vehicle data recovery. Nikki Battiste:None of you received any responses? Throughout the investigation, Barry Morphew maintained his innocence. Ashley Franco: When Suzanne and Barry moved to Colorado, Suzanne messaged him on Facebook. Neither parent addressed the rumors about Letecia Stauch. Although many have not been seen in years or even decades, they are never far from our hearts and minds. Investigators discovered mysterious male DNA in this Range Rover belonging to Suzanne Morphew. She would never forsake you. A surveillance image shows Frazee at a gas station. She would have turned 51 years old. In 2008, she was crowned queen of the Magic Valley Rodeo. It's impossible to get it to do anything else. By Minyvonne Burke. Melinda Moorman: There are no winners in this story. Aya Gruber: This is a pretty good deal that she gets. That day, a neighbor called 911 to report that the 49-year-old had gone for a bike ride and never returned, the sheriff's office said. "Today is all about Suzanne, and it's about her family, and it's about all the individuals that knew her and loved her and cared about her. As for Krystal Lee, she's facing a maximum of up to three years in prison. The unit manages the Missing Person Alert Program in Colorado and functions as the Clearinghouse for the state of Colorado. Ashley Franco | KKTV reporter: He said that Kelsey wanted to go their separate ways and things weren't working out between them. Michelle Stein: I think that she was to a point. Barry, investigators say, told them he didn't know how the cap got there, but admitted he was an experienced tranquilizer dart gun shooter.
Richard Harris Granddaughter,
Joshua Morgan Obituary,
Citizens United V Federal Election Commission Pros And Cons,
Martin Colbert Patricia Blair,
Vaping Before Rhinoplasty,
Articles M
