Barry Morphew pleads not guilty to alleged murder of his wife
Barry Morphew is shown in this booking photo released by the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office. Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office
(ALAMOSA COUNTY, Colo.) — Barry Morphew has pleaded not guilty for the second time in the alleged murder of his wife, Suzanne Morphew, whose body was found more than three years after the mother of two was reported missing.
The plea was entered on his behalf during his arraignment in Alamosa County, Colorado on Monday.
His trial has been scheduled to start on Oct. 13. He waived his right to a speedy trial, due to the amount of data and anticipated length of the proceedings. The trial is expected to last up to six weeks.
Suzanne Morphew was reported missing on Mother’s Day in May 2020. Her remains were found in September 2023 while investigators were searching in an unrelated case. Her death was subsequently ruled a homicide.
A grand jury returned an indictment against Barry Morphew on a single count of first-degree murder in June 2025. He was taken into custody in Arizona.
He had previously been charged with his wife’s presumed murder in 2021, but those charges were dropped in April 2022, just before the trial was supposed to begin.
Barry Morphew was the last known person to see his wife alive, according to the probable cause statement in the indictment.
The day she was reported missing, he told police she had planned to go on a bike ride while he was out of town on a work trip, according to the indictment. Her bike and helmet were later located in separate locations near the home.
In early interviews with law enforcement following his wife’s disappearance, Barry Morphew allegedly said their marriage was “the best,” according to the indictment. Though his statements were “inconsistent with other witness accounts and evidence located,” the indictment stated, noting that Suzanne Morphew had “confided in people that she was unhappy in the marriage in the weeks and months leading to her disappearance” and had discussed plans to divorce her husband with a close friend.
Investigators also uncovered a screenshot of a text message from Suzanne Morphew on her husband’s phone that stated, according to the indictment: “I’m done. I could care less what you’re up to and have been for years. We just need to figure this out civilly.” The screenshot was saved on May 6, 2020 — four days before she was reported missing by a neighbor, according to the indictment.
Suzanne Morphew’s body was found in September 2023 near the town of Moffat, less than an hour south of where she lived, according to the indictment.
Her death was determined to have been caused by homicide “by undetermined means in the setting of butorphanol, azaperone, and medetomidine intoxication,” according to the autopsy.
Law enforcement specifically requested that the coroner’s office test for the presence of butorphanol, azaperone and medetomidine, which comprise a chemical mixture known as BAM that is used for sedating animals, according to the indictment.
Prior to moving to Colorado in 2018, Barry Morphew was a deer farmer in Indiana and used BAM to sedate and transport deer on his farm, according to the indictment. He allegedly admitted to using BAM in Colorado as recently as April 2020 to tranquilize a deer on his property, according to the indictment.
According to the indictment, records of BAM prescriptions showed that Barry Morphew last purchased BAM by prescription in March 2018, and that no individual or business in the Colorado region where the Morphews lived and where Suzanne Morphew’s remains were found had purchased BAM prescriptions from 2017 to 2020.
“Ultimately, the prescription records show that when Suzanne Morphew disappeared, only one private citizen living in that entire area of the state had access to BAM: Barry Morphew,” the indictment stated.
Barry Morphew has denied any involvement in his wife’s death.
“Yet again, the government allows their predetermined conclusion to lead their search for evidence,” his attorney, David Beller, said in a statement to ABC News last year following his indictment. “Barry maintains his innocence. The case has not changed and the outcome will not either.”
His attorney during his initial prosecution by the 11th Judicial District Attorney’s Office also maintained her former client’s innocence.
“Not only is he a loving father, but he was a loving husband,” the attorney, Iris Eytan said in a statement. “I’ve handled thousands of cases, and I’ve never seen prosecutors mishandle a case so recklessly.”
The district attorney for the 11th Judicial District at the time, Linda Stanley, was disbarred by the Colorado Supreme Court in 2024 for misconduct regarding the Morphew case and others.
Barry Morphew and his daughters spoke to ABC News in May 2023 after they filed a lawsuit against prosecutors, saying he was wrongfully charged.
“They’ve got tunnel vision and they looked at one person and they’ve got too much pride to say they’re wrong and look somewhere else,” he said at the time. “I don’t have anything to worry about. I’ve done nothing wrong.”
Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and James Holt are seen after the swimming finals at swimming pool Het Hofbad during the Invictus Games on April 19, 2022, in The Hague, Netherlands. Patrick Van Katwijk/Getty Images
Holt’s departure comes weeks after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced the rebrand of the Archewell Foundation to Archewell Philanthropies.
Harry and Meghan’s longtime aide, who originally worked with Harry at Kensington Palace, and moved out to Los Angeles with the couple when they stepped back from their roles as working members of the royal family in 2020, announced his departure from the couple’s foundation in a statement on Monday.
“Working with Prince Harry and Meghan has been one of the great privileges of my career,” Holt began.
He went on, “From my first project with Prince Harry eight years ago to improve mental health support for soldiers in the British military, to our recent work helping injured children in Gaza, he has consistently challenged me to think bigger about how we can make a difference.”
Holt added that when he first met Meghan, “I recognized a kindred spirit – someone who finds joy even in difficult moments and connects authentically with people regardless of circumstance.”
“Above everything else, the work we’ve done together to support families affected by online harm will remain the most meaningful of my professional life. These families are extraordinary, and they inspire me every day,” he continued.
He ended his note saying that after five years in LA, “It’s time for my family to return to London. When I pass the baton to the team leading Archewell Philanthropies in the coming months, I’ll do so with immense pride and optimism for what lies ahead.”
“I’ll miss my colleagues deeply, and I’m grateful to Harry and Meghan for everything they’ve done – for me, and for the countless people we’ve worked to support,” he said.
In response to Holt’s statement, Harry and Meghan shared a statement of their own and called Holt a “stellar support for us for nearly ten years.”
“His enthusiasm and talent in overseeing our philanthropic endeavours have been extraordinary,” they continued. “As James moves his young family back to the UK, we are proud that he will continue to guide various humanitarian trips for us overseas through Archewell Philanthropies.”
A spokesman to Harry and Meghan clarified that Holt will remain a senior philanthropic advisor to the couple and Archewell Philanthropies and support the couple’s humanitarian overseas trips in 2026.
Archewell Philanthropies is home to the charitable work of Harry and Meghan. The couple shared why they were switching the name of their foundation in a statement on their website.
“After five beautiful years, the Archewell Foundation is becoming Archewell Philanthropies,” according to the Archewell Philanthropies website. “This charitable entity allows the couple and their children to expand upon their global philanthropic endeavors as a family.”
Harry and Meghan announced their nonprofit venture in April 2020 after completing their final engagements as working members of the royal family and relocating to LA.
Prince Andrew, Duke of York attends the traditional Easter Sunday Mattins Service at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, April 20, 2025, in Windsor, England. (Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — While the latest release of Epstein files has touched off another round of controversy in the U.S., it has ignited a veritable firestorm in Europe, where the new tranche of emails, text messages, videos on photographs released by the Department of Justice has painted a far more comprehensive picture of the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s relationship with members of the global elite.
And while a mention in the files does not immediately imply wrongdoing, last week’s data dump has led to a chorus of high-profile figures explaining, and in many cases apologizing for, their connection to Epstein. Reputations have been tarnished, in some cases irrevocably.
These latest files show the range and depth of Epstein’s extraordinary reach into the upper echelons of society. Among the new names from the European elite are Norway’s crown princess and the Slovak national security adviser.
For now, the repercussions are being felt the most acutely in the U.K., where a prince of the realm has lost his title and his home, a senior member of the governing Labour party has lost his position in the House of Lords, a police investigation has been launched into misconduct in public office, and Prime Minister Keir Starmer — whose name has not appeared in the released files — is now fighting for his political survival.
The recently published files have laid bare the extent of Epstein’s contact with the former Prince Andrew and former British Ambassador Peter Mandelson — touching off a crisis at both the heart of the government and the monarchy.
“The scandal seems to matter more here, with graver consequences, because it strikes at the monarchy, the British establishment and the political elite. It’s not just about the behavior of one disgraced man,” Robert Jobson, royal author and ABC royal contributor told ABC News.
There are difficult questions for the monarchy to face, Jobson said, “If senior royal family members and courtiers knew about Epstein’s activities and did nothing” and if they “chose to protect the monarchy at the expense of vulnerable young women.”
“If they did not know, then the institution they oversee is not merely flawed but dangerously incompetent. Neither explanation is excusable,” Jobson said.
Buckingham Palace’s most recent statement on the matter, which came on Oct. 25, announced the stripping of Andrew’s titles and said, “Their Majesties wish to make clear that their thoughts and utmost sympathies have been, and will remain with, the victims and survivors of any and all forms of abuse.”
In rare public hecklings, both the king and queen have been asked whether they will help with the Epstein investigation. Neither responded. It is extremely unusual for them to be approached in this way, and royals very rarely respond to such questions.
The only senior royal to address these latest revelations has been Prince Edward, who responded to a reporter’s question by emphasizing his support for the victims, saying, “I think it’s all really important always to remember the victims and who are the victims in all this? A lot of victims in this.”
“The central issue in the Epstein scandal has never been Andrew alone,” Jobson said. “It is the question the Palace has spent more than a decade avoiding: What did the late queen and King Charles know? And when did they know it?”
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly Prince Andrew, was stripped of all his titles last October after some of his email exchanges with Epstein were leaked to the press. He vacated his home at Royal Lodge on Monday, and will now live on the King’s privately owned Sandringham Estate.
The scandal, which has hounded the royal family for decades, erupted after one of Epstein’s victims, Virginia Giuffre, accused Mountbatten-Windsor of sexual assault. In 2022, Mountbatten-Windsor, who has always denied any wrongdoing, settled a civil suit with Giuffre.
“The Queen personally funded Andrew’s legal defense. She later allowed him to walk beside her at the Duke of Edinburgh’s memorial service in 2022, a move widely interpreted as an attempt at rehabilitation. It has now backfired, blown up in the King’s face,” Jobson told ABC News.
Mountbatten-Windsor, then Prince Andrew, told the BBC’s Emily Maitlis that he cut off all contact with Epstein in 2010, shortly after Epstein completed his sentence for solicitation of a minor in Florida — but last week the Department of Justice released emails between the two dating from 2011 and correspondence between his team and Epstein as recently as 2017.
“The press is piling on me in the states.. nothing to do. just want to make sure you’re ok,” Epstein wrote to Andrew on Feb 28, 2011.
“I’m just as concerned for you! Don’t worry about me!” Andrew replied to Epstein. “It would seem we are in this together and will have to rise above it!…keep in close touch and we’ll play some more soon!!!!”
In another exchange, Epstein sent Mountbatten-Windsor a message encouraging him to have dinner with a friend, about whom he said, “She 26, russian, clevere [sic] beautiful, trustworthy.”
Mountbatten-Windsor replied he would be “delighted.”
Last week, following the emails’ release, a second woman came forward to accuse Epstein of trafficking her to have sex with Mountbatten-Windsor, according to the BBC. Her lawyer, Brad Edwards told the BBC, “We’re talking about at least one woman who was sent by Jeffrey Epstein over to Prince Andrew. And she even had, after a night with Prince Andrew, a tour of Buckingham Palace.”
Thames Valley Police released a statement saying, “We are aware of reports about a woman said to have been taken to an address in Windsor in 2010 for sexual purposes. We are assessing the information in line with our established procedures.”
Buckingham Palace has not commented on any of the latest revelations, telling ABC News that they no longer represent Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.
The former prince has yet to publicly comment on these latest documents.
“The scandal is not defined only by what Prince Andrew may have done,” Jobson said. “It is defined by what the institution chose to conceal. And that question has still not been answered.”
Peter Mandelson
While the monarchy has been trying to contain the damage, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has been fending off criticism for his appointment of Lord Peter Mandelson as the British ambassador to the U.S. in 2024.
“I regret appointing him. If I knew then what I know now, he would never been anywhere near government,” Starmer told the House of Commons on Wednesday.
Nicknamed the “Prince of Darkness” by the British press, Mandelson has long been a controversial figure and many questioned Starmer’s choice of ambassador at the time — but the prime minister maintains he did not know “the depth and the darkness” of Mandelson’s relationship with Epstein.
He apologized twice on Thursday for his misjudgment, telling reporters, “The victims of Epstein have lived with trauma that most of us can barely comprehend, and they’ve had to relive it again and again.”
“They have seen accountability delayed and too often denied,” Starmer said. “To them, I want to say this: I am sorry. Sorry for what was done to you. Sorry that so many people with power failed you. Sorry for having believed Mandelson’s lies and appointed him.”
The prime minister told the press that Mandelson had downplayed his friendship with Epstein, saying, “He portrayed Epstein as someone he barely knew, and when that became clear, and it was not true, I sacked him. Such deceit is incompatible with public service.”
Mandelson was removed from his post as British ambassador last September, following the release by the U.S. House Oversight Committee of Epstein’s so-called “Birthday Book,” in which Mandelson referred to Epstein as his “best pal”.
The emails released last Friday show that Epstein and the former ambassador and government minister communicated for years, including after Epstein had pleaded guilty to sex crimes in Florida in 2008. The exchanges between the pair have led police to launch an investigation into potential misconduct in office.
On May 9, 2010, while Epstein was still on probation in Florida, he emailed Mandelson to say that “sources tell” him about an imminent 500 billion euro bailout. A person whose identity is redacted replied that the bailout will “be announced tonight.” The person says later that they are “just leaving No10”, presumably referring to the prime minister’s residence at Number 10 Downing Street.
The European Union announced a 500 billion Euro fund to stabilize the Euro that day.
The Metropolitan Police said in a statement on Monday that it had “received a number of reports into alleged misconduct in public office including a referral from the UK Government” and that “the Metropolitan Police has now launched an investigation into a 72-year-old man, a former Government Minister, for misconduct in public office offences.”
The statement does not mention the Mandelson, 72, by name.
On Friday the Metropolitan Police announced they were searching two properties in connection with the investigation.
Bank statements also appeared in the recently released documents which appear to show Epstein transferred as much as $75,000 to Mandelson between 2003 and 2004.
Mandelson submitted his resignation to the Labour Party on Monday, writing in his resignation letter, “I have been further linked this weekend to the understandable furore surrounding Jeffrey Epstein and I feel regretful and sorry about this.”
The Speaker for the House of Lords in Parliament also announced that Mandelson had submitted his resignation from the chamber.
“Britain has dethroned a prince, forced Mandelson to resign, & lost confidence in Starmer because @RepThomasMassie & I forced the release of the Epstein files,” U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna posted on X Friday. “What is America doing to hold the Epstein class accountable?”
This image provided by the FBI Feb. 5, 2026, shows a missing person Nancy Guthrie. (FBI)
(TUCSON, Ariz.) — The FBI has recovered additional imagery from cameras at the Arizona home of Nancy Guthrie, the missing mother of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie, sources briefed on the investigation told ABC News.
The images were recovered in recent weeks from motion-activated cameras trained on the swimming pool, backyard and side yard, the sources said.
Investigators were unable to recover video footage, but reduced-size, thumbnail images captured when the cameras were triggered by motion.
The cameras recorded nothing suspicious, the sources said.
Investigators were able to observe several people in the back and side yards over an unspecified period prior to the abduction. After Nancy Guthrie was taken, law enforcement officers are seen near the pool.
However, the cameras captured nothing on the night of the abduction, the sources said. Investigators have drawn no conclusions as to why, but one source described it as “odd.”
Nancy Guthrie was taken from her Tucson-area home nearly seven weeks ago, in the early hours of Feb. 1.
The FBI has previously released photos and videos of an unknown armed suspect in front of Nancy Guthrie’s home on the morning of her disappearance, appearing to tamper with a security camera.
The masked man appears to have been at her front door earlier than Feb. 1, sources familiar with the investigation told ABC News.
The Pima County sheriff has repeated this week that he believes Guthrie was targeted, but investigators have released no motive and have identified no suspect.
Savannah Guthrie has offered a $1 million reward, bringing the combined reward between the family and law enforcement to $1.2 million.
Anyone with information is urged to call 911, the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI, or the Pima County Sheriff’s Department at 520-351-4900.
