Colorado judge orders bond increase of $10M for Barry Morphew after arrest
A Colorado judge ordered an increase in bond for murder suspect Barry Morphew on Tuesday after he was arrested by Boulder County Sheriff's deputies last week. Morphew's bond was increased from $3 million to $10 million cash only.
In court, the judge said that she decided to modify Morphew's bond because of his "capacity to commit new offenses while on bond."
She said that Morphew's actions made it clear that he didn't have any "respect for the court" and that "he isn't going to comply with it if it is inconvenient to the lifestyle he wishes to live while out on bond."
Morphew was arrested Sept. 3 in unincorporated Boulder County on an Alamosa County warrant for failure to comply. The Boulder County Sheriff's Office said deputies located and arrested him at approximately 9:11 p.m. He was taken into custody without incident and booked into the Boulder County Jail.
The arrest came just hours after prosecutors filed a verified application asking the court to issue a warrant and modify Morphew's bond.
In an order signed Sept. 3, the judge granted that request, writing that a bench warrant should issue and setting bond at $3 million cash only with nationwide extradition. The order also set a bond hearing for Sept. 8 where Morphew appeared in person, in chains and wearing a white and orange striped shirt and pants. The judge increased his bond to $10 million cash only.
After the hearing, Morphew was escorted out of the courtroom by deputies.
In their filing, prosecutors said GPS monitoring data showed Morphew left his home under a work exception to his bond conditions on Aug. 26. Instead, prosecutors said the data showed Morphew drove to Denver International Airport. According to the filing, Morphew's attorneys told prosecutors he does not work at the airport and said it was possible he had gone there to pick up his daughter. Prosecutors argued that regardless of the reason, the trip violated the terms of his release because he had only been authorized to leave home for work.
The filing described the airport trip as evidence of what prosecutors called an "extreme flight risk."
Prosecutors also said video and GPS information provided by Morphew's monitoring company showed him driving from his home to the airport around 10 a.m., arriving around 11:45 a.m. and then leaving the airport.
During Tuesday's court hearing, it was announced that Morphew also visited a steakhouse, a Whole Foods and a liquor store while he was in Denver, according to his GPS data.
Prosecutors said he was later tracked near hotels and a mall before traveling to the area of East 8th Avenue and Colorado Boulevard in Denver.
That same area is where Morphew was involved in a hit-and-run incident first reported by CBS Colorado.
Video obtained by CBS Colorado showed a man later identified by the judge as Morphew after a collision near 8th and Colorado. The video showed the driver refusing to provide identification or insurance information, offering one of the drivers cash and later leaving the scene.
The newly filed court records now show prosecutors were reviewing his GPS data from that same day as they investigated whether he had violated the conditions of his release.
Morphew is awaiting trial on a charge of first-degree murder after deliberation in the death of his wife, Suzanne Morphew. He has pleaded not guilty and has denied killing her.
