By: Joe Vaccarelli , Stephanie Butzer
DENVER (KMGH) – The attorney representing Barry Morphew is calling for an investigation into the 11th Judicial District Attorney and the six other prosecutors in that office, citing a pattern of unethical conduct.
Morphew’s attorney, Iris Eytan, filed a complaint on March 29 with the Colorado Office of Attorney Regulation asking for discipline for 11th Judicial District Attorney Linda Stanley and the other prosecutors who worked on a murder case against her client for the alleged murder of his wife, Suzanne Morphew.
This combination photo shows Barry Morphew’s May 5, 2021, booking photo (L) and missing Colorado woman Suzanne Morphew (R). Barry has been arrested and charged in his missing wife’s murder. (Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office)
Barry was charged with first-degree murder in May 2021 after Suzanne disappeared from the Salida area in May 2020. To date, investigators have not found her remains.
READ MORE: Evidence released in Barry Morphew case, trial moved
In April 2022, prosecutors in the case filed a motion to dismiss the case against Barry, but in a fashion in which they would be able to refile charges.
“When the case is dismissed without prejudice on April 19, 2022, I was stunned, ” Eytan said. “I didn’t want the case dismissed. I wanted the case to go forward and I wanted them to try and prove their case because I knew we would exonerate Mr. Morphew. I knew we would.”
The 83-page request for investigation states that judges overseeing identified violations of court orders and discovery rules, including “providing false information to the court.”
It names the following prosecutors:
- Linda Stanley
- Jeff Lindsey
- Mark Hurlbert
- Aaron Pembeleton
- Dan Edwards
- Bob Weiner
- Grant Grosegebauer
Eytan said in a press conference Tuesday that she is requesting for these prosecutors to be disbarred, if not severely disciplined.
“The reason why I’m making that complaint public is that people need to know,” she said. “Our community, our state and our nation need to be aware about this epidemic. Thirty percent of exonerations in this country are the cause of prosecutorial misconduct.”
WATCH: Body Camera Footage of Barry Morphew Released
Barry was held for five months before he was released.
Eytan said there is no deterrent to prosecutors committing misconduct.
“Their case was baseless, to begin with. The affidavit they filed was like a tabloid, filled with misrepresentations, false information and concealed extremely favorable evidence,” she said.
“Who suffered from that?” she continued. “Not just Barry Morphew — an innocent, accused individual — but his daughters, who are listening to this press conference right now.”
She said prosecutorial misconduct hurts the innocent, victims of crimes and wastes taxpayer money.
Eytan said she is working to file a civil rights complaint against law enforcement officers and the investigative work that the DA’s office conducted.
“We believe the DA’s office is culpable and liable under civil rights laws. So we will be fighting that,” Eytan said.
Stanley’s office did not respond to requests for comment.
This story was originally published on April 18, 2023, by KMGH in Denver, an E.W. Scripps Company.
