A Colorado man has pleaded guilty to a forgery charge involving his missing wife’s 2020 election ballot.
Barry Morphew pleaded guilty to forgery in a Thursday hearing in Chaffee County hearing, according to KKTV-TV in Colorado Springs. More serious charges, including attempting to influence a public servant, were dropped in return for his guilty plea.
According to KKTV-TV, Morphew admitted to law enforcement that he had mailed a ballot intended for his wife, Suzanne Morphew.
Suzanne Morphew went missing after leaving her home for a bike ride on Mother’s Day 2020.
Morphew claimed that his wife would have wanted him to mail in her ballot with a presidential vote for Donald Trump. He said he felt justified because of other allegations of voter fraud.
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“All these other guys are cheating,” Morphew said, according to KKTV.
Barry Morphew told law enforcement he figured “all these other guys are cheating” and that his wife Suzanne would have voted for Trump anyway. https://t.co/iMRIAlpBXg
— The Hill (@thehill) July 24, 2022
A charge of first-degree murder against Morphew was dismissed in April, according to court documents.
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Prosecutors filed to dismiss the charges without prejudice, a condition that would allow them to refile the charges against Morphew at a later date.
Morphew was already in police custody on the murder charge when he was charged with the ballot fraud charges, KKTV reported.
In the motion to dismiss the murder charge, prosecutors cited ongoing attempts to locate Suzanne Morphew’s body, which has never been found.
The 49-year-old woman is presumed dead.
In the motion to dismiss the murder charge, District Attorney Linda Stanley suggested that weather and snowpack conditions were hampering search attempts.
The Colorado man denies any involvement in the disappearance of his wife and has said he wants her to be found, according to a May ABC News profile.
Morphew’s attorney has suggested he intends to sue prosecutors for damages they’ve caused his client and his reputation.
“Prosecutors need to be held responsible and they need to pay for the damage they’ve caused to Barry, which is, frankly, nearly irreparable at this point, because it’s hard for anybody to believe that Barry is not who they claim he was,” lawyer Iris Eytan told ABC in the May report.
Barry Morphew, 53, was sentenced to one year of probation for the forgery case.
