Missing Colorado mother Suzanne Morphew's remains were found last month buried in a desert area, and forensic pathologist Dr. Michael Baden believes the remains are likely "well-preserved" enough to determine her cause of death.
Authorities announced last week that Morphew's remains were located in the area of Moffat, Colorado, in Saguache County — about 45 miles south of her home in Maysville, Colorado, where she was reported missing on May 10, 2020.
Unless disrupted by animals, Baden believes the hot, desert conditions where her remains were found in Moffat likely preserved her bones and other potential evidence related to her death.
"The skeleton should be intact, so if there's any kind of injury, like a gunshot wound or a stabbing, cutting, or being hit in the head with a brick or something, the bones should still be intact enough to make that diagnosis," Baden, former chief medical examiner for New York City, told Fox News Digital.
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Baden added that strangulation is a common cause of death among women found deceased and alone like Morphew.
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"If the body was in a grave … obviously, it indicates that somebody did it," he said.
Those who die of starvation and dehydration in the desert are frequently found on the surface rather than buried underground, Baden explained.
The Saguache County coroner is likely performing X-rays of Morphew's remains to find evidence like a bullet in her body. They are also examining the crime scene to see if they can find any other evidence in the area where her body was found, such as bullets or cigarette butts or bottle caps that may contain DNA, Baden said.
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If Morphew was wearing clothing at the time of her death, he added, they may still be intact. Her clothing may contain information "such as gunshot residue," or blood indicating signs of a struggle, Baden said.
The former chief medical examiner believes the Saguache County coroner has already found about "90%" of all the information they need for Morphew's autopsy report, but toxicology and other lab testing may take "weeks or months" to conclude, he said.
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Saguache County Officials came across Morphew's remains while searching for another woman named Edna Quintana, according to attorney Iris Eytan, who is representing Morphew's husband, Barry Morphew, and their two daughters.
Five people have disappeared or been found dead in the same area where Suzanne's remains were recovered, she noted, including Suzanne, Quintana, Kristal Reisinger, an unidentified man whose remains were found on July 26 and another unidentified person whose remains were located in Saguache County last weekend.
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Suzanne's sister, Melinda Moorman Balzer, released a statement shared by local journalist Lauren Scharf after Suzanne's remains were found, saying she felt "relief" upon learning about the discovery.
"This has been a journey which no family thinks they will ever take yet many do," she said in the statement. "I have experienced that no one is exempt from evil in this broken world. I choose, however, to focus on the next road of this ever changing journey into finding the truth of what happened to Suzanne on that fateful day of Mother's Day weekend, May 9th, 2020. We are now closer than ever to the truth."
Moorman Balzer also encouraged the social media community who supported the Morphew family to "now turn their heart of care to the family of Edna Quintana [in] their time of need."
"Please take a few moments each day to do what you can to keep Edna's story alive. Pray for those in authority. Pray for Edna's return,' she said. "Thank you for all who believed that Suzanne would someday be found."
Morphew's bike was discovered in a ravine along Highway 50 and County Road 225 in Chaffee County, near her family's Maysville home, the same day she was reported missing in 2020. Barry said he was working in Broomfield, Colorado, a suburb of Denver, at the time.
Barry was initially accused of killing his wife when he was charged with murder and tampering with physical evidence in 2021 in connection with her disappearance and presumed death.
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A year later, prosecutors dropped charges against Barry, saying they wanted more time to find his wife's body. A judge accused 11th Judicial District Attorney Linda Stanley of procedural violations just before Barry was set to stand trial.
"The first and most important focus should be that the Morphew’s just learned that they lost their beautiful mother and wife after she disappeared 3 ½ years ago," Eytan said in a statement last week. "What appears to be the overriding focus is a finger pointing right back where it started 3 ½ years ago: a movement to blindly re-accuse Barry [Morphew] for Suzanne’s death."
Eytan added that "Barry was the most scrutinized, dissected, surveilled individual, minute by minute, hour by hour using law enforcement cameras posted by his home, phone taps and GPS devices placed on his car – all during the time frame of her disappearance and the years following."
Authorities are asking anyone with information about the case to contact (719) 312-7530.
