KEY POINTS

  • The mail-in ballot had the missing woman's husband's signature on the 'witness' line
  • Authorities have charged Barry with first-degree murder in his wife's death
  • Authorities have yet to find the woman's body despite an exhaustive search

A man accused of murdering his wife had illegally used her ballot to vote for former President Donald Trump in the 2020 election.

Lori Mitchell, the clerk and recorder in Chafee County, Colorado, said they received a mail ballot from Suzzane Morphew, 49, who has been missing since May 2020. The ballot did not have her signature. However, her husband, Barry, had signed on the “witness” line.

“I was stunned,” Mitchell told The Washington Post. “I couldn’t believe it. I was like, what in the world is going on?”

Barry Morphew, who on May 6 was charged with first-degree murder in the missing mom’s death, told investigators that he sent in his wife’s mail-in ballot because he believed she would have supported Trump.

“I just thought, give him another vote,” Barry allegedly told authorities.

In an affidavit filed in court Thursday, the 53-year-old reportedly told FBI agents that he filed the mail-in ballot because “all these other guys are cheating,” echoing former President Trump’s claims of widespread election fraud.

Barry was charged with a felony count of forgery and a misdemeanor count of offenses related to mail ballots, the Post noted. This is on top of the murder charge for his wife's disappearance. He is being held without bail and is due to appear in court this month.

Suzanne was reported missing on May 10, 2020, after she went out for a bike ride. Shortly after she went missing, Barry released a video pleading for her safe return alongside a $200,000 reward for any information.

“Oh Suzanne, if anyone is out there that can hear this, that has you, please, we’ll do whatever it takes to bring you back. We love you. We miss you. The girls need you. No questions asked. However much they want, I will do whatever it takes to get you back. Honey, I love you. I want you back so bad,” he said in the video.

An exhaustive search over the 2.5-mile area near her Maysville, Colorado led authorities to her bike. Her body has yet to be found.

Barry was out of town on the day his wife went missing. Reports later surfaced that he had scrubbed his hotel room in Denver clean just before Suzanne’s disappearance. However, Morphew denied any involvement in her death.

“I am afraid of what is out there,” he said in an interview with Fox 21. “People don’t know the truth, so they’re gonna think what they’re gonna think.”

Former US president Donald Trump's grip on the Republican Party has tightened with the ouster of one of his chief Republican critics from her leadership role in the party
Former US president Donald Trump's grip on the Republican Party has tightened with the ouster of one of his chief Republican critics from her leadership role in the party AFP / Andrew CABALLERO-REYNOLDS