Tag: dismissed

Colorado prosecutors in Barry Morphew's dismissed murder case accused of scheming against judge

Colorado prosecutors are facing new complaints related to Barry Morphew’s dismissed murder case.

In 2021, Barry was charged with murder in connection with his wife Suzanne Morphew’s May 2020 disappearance, but a judge dismissed the charges in April 2022. 

The Colorado Supreme Court’s Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel (OARC) has since filed formal complaints against 11th Judicial District Attorney’s Office prosecutors Robert Weiner and Mark Hurlbert, accusing them of withholding evidence in the Morphew case and plotting against District Judge Ramsey Lama in a text thread.

“It was well known that prosecutors in the Morphew case abused their authority and power to wrongly charge Mr. Morphew,” Iris Eytan, Barry’s lawyer, told Fox News Digital. “But, it is new news that these prosecutors also threatened the rule of law and our democracy by attempting to intimidate and threaten the presiding judge due to his rulings and sanctions for their pattern of misconduct.”

SUZANNE MORPHEW MURDER: DA UNDER FIRE AS HUSBAND, DAUGHTERS SAY THEY’RE ‘DISCOURAGED’ IN UNSOLVED CASE

Hurlbert, the lead prosecutor on the Morphew case, told FOX 31 Denver his “only comment is that we deny the allegations and will be filing a response.”

The complaints allege that Weiner and Hurlbert failed to turn over evidence in a timely manner, misstated facts in pleadings, violated court orders and attempted to intimidate Judge Lama in an “abuse of power.”

SUZANNE MORPHEW’S REMAINS FOUND IN ‘SHALLOW GRAVE,’ HUSBAND’S ATTORNEY SAYS

A text thread between the prosecutors cited as evidence in the complaint began in response to a debunked theory stemming from a crime podcast called “True Crime with Julez.” The podcast host, Julez Wolf, started a petition claiming “the ex-wife of Judge Lama is an advocate of Suzanne Morphew and victims of Domestic abuse.” After 11th Judicial District Attorney Linda Stanley requested a criminal investigation into Lama’s conduct in the case, 11th Judicial District criminal investigator Andrew Corey found no “wrongdoing.” 

Lama’s wife told Corey that “never did any type of Domestic abuse happen in the relationship,” according to the complaint.

Stanley shared the petition with Weiner and Hurlbert in March 2022, writing, “You guys might want to read this…” Screenshots of texts between the three prosecutors included in the complaint show Stanley questioned the accuracy of the claims in the petition but suggested they investigate the judge. “[I]t could DEFINITELY explain why he hates us so much,” Stanley wrote of the judge.

“Holy crap! Let’s go after him! He should have disclosed this. We need to confirm asap,” Weiner wrote.

“Let’s pull his divorce case,” Weiner said of Lama in another text, adding later, “He should not be on the bench.” Hurlbert called the judge “obviously biased.”

The OARC does not comment on pending complaints.

The counsel filed a similar complaint against Stanley in October. The complaint accused Stanley of sharing information about the case with true-crime podcasters.

SUZANNE MORPHEW’S HUSBAND, DAUGHTERS ‘STRUGGLING WITH IMMENSE SHOCK AND GRIEF’ AFTER REMAINS FOUND

The complaint also alleges that the district attorney failed to share discovery, including DNA-match evidence, with the defense in a timely manner, among other accusations of misconduct.

No signs of human remains or blood have ever been located near the Morphew home in Maysville or in their family vehicles. But DNA was found on Suzanne’s glove box. 

MISSING SUZANNE MORPHEW: NEWLY RELEASED DOCS REVEAL AFFAIRS, TROUBLED MARRIAGE BEFORE DISAPPEARANCE

The partial profile investigators were able to obtain matched profiles developed in sexual assault cases out of Chicago, Phoenix and Tempe, Arizona, Colorado Bureau of Investigation agent Joseph Cahill said during a hearing in 2021, as reported by the Denver Post. Barry’s DNA did not match that sample, his lawyers told KUSA-TV at the time.

In a July interview with FOX 21 Colorado Springs, Stanley called the OARC’s investigation “a witch hunt.”

“I stand up for people all the time, every day. So, me not being able to stand up for myself was difficult,” she told the outlet. “As of right now, the office is majorly underfunded.… If one person quits, it will set back everything, and that’s the kind of shoestring budget it is at this point.… But we have nothing but very, very experienced prosecutors in this office, and I’m so proud of that.”

In September 2023, authorities located Suzanne’s remains in a “shallow grave” in a desert about 45 miles south of Maysville while they were searching for another missing woman. Authorities have not named any other suspects in her murder since her husband’s case was dismissed nearly two years ago.

MISSING SUZANNE MORPHEW: COLORADO PROSECUTORS REVEAL BODY IS IN ‘VERY DIFFICULT SPOT’

Morphew’s bike was discovered on the same day she went missing in 2020 in a ravine along Highway 50 and County Road 225 in Chaffee County, near her family’s Maysville home. Barry said he was working in Broomfield, Colorado, a suburb of Denver, at the time.

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Text messages from Suzanne and Barry, who had been married 25 years, that were unsealed in June 2023 suggest they were both having affairs just before her disappearance.

Four days before her disappearance, Suzanne sent Barry a text saying she was “done.” “I could care less what you’re up to and have been for years,” she wrote, adding that they needed to figure things out “civilly.”

Earlier in 2023, Barry’s legal team filed a $15 million lawsuit against prosecutors and investigators, accusing them of violating his constitutional rights.

“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,” Eytan said in a statement at the time.

“What needs to be done instead of pointing fingers at Barry Morphew, is asking the officials about the number of missing people and number of human remains that have been recovered in or from Saguache County in the recent past,” Eytan continued.

Authorities are asking anyone with information about the case to contact 719-312-7530.

Army sends letter to troops dismissed for refusing COVID vaccine amid military's recruitment woes

The U.S. Army sent a letter to former service members dismissed for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine, informing them they can request corrections of their discharge records, as the military branch reportedly struggles with recruitment three years after the onset of the pandemic. 

The letter, which gained traction on social media, was addressed to former service members and notified of “new Army guidance regarding the correction of military records for former members of the Army following the rescission of the COVID-19 vaccination requirement.” 

It states, “as a result of the rescission of all current COVID-19 vaccination requirements, former Soldiers who were involuntarily separated for refusal to receive the COVID-19 vaccination may request a correction of their military records from either or both the Army Discharge Review Board (ADRB) or the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR).” 

The letter, signed by Brigadier General Hope C. Rampy, of the U.S. Army Director of the Military Personnel Management Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff, goes on to link to three forms where “individuals can request a correction to military personnel records, including regarding the characterization of discharge.” 

US REVEALS NAMES, PHOTOS OF 5 SPECIAL OPERATORS KILLED IN MEDITERRANEAN AIRCRAFT ‘MISHAP’

“Individuals who desire to apply to return to service should contact their local Army, US Army Reserve (USAR) or Army National Guard (ARNG) recruiter for more information,” it concludes.

An Army spokesperson on Sunday confirmed the authenticity of the letter to Fox News Digital. 

The spokesperson said the letter, dated November 1, does not explicitly ask former Army members dismissed for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine to return to service. 

The Army provided additional information on Monday.

“As part of the overall COVID mandate recession process mandated by Congress, the Army mailed the letters following Veterans Day weekend to approximately 1,900 individuals who had previously been separated for refusal to obey the mandatory COVID vaccination order,” Army spokesperson Lt. Col. Ruth Castro told Fox News Digital in an emailed statement Monday.

“The letter provides information to former servicemembers on how to request a correction of their military records,” Castro added. 

The Instagram accounts @analyzeeducate and @northernprovisions, jointly shared a copy of the letter to their combined hundreds of thousands of followers on Saturday.

“The US Army has sent letters to soldiers that were discharged for refusing to take the COVID-19 vaccine, offering to correct their records. Most, if not all, of the soldiers that were kicked out for not getting the vaccine were given a discharge that was other than honorable,” the post says. “The letter indicates that the Army is hoping these soldiers will apply to return to service.”

“The military in general has been going through a major recruiting crisis for the past two years. For both FY2022 and 2023, only the Marine Corps and the Space Force met or exceeded their recruitment goals. The Army, Navy, and Air Force all missed their targets by a long shot,” the accounts go on to say.

AIR FORCE HOPES RAISING MAXIMUM AGE OF ENLISTMENT TO NEW HIGH WILL EASE RECRUITING CRISIS

“The size of the active duty Army has shrunk from 485k in 2021 to 452k right now,” the post added. “This is the smallest active duty Army since 1940. In 2022, they missed their recruitment goal by 15,000 soldiers. This crisis has necessitated changes made to policy, including the removal of a policy that mandated recruits have a high school diploma or GED equivalent. Although, after a lot of backlash that policy was quickly reinstated. Around 8,000 soldiers were kicked out for not getting the vaccine, which is a lot even if you don’t take the context of the recruiting crisis into account. The letters that were sent out have been verified by the Army as well.”

On Oct. 3, the U.S. Army announced a transformation of its recruiting enterprise, stressing how “the armed forces facing the most challenging recruiting environment in a generation.” 

At a press conference from the Pentagon, Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth and Chief of Staff of the Army Randy George detailed sweeping changes in how the Army will identify and recruit talent by expanding focus past high schoolers to a larger share of the youth labor market and create “an increasingly permanent and specialized talent acquisition workforce.” 

They said the Army expects to have ended fiscal year 2023 with nearly 55,000 recruiting contracts, including roughly 4,600 for the Army’s Delayed Entry Program – recruits who will ship in the 2024 fiscal year. As a result, the Army said it will meet its end-strength goal of 452,000 for active-duty soldiers.

“The competition for talented Americans is fierce, and it is fundamentally different than it was 50 or even 20 years ago,” Wormuth said. 

Task and Purpose noted the Army separated about 1,900 active duty service members for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine during the nearly year-and-a-half it was mandatory. 

Regarding recruitment woes, the outlet also cited a July 2022 memo from the Department of the Army stating that “America’s military faces the most challenging recruiting environment since the All-Volunteer Force was established in 1973, driven in part by the post-COVID labor market, intense competition with the private sector, and a declining number of young Americans interested in uniformed service.” The memo said, “currently, only 23 percent of 17- to 24-year-old Americans are fully qualified to serve.”

Citing data provided by the military branches, CNN reported in October that only 43 of the more than 8,000 U.S. service members discharged from the military for refusing to be vaccinated against COVID-19 have sought to rejoin eight months after the vaccine mandate was officially repealed. 

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin officially rescinded the COVID-19 vaccination order for service members on Jan. 10, 2023. 

Austin had issued a memo on Aug. 24, 2021, requiring service members to be vaccinated against COVID-19. According to Task and Purpose, thousands of troops unsuccessfully sought religious exemptions from the inoculation, including 8,945 soldiers, 10,800 airmen and guardians, 4,172 sailors, and 3,717 Marines.