Nearly two-and-a-half years after the Suzanne Morphew case was dismissed, the embattled district attorney who led the doomed Barry Morphew prosecution has been disbarred.

In an 83-page ruling, the state office that regulates attorney behavior said that Linda Stanley “did not adequately supervise prosecution of the case,” made multiple extrajudicial statements to the media about the murder, which threatened to prejudice Morphew, and investigated the district judge presiding over the case without credible evidence to do so.

In its decision, the Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel noted that it’s not its duty to decide whether the prosecution team could have done a better job of prosecuting the Morphew case. Rather, it must decide whether Stanley “violated her duties” in how she handled the case, which a lead investigator likened to a “ship’s captain who never appeared on the bridge.” 

Stanley’s defended herself during her disciplinary hearing, noting that rural counties like hers in the 11th Judicial District are strapped for resources, and despite that, she was able to assemble a team of veteran prosecutors to litigate the murder of 49-year-old Suzanne Morphew.

In a nod to the high-profile nature of the case, Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel Presiding Judge Bryon Large noted that he is “concerned that the Morphew case has undergone an extensive amount of Monday-morning quarterbacking.”

In a striking coincidence, the man with whom Stanley announced Barry Morphew’s arrest on May 5, 2021 -Chaffee County Sheriff John Spezze announced his retirement to the county commissioners in their meeting Tuesday, saying it was the hardest decision he had ever made, and citing health reasons.

 “At some point you have to listen to your body and do the right thing. It’s a tremendously hard decision,” said Spezze. “The thing that made my job easier is the relationships. For me it’s never been about politics. We may not agree on everything, but we’ve always come together to solve things … but I’ve got to take care of myself now.”

Morphew Case history- the dismissal 

On April 19, 2022, Judge Ramsey Lama moved to dismiss the charges against Barry Morphew without prejudice.

Stanley relinquished the case not long after that but continued to head up the 11th Judicial District, which includes five counties. 

Stanley did not respond to attempts by The Denver Gazette for a response to her disbarment. 

Suzanne Morphew’s sister, Melinda Balzer, told The Denver Gazette that she agreed with the decision to dismiss the case with the option for the investigation to continue.  “It was the right decision and for this I am grateful. I am hopeful that with this chapter closed in Chaffee county that a new chapter can begin with DA Anne Kelly in Saguache County where Suzanne’s remains were found on September 22, 2023,” she said. “My desire remains the same…justice for my beautiful sister Suzanne Morphew.”

The Morphew case is now in the hands of 12th Judicial District Attorney Anne Kelly, who told The Denver Gazette last month in a statement that “the investigation into the remains of Suzanne Morphew is ongoing. The 12th Judicial District Attorney’s office is assisting with that investigation.”

The decision

Large posted the Stanley decision Tuesday afternoon. 

Complaints against Stanley as a prosecutor were not limited to the Morphew case. A case of child abuse resulting in death out of Fremont county frustrated the family of the 10-month-old baby who said they never got justice due in part to a sit-down interview Stanley gave to a local television station.  

Referencing the case, the Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel board noted that Stanley, in an effort to rehabilitate her image with the media, made extrajudicial statements about the child’s mother and boyfriend. This time, she noted that one of the defendants was guilty, impugned his character and revealed his “sexually based juvenile offenses,” according to the OARC decision. 

In the interview, aired Aug. 21, 2023, Stanley commented on the baby’s mother, Brook Crawford, and her relationship with her boyfriend, stating that “I think she saw a live-in babysitter. Now. she can just really pound out the hours, right? She’s got a live-in babysitter now; she doesn’t have to worry about anything, right?”

“I mean, I’m going to be very blunt here. He had zero investment in this child. Zero. He is watching that baby so he can get laid. That’s it,” Stanley said. 

Stanley explained during her disciplinary hearing that she thought she was off-the-record, but the OARC board thought she should have known better.

The criminal case into the 10-month-old’s death was dismissed by the judge due to prejudice she said Stanley caused to the two defendants accused in his murder.

In the last several years since the dismissal of the Morphew case, the Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel received at least four complaints against Stanley, including one from the aforementioned judge, one from the Fremont County Sheriff, another from a citizen who helped with the initial searches for Suzanne Morphew, and one from Iris Eytan, Morphew’s former criminal defense attorney.

Eytan, who now runs an organization called Protect Ethical Prosecutors, said that she filed her complaint in April 2023. 

“The most egregious unethical behavior Ms. Stanley committed was violating Barry Morphew’s presumption of innocence using the national and local media to make it that appear that Barry was guilty before he even set foot in a jury trial,” said Eytan, adding that she is encouraged to see that the system worked. 

Stanley’s nine-day hearing over two weeks in Denver was similar to a trial, with witnesses and competing sides offering arguments, except there was no jury.

Stanley’s fate was decided by a three-person board that included Large.

The unsolved Morphew case

Suzanne Morphew, 49, went missing from her remote mountain home — about a 15-minute drive west of Salida — sometime on May 9-10 in 2020.

Thousands of people turned out to look for her on horseback, on foot and in the streams and rivers.

Barry Morphew was arrested nearly a year later, on May 5, 2021, on suspicion of first-degree murder and tampering with physical evidence in her disappearance.

Then-Judge Ramsey Lama agreed to dismiss all charges against Barry Morphew, without prejudice, just nine days before he was to stand trial in connection with the first-degree murder of his wife and mother of their two daughters.

“Without prejudice” means that prosecutors can re-file charges in the future.

Suzanne Morphew’s remains were found in September, three years after she went missing. No new charges have been filed and the investigation is ongoing.

What’s next for Stanley

Stanley will have a chance to appeal the decision, but according to the lengthy order, she must start notifying clients and winding up her affairs.

The disbarment is not effective until the order issues in 35 days. She has until Sept. 21 to file any motions and she has been directed to pay the cost of the disciplinary proceedings by Sept. 24.

She has the right to question the costs.

The man who oversees the Colorado District Attorney Council said that Stanley’s public disbarment is rare. “I can’t think of a prior situation where the sitting DA was disbarred,” said Tom Raynes. Alonzo Payne, the former 12th Judicial District Attorney, resigned in July 2023 while he was facing a disciplinary trial, and then was subsequently disbarred, but he was not a sitting DA when it happened. 

As for Chaffee County, Undersheriff Andy Rorich will replace John Spezze as Interim County Sheriff.