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Prosecutors in Barry Morphew murder case publicly censured

Mark Hurlbert and Robert Weiner settled their case in front of a branch of the Colorado Supreme Court before it went to trial

Two prosecutors who worked with 11th Judicial District Attorney Linda Stanley to charge Barry Morphew with murder have now been publicly censured as a punishment for complaints brought against them.

Mark Hurlbert and Robert Weiner settled a complaint filed by the Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel in response to alleged wrongdoings stemming from the Morphew case.

Hurlbert and Weiner received a public censure, a punishment described by the State of Colorado as: “A public statement issued by the Colorado Supreme Court informing the public that a lawyer committed misconduct.” The two prosecutors also have to pay nearly $5,000 in administrative fees and other costs incurred during the case. In return, a hearing scheduled from Oct. 9-18 in front of the presiding disciplinary judge will be vacated.

Last month, the presiding disciplinary judge ruled 11th Judicial District Attorney Linda Stanley should be disbarred after a branch of the Colorado Supreme Court found she was guilty of serious ethics violations, including misconduct, in the Morphew case.

The case is now in fresh hands, transferred to the 12th Judicial District, which operates out of Alamosa, Colorado.

Twelfth Judicial District Attorney Anne Kelly has been working with the Colorado Bureau of Investigation. This August, she told The Denver Gazette in an email that the case is ongoing.

Suzanne Morphew’s autopsy report, released in April 2024, revealed chemicals in the marrow of her femur bone that are used to euthanize wild animals. The coroner determined her death to be “homicide by undetermined means in the setting of butorphanol, azaperone, and medetomidine intoxication,” a mixture referred to in layman’s terms as “BAM.”

The 129-page arrest affidavit mentioned a theory that Morphew controlled his wife by injecting her with a poison dart and killed her later.

Denver Gazette reporter Carol McKinley contributed to this report.

For more on this story, and others, visit The Denver Gazette’s news partner, 9News

FILE PHOTO: 11th Judicial Deputy District Attorney Mark Hurlbert reads from an exhibit as he is questioned by the defense during Linda Stanley's disciplinary hearing on Tuesday, June 11, 2024. Hurlbert and Robert Weiner were censured by the Colorado Supreme Court for their handling of the Barry Morphew murder case. (StephenSwoffordPhotographerstephen.swofford@gazette.comhttps://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/1ddcaf11c5d70eaa58546ddc4e038687?d=mm&r=g)
FILE PHOTO: 11th Judicial Deputy District Attorney Mark Hurlbert reads from an exhibit as he is questioned by the defense during Linda Stanley’s disciplinary hearing on Tuesday, June 11, 2024. Hurlbert and Robert Weiner were censured by the Colorado Supreme Court for their handling of the Barry Morphew murder case. ([email protected]://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/1ddcaf11c5d70eaa58546ddc4e038687?d=mm&r=g)
FILE PHOTO: Suzanne Morphew's remains were found nearly a year ago in a field forty miles from the family home. Her husband Barry Morphew's civil case against Chaffee County police and prosecutors was dismissed this week by a federal judge. (courtesy photo)
FILE PHOTO: Suzanne Morphew’s remains were found nearly a year ago in a field forty miles from the family home. Her husband Barry Morphew’s civil case against Chaffee County police and prosecutors was dismissed this week by a federal judge. (courtesy photo)

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