Three-and-a-half years after Suzanne Morphew disappeared and just over a year after her remains were found, the district attorney who oversaw the case has been disbarred. The Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel – OARC – officially disbarred Linda Stanley Friday and her former number two was sworn in days before the election.

Jeff Lindsey was the only person on the ballot for running for the 11th Judicial District’s DA position. During an October candidate forum, he noted that victims were not being served by the current administration, according to an article in the Canyon Courier. He also promised to file discovery on time, something he said was causing cases to be dismissed in the 11th Judicial District.

Under Stanley’s watch, Suzanne Morphew’s husband Barry’s defense attorneys and a former judge complained about repeated discovery violations. In addition, one case was dropped from first-degree to second-degree murder.

Stanley’s disbarment comes after a searing two-week disciplinary hearing in June during which multiple witnesses testified that the Morphew case lacked proper leadership. The OARC found that she made numerous discovery violations and spoke too openly about her cases with the media.

Lindsey was a key prosecutor in the early stages of the Morphew investigation as Stanley’s lead prosecutor, but he resigned Nov. 5, 2021 to take a position with the 10th Judicial District in Pueblo.

He will now oversee Fremont, Park, Chaffee and Custer counties, but the Morphew case is no longer in his hands. It has been transferred to the 12th Judicial District, which is run by District Attorney Anne Kelly.

Suzanne Morphew’s remains were found September 2023 south of the Morphew family home in a field near Moffat, Colorado.

In a letter, the state office that oversees attorney conduct announced that Stanley was disbarred Friday. Stanley’s status on the official website of the Office of Regulation Counsel was officially listed as “disbarred.”

Presiding Judge Bryon Large noted that “effective immediately” Stanley must not engage in the practice of law and is banned from assisting anyone else in their practice.

Stanley filed a Notice of Appeal with the Colorado Supreme Court Sept. 30 in response to the Sept. 10 disbarment sanction issued by a three-member state hearing board.

Last month, two of Stanley’s prosecutors on the Morphew case received a public censure as a punishment for complaints brought against them. Mark Hurlbert and Robert Weiner settled a complaint with the OARC in response to alleged wrongdoings.

In other recent developments in the ongoing investigation of Suzanne Morphew’s death, in September a federal judge dismissed her husband, Barry Morphew’s $15 million civil lawsuit against at least 19 defendants who investigated and prosecuted the murder case against him in 2021.

U.S. District Judge Daniel D. Domenico found what he called “infuriating flaws” with the prosecution of the case but granted seven different motions filed by the defendants to dismiss the claims against them.

In his order, he said that though there were problems with the investigation, there was probable cause to arrest Morphew in connection with his wife’s murder.

Morphew was arrested May 5, 2021, almost a year after his wife, Suzanne Morphew, 49, disappeared. He met with investigators 60 times, according to the arrest warrant, and has maintained his innocence since the beginning. The case was dismissed without prejudice in April 2022 and Morphew filed his lawsuit a year later.

In an emailed statement, Iris Eytan, Barry Morphew’s civil attorney who filed one of the complaints against Stanley said: “since Linda Stanley’s first press conference as DA and throughout her tenure, she violated her ethics, her duties as a prosecutor and lawyer, and ruined the lives of victims of crimes and the wrongly accused. While the process dragged out for two-and-half-years, it was the right outcome.”

In an emailed statement, Steve Jensen, Stanley’s attorney, said, “We fought hard and, of course, wanted a different outcome.”

Jensen added, “We strongly disagree with the majority opinion ordering Linda Stanley’s disbarment. There was a strong dissenting opinion disagreeing with the major findings of the majority and indicating that only a suspension was warranted. We have filed a notice of appeal to the Colorado Supreme Court. That notice of appeal is a public record and lists ten grounds for reversing the decision, at least with respect to the disbarment.”