A Colorado Trump supporter accused of murdering his wife and voter fraud in her name: report

Right-wing media outlets have been full of debunked conspiracy theories falsely claiming that widespread voter fraud occurred in the 2020 presidential election, and those outlets typically point the finger at Democrats. But in Colorado, according to Daily Beast reporter Pilar Melendez, a Donald Trump supporter suspected of voter fraud is now facing a felony charge of forging public records and a misdemeanor charge for an alleged mail ballot offense.

The man is 53-year-old Barry Lee Morphew, whose wife, Suzanne Morphew, disappeared in May 2020. Barry Lee Morphew, following an FBI investigation, has been charged with first-degree murder in connection with her disappearance.

"Five months after Suzanne Morphew vanished without a trace while out on a bike ride last Mother's Day, the Chaffee County Clerk's Office in Colorado received a bizarre notification: a mail-in ballot for the 2020 election had been submitted under her name," Melendez reports. "When a Chaffee County sergeant went to the clerk's office to check out the ballot, he saw that it had been handwritten and dated October 15, 2020 — and included the signature of her husband, Barry Lee Morphew, on the witness line."

Melendez adds, however, that according to "an arrest affidavit obtained by the Daily Beast," Barry Lee Morphew was not questioned by authorities about his "alleged voter fraud" until April 22.

Morphew is suspected of voting for Trump twice — once with his own ballot, once under his wife's name. According to Melendez, FBI agents questioned Morphew about the mail-in ballot that was sent under Suzanne Morphew's name — and he told the FBI, "I wanted Trump.… to win. I just thought, give him… another vote. I figured all these other guys are cheating."

Morphew told the FBI that he knew Suzanne Morphew "was going to vote for Trump anyway" and claimed he didn't know that one isn't allowed to vote on behalf of "your spouse."

Melendez reports, "Investigators also noted, in the affidavit, that Morphew submitted his own mail-in ballot at the same time. But authorities do not buy that Morphew didn't take advantage of his wife's disappearance to ensure another vote for the former president. On Thursday night, prosecutors charged Morphew with one felony count of forgery of public records and one misdemeanor count of elections mail-ballot offense."

According to Melendez, "While his bond for was set at $1000 for the new charges, Morphew is already being held without bail on the charges in connection with his wife's May 10, 2020 disappearance. Investigators, however, have still not found the mother of two, and have thus kept Morphew's arrest affidavit under seal since his May 5 arrest."