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Suzanne Morphew's remains may have been moved twice after being killed, forensic scientist says

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Suzanne Morphew's remains may have been moved twice after being killed, forensic scientist says

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Suzanne Morphew’s body may have been moved twice after she died, according to a forensic scientist.

Barry Morphew was re-indicted by a grand jury in Colorado on a murder charge on June 20 after he allegedly killed his wife, 49-year-old Suzanne Morphew, who vanished on Mother’s Day in 2020. The Morphews lived near Salida, Colorado, where Suzanne Morphew was last seen alive.

Barry Morphew was arrested near Phoenix, Arizona, on June 20, booking documents show. He was living inside a trailer park located in Cave Creek, Arizona, according to property tax records.

Though Suzanne Morphew went missing in 2020, agents with the Colorado Bureau of Investigation found her remains on Sept. 22, 2023. According to prosecutors, a 2024 autopsy report showed a deer tranquilizer called “BAM” was found in her bone marrow, which stands for the chemicals butorphanol, azaperone and medetomidine.

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Prosecutors said Suzanne Morphew’s remains were found “in and around a shallow clandestine grave” in Saguache County, Colorado, a “few hundred feet” off Highway 17.

INSIDE BARRY MORPHEW’S SECRETIVE LIFE 600 MILES AWAY FROM EPICENTER OF MURDER INVESTIGATION INTO WIFE’S DEATH

Suzanne Morphew in an undated picture provided by deputies. Barry Morphew enters Alamosa, Colorado court on Jul. 1, 2025. (Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office and Pool via KRDO)

According to the indictment charging Barry Morphew with first-degree murder after deliberation, the clothes on Suzanne Morphew’s body “lacked evidence of decomposition.” Officials also said a “very small amount” of dried soft tissue was found on the bones, no hair mass was located and there was a lack of animal predation visible on the bones.

“All these features would have been expected if this had been the original gravesite where decomposition occurred,” a board-certified forensic anthropologist, a botanist and an entomologist told prosecutors. “The forensic anthropologist opined that based on these factors it was unlikely Suzanne decomposed from a fresh body to a skeleton at this location.”

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Peter Valentin, associate professor of forensic science at the University of New Haven, told Fox News Digital the body was moved “at least” one time.

“There’s certainly every indication that decomposition occurred in a place other than where the body was found,” Valentin said. “Now, I’ve seen that people have said the body’s been moved at least twice. And I think that’s a reasonable inference. But you can’t know that for sure, because that assumes, that makes an assumption, that the body was killed in one location. Transported to a second location where the decomposition occurs, and then brought to the third location where the body is discovered. And I don’t think you know that for sure yet.

HOW LAW ENFORCEMENT’S DISCOVERY OF RARE DRUG IN SUZANNE MORPHEW’S BODY LED TO HER HUSBAND’S EVENTUAL ARREST

Barry Morphew was booked into the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office. (Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office)

Valentin also said there’s an “absence of evidence” suggesting that the clothing Suzanne Morphew’s remains were found in is what she decomposed with.

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Suzanne Morphew’s bones were found “significantly bleached,” according to the indictment. Valentin said the term “bleached,” in this context, refers to how much sun exposure the bones had.

In this case, Valentin said the “significantly bleached” bones help support prosecutors’ argument that Suzanne Morphew’s body was moved.

Suzanne Morphew and Barry Morphew (Fox News/ Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office)

“As part of the decomposition process, so if some bones are bleached and some aren’t, you can get a sense of you know how the remains are positioned. If where Suzanne Morphew’s remains are found, are in a place that are not exposed to the sun, therefore they couldn’t be bleached at the site where they recovered that would be another indicator that she was.”

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Barry Morphew’s next court date is Sept. 2.

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Family of Brianna Aguilera sues over alcohol service ahead of death

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Family of Brianna Aguilera sues over alcohol service ahead of death

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The family of Brianna Aguilera, the Texas A&M student who fell to her death from a high-rise apartment in November, is suing two organizations for allegedly overserving alcohol ahead of the 19-year-old’s death.

Attorney Tony Buzbee on Tuesday announced a $1 million wrongful death lawsuit was filed in Travis County against the Austin Blacks Rugby Club and the UT Economics and Business Association.

“It is illegal to serve minors any amount of alcohol in the State of Texas. It is reckless and irresponsible to grossly over-serve a group of minors at a University of Texas football tailgate to the point where those minors lose their physical faculties and ability to control themselves,” the lawsuit states. 

Aguilera died when she fell from an Austin high-rise apartment following a Texas A&M vs. University of Texas football tailgate at around 1 a.m. Nov. 29, according to police.

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POLICE SHOULD BE TAKING ‘CLOSER LOOK’ AT COLLEGE STUDENT’S DEATH AFTER MOTHER’S ALLEGATIONS: FORMER PROSECUTOR

An image provided by the family of the young Texas A&M student, Brianna Aguilera, found dead in Austin over the weekend. (GoFundMe)

A police investigation later determined Aguilera died by suicide despite her family’s claims that she was killed.

Brianna Aguilera was found dead in an apartment hours after attending a tailgate party. (Facebook/Brie Aguilera)

According to the filing, the alleged “egregious over-serving of minors” led to Aguilera’s death. Witnesses described her behavior over several hours as “shifting from upbeat to disoriented and ultimately grossly intoxicated,” the suit says.

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Brianna Aguilera holds a sign congratulating her on her acceptance to Texas A&M. (Instagram/brie.aguilera)

TEXAS A&M STUDENT BRIANNA AGUILERA’S FALL DEATH SPARKS POLICE RESPONSE TO FAMILY’S EXPLOSIVE CLAIMS: REPORT

Buzbee said the lawsuit is also intended to support the ongoing investigation into the events of that night by allowing the firm to seek phone and text records, documents and data and to compel witness testimony.

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The lawsuit requests a jury trial.

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Fox News Digital’s Julia Bonavita contributed to this report.

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Key red state could decide US gas prices as Venezuelan oil hits the market

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Key red state could decide US gas prices as Venezuelan oil hits the market

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Nobody handles oil quite like Texas and a fresh supply of Venezuelan crude could soon be headed to the Lone Star State’s coast.

The first barrels of thick, tar-like crude could arrive as soon as next week at ports across Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi, where dense clusters of refineries are built and bred to process heavy oil.

The development follows President Donald Trump’s Tuesday evening announcement that Caracas will transfer up to 50 million barrels of oil to the U.S., worth about $2.8 billion at current market prices. 

WE’RE GOING TO LET THE OIL FLOW: ENERGY SECRETARY SAYS US WILL OVERSEE VENEZUELAN OIL SALES

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Venezuelan children swimming near an oil tanker docked at a pier near the refinery of the state oil company PDVSA. (Jesus Vargas/picture alliance/Getty Images)

“The Gulf Coast concentrates most of our refining capacity, and those refineries were built or revamped over the years to process extra-heavy crude similar to what is produced in Venezuela,” explained Jaime Brito, executive director of refining and oil products at OPIS.

“From a market perspective, additional volumes of extra-heavy crude entering the U.S. refining system would be an extraordinarily positive development,” Brito said. “It would allow refiners to operate more efficiently, something they haven’t been able to do for years and could help keep gasoline and diesel prices at better levels because refiners would have access to cheaper crude and more optimal operations.”

‘WE BUILT VENEZUELA’S OIL INDUSTRY:’ TRUMP VOWS US ENERGY RETURN AFTER MADURO CAPTURE

He added that tankers could arrive within five to six days if they leave Venezuelan waters on Thursday.

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Because Gulf Coast refineries supply a large share of the nation’s fuel, shifts in how efficiently they operate can ultimately ripple through to prices paid by U.S. consumers.

Texas oil refineries are poised to benefit from additional crude oil supplies. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

The arrival of 15 to 25 oil tankers carrying up to 50 million barrels of crude is only a fraction of what Venezuela could ultimately supply.

With more than 300 billion barrels of proven reserves, it holds the world’s largest oil endowment — eclipsing long-standing energy heavyweights like Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Kuwait.

Despite its vast reserves, U.S. sanctions have effectively blocked most Venezuelan crude from reaching the U.S. Gulf Coast, leaving Chevron — operating under a special authorization — as the sole exporter of limited volumes.

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US NOW IN CONTROL OF VENEZUELA’S OIL RESERVES, THE LARGEST IN THE WORLD

A Chevron Corp. flag flies on the drilling floor of a Nabors Industries Ltd. drill rig in the Permian Basin near Midland, Texas, on March 1, 2018. (Daniel Acker/Bloomberg/Getty Images)

That disruption has been felt most acutely in Texas, which anchors the nation’s refining hub and hosts several of the country’s largest heavy-crude refineries.

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A renewed flow of Venezuelan barrels could also intensify competition in the heavy-crude market, particularly between Venezuela and Canada, Brito said.

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“You’re going to have fierce competition between Canada and Venezuela, which benefits American refiners and gives them more flexibility to potentially lower fuel prices,” he said, adding that he was speaking strictly from an oil-market perspective.

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Security guard fatally shot outside Houston restaurant after confrontation with suspect

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Security guard fatally shot outside Houston restaurant after confrontation with suspect

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A security guard was fatally shot outside a Houston restaurant Wednesday evening after a confrontation with another man, authorities said.

The shooting happened around 6:15 p.m. outside Connie’s Seafood Market Restaurant, the Houston Police Department said.

Police told reporters that the security guard, who was working for the restaurant, was standing in the parking lot when a fight broke out between him and another man, FOX26 Houston reported.

Police said the security guard was shot at least once. He was rushed to a hospital where he later died.

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OFF-DUTY DEPUTY SHOT AND KILLED WHILE WORKING SECURITY JOB IN TEXAS, SUSPECT REMAINS AT LARGE

A security guard was fatally shot outside a Houston restaurant Wednesday evening after a confrontation with another man, authorities said. (Houston Police Department)

Authorities did not immediately release the name of the victim.

The suspect was last seen running away from the parking lot after the shooting.

The security guard was working for the restaurant at the time of the shooting. (Google Maps)

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BROWN UNIVERSITY SHOOTER CONFESSED IN VIDEOS TO PLANNING ATTACK FOR LONG TIME, SHOWED NO REMORSE: DOJ

No details about the suspect or the circumstances that led to the altercation have been released as of Thursday morning.

Houston police were reviewing surveillance footage as they search for the shooting suspect. (Mayra Beltran/Houston Chronicle, File)

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Officials said investigators were reviewing surveillance footage and speaking with witnesses to get a description of the suspect.

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