A Colorado woman was reported missing on Mother's Day 2020. Her death was just ruled a homicide

DENVER (AP) — The death of a Colorado woman reported missing on Mother's Day nearly four years ago was a homicide, authorities said Monday, revealing new details in a case that at one point led to murder charges against her husband that were later dropped.

Suzanne Morphew died by “undetermined means," according to an autopsy report released by the Chaffee County Attorney’s Office. A cocktail of drugs that are used to tranquilize wildlife was found in one of the 49-year-old woman's bones but there was no indication of trauma, the report said.

Morphew's husband, Barry Morphew, told investigators he last saw his wife in May 2020, on Mother’s Day. Her remains were found in September 2023 in a remote area of central Colorado more than 40 miles (65 kilometers) south of her home.

A tranquilizer gun and accessories were found in the couple’s home, according to investigators, who arrested Barry Morphew in May 2021 on suspicion of first-degree murder, tampering with a human body and other offenses.

The charges were dropped in 2022, just as Barry Morphew was about to go to trial, after a judge barred prosecutors from presenting most of their key witnesses, citing their failure to follow rules for turning over evidence in his favor. The evidence included DNA from an unknown man linked to sexual assault cases in other states, which was found in Suzanne Morphew’s SUV.

Barry Morphew’s lawyers later filed a complaint accusing prosecutors of intentionally withholding evidence and asking that they be disciplined. Barry Morphew also filed a $15 million lawsuit accusing prosecutors and investigators of violating his constitutional rights. The suit is pending in federal court.

Prosecutors, saying they wanted more time to find Suzanne Morphew’s body, left open the possibility of filing charges against him again. In announcing the autopsy findings on Monday, Colorado Bureau of Investigation Director Chris Schaefer did not say whether that would happen; he said the investigation is ongoing.

The prosecutor for the part of Colorado where the body was found said her office was assisting in the investigation.

"We will continue to follow the evidence and seek justice for Suzanne,” said 12th Judicial District Attorney Anne Kelly in a statement.

An attorney for Barry Morphew and his two adult daughters said Monday that his dart gun to tranquilize wildlife was not working when his wife disappeared, and that he did not possess the tranquilizer that’s used in the darts.

Attorney Iris Eytan told The Associated Press that evidence suggests Suzanne Morphew was abducted, drugged and killed by someone else.

“The Morphews have prayed the authorities would remove their blinders and not only find Suzanne, but find the suspect responsible for her disappearance and murder,” Eytan's firm said in a statement on behalf of the family.

Investigators have said the couple had a troubled marriage. In an affidavit, they alleged that Barry Morphew, an avid hunter and sportsman, was unable to control his wife, so he “resorted to something he has done his entire life — hunt and control Suzanne like he had hunted and controlled animals.”

At the time, Barry Morphew said the last time he had seen his wife, she was in bed asleep. He also told investigators that Suzanne Morphew had recently developed an interest in mountain biking. Deputies found her bike and bike helmet in two separate places, away from where her remains were discovered.

Eytan's firm said authorities have not revealed to the Morphews whether bike clothes found with Suzanne Morphew’s remains have been tested for DNA.

Brown reported from Billings, Montana. Hanson reported from Helena, Montana.

FILE - Barry Morphew leaves a Fremont County court building in Canon City, Colo., with his daughters, Macy, left, and Mallory, after charges against him in the presumed death of his wife were dismissed, Tuesday, April 19, 2022. The death of Suzanne Morphew, whose disappearance nearly four years led to murder charges against her husband that were later dropped, has been ruled a homicide authorities said Monday, April 29, 2024. (Jerilee Bennett/The Gazette via AP, File)

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Tiger Woods figures it took him three holes to get back into the “competitive flow" of tournament golf on Thursday at Valhalla.

It may take more than familiar vibes for Woods to stick around for the weekend at the PGA Championship. Like birdies. Maybe a bunch of them.

The 48-year-old plodded his way to a 1-over 72 during the first round, well off Xander Schauffele's early record-setting pace and Woods' 10th straight round of even-par or worse at a major dating back to the 2022 PGA.

The issue this time wasn't his health or the winding, occasionally hilly layout at the course tucked into the eastern Louisville suburbs. It was rust.

Woods hit it just as far as playing partners Keegan Bradley and Adam Scott. He scrambled his way out of trouble a few times. He gave himself a series of birdie looks, particularly on his second nine. He simply didn't sink enough of them.

Making matters worse, his touch abandoned him late. Woods three-putted from 39 feet on the par-3 eighth (his 17th hole of the day) and did it again from 34 feet on the uphill par-4 ninth to turn a potentially promising start into more of the same for a player who hasn't finished a round in red figures in an official event since the 2023 Genesis Invitational.

“Wasn’t very good,” Woods said. “Bad speed on 8; whipped it past the hole. And 9, hit it short. Hit it off the heel on the putt and blocked the second one. So wasn’t very good on the last two holes.”

This is simply where Woods is at this point in his career. The state of his patched-together body doesn't allow him to play that often. When he goes to bed at night, it's a coin clip on how he'll feel when he wakes up.

“Each day is a little bit different,” he said. “Some days, it’s better than others. It’s just the way it is."

Woods, who believes he's getting stronger, felt pretty good when he arrived at the course. Still, it took time for the adrenaline that used to come to him so easily at golf's biggest events to arrive.

The 15-time major winner hadn’t teed it up when it counted since the Masters a month ago, where he posted his highest score as a pro. He’s spent the last few weeks preparing for the PGA by tooling around in Florida. It took less toll on him physically, sure, but he knows it perhaps wasn't the most effective way to get ready for long but gettable Valhalla.

He began the day on the back nine and bogeyed the par-3 11th when he flew the green off the tee and overcooked a recovery shot that raced back across the green and into a bunker. A birdie putt from nearly 18 feet at the par-4 13th helped him settle in. He put together a solid stretch after making the turn, including a beautiful approach to 5 feet at the par-3 third that he rolled in for birdie.

Yet in the same morning session that saw Schauffele in the group ahead firing a sizzling 9-under 62, Woods couldn't really get anything going. He had multiple birdie looks from 20 feet or less over his final nine and only made two. And when his stroke briefly abandoned him late, he found himself well down the leaderboard.

With rain expected Friday, Valhalla — where Woods triumphed over Bob May in an electrifying playoff at the 2000 PGA — figures to get a little tougher. A little longer. A little more slippery, not particularly ideal for someone on a surgically rebuilt right leg.

It may take an under-par round for Woods to play through Sunday. He found a way to do it at Augusta National. He'd like to do the same here.

Yet a chance to give himself a little cushion vanished, and another slowish start Friday afternoon could lead to a fourth early exit in his last seven appearances at a tournament where he's raised the Wannamaker Trophy three times.

AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

Tiger Woods hits from the bunker on the second hole during the first round of the PGA Championship golf tournament at the Valhalla Golf Club, Thursday, May 16, 2024, in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Tiger Woods waves after making a putt on the 13th hole during the first round of the PGA Championship golf tournament at the Valhalla Golf Club, Thursday, May 16, 2024, in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo/Matt York)