The husband of missing Chaffee County resident Suzanne Morphew is accused of filing a fraudulent 2020 election ballot in his wife’s name because he thought Donald Trump could use the extra vote since others were cheating.

Barry Morphew, 53, on Thursday was charged with one count of forgery and one count of a mail ballot offense in connection with his missing wife’s ballot, according to an arrest warrant from the Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office.

On May 5, Barry Morphew was arrested on suspicion of first-degree murder for his wife’s disappearance. Suzanne Morphew was reported missing on May 10, 2020, by a neighbor who said she never came home from a bike ride. Authorities have searched for Suzanne Morphew for more than a year, following hundreds of tips.

The Chafee County Clerk Lori Mitchell called the sheriff’s office on Oct. 22 after her office received Suzanne Morphew’s mail-in ballot, the arrest warrant said. Barry Morphew had signed the ballot as a witness and dated it Oct. 15, 2020.

An FBI agent confronted Barry Morphew about the ballot in April, and he told the agent that he had filled out his missing wife’s form, “Just because I wanted Trump to win. I just thought give him another vote. I figured all these other guys are cheating.”

Barry Morphew told the FBI agent that he didn’t know it was illegal to fill out a ballot on behalf of a spouse.

Morphew is being held without bond in the Chaffee County jail. Authorities have not released details about what led them to suspect Morphew in his wife’s disappearance, and the arrest affidavit in the case detailing the evidence against him is sealed. He is also charged with tampering with evidence and attempting to influence a public servant.

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