Table of Contents
- Murdered mother Suzanne Morphew, 49, had three tranquilizers in her system
- Researchers believe the find could provide clues to his death in 2020.
- READ MORE: Colorado Mother Suzanne Morphew’s Cause Of Death Revealed
Reports show a Colorado mother who was murdered four years ago had a deadly cocktail of drugs in her system.
An autopsy released Monday revealed that Suzanne Morphew, 49, was drugged with a lethal mix of painkillers and sedatives: butorphanol, azaperone and medetomidine.
The mother of two disappeared from her home in Salida, Colorado, on Mother’s Day 2020, and her remains were discovered last year 50 miles from her home.
Colorado law enforcement officials now believe this revelation could provide clues to the murder, for which Ms. Morphew’s husband, Barry Morphew, was initially arrested in 2021. The charges were later dropped.
But how did these medications in her system lead to her death? Do you have any clues that could help the police solve her murder?
Police have released Suzanne Morphew’s autopsy report after her skeletal remains were discovered 50 miles from her home last year.
The autopsy showed that he had the tranquilizers butorphanol, azaperone and medetomidine in his system. Her body was discovered last year and her husband, Barry, was initially charged with murder before the charges were dropped.
butorphanol
It is a synthetic opioid that can be injected, taken by mouth or inhaled and is used to treat severe pain in patients recovering from surgery or suffering from the agony of diseases such as cancer.
According to the Mayo Clinic, it is typically used when other pain relievers do not work or are not well tolerated. It is also commonly used as an anesthetic and cough suppressant in dogs.
The drug binds to certain receptors in the brain that send pain impulses and block pain for short periods of time.
As the body relaxes, people taking it may experience weak pulse, nausea, shallow breathing, and drowsiness.
Because it is an opioid, using it repeatedly can be habit-forming. An overdose can cause breathing to stop completely.
azaperone
This sedative is mainly used as an anesthetic, mainly in animals such as pigs and elephants, to calm them before being transported.
It is rarely used in humans as an antipsychotic drug. Doctors are reluctant to use it because, in doses, it can cause respiratory depression, which occurs when breathing too slowly or shallowly and prevents oxygen from reaching the blood and other vital organs.
This also prevents carbon dioxide from passing from the blood into the lungs, causing it to build up in the blood.
Over time, this causes respiratory failure, cardiac arrest, and coma.
medetomidine
Also a sedative, this medication is used in both humans and dogs as an injection and intravenously.
According to the FDA, it can be used to calm frightened animals by slowing their heartbeat, as well as relieving pain in humans. Reducing the heart rate puts less pressure on the organ and also reduces blood pressure.
This is often done to reduce the risk of cardiovascular events such as cardiac arrest during surgery.
In some cases, it is combined with ketamine to be used as a general anesthetic.
