ALAMOSA — Barry Morphew, the Colorado man accused of killing his wife and leaving her body in a remote field in the San Luis Valley, will likely face trial next summer.

During a brief hearing in the case on Monday, his attorney, David Beller, told 12th Judicial District Chief Court Judge Amanda Hopkins that his team continues to work through “a voluminous discovery” of evidence prosecutors plan to present at the trial, and he hopes to be ready for Morphew to be arraigned and enter a plea by the middle of January.

Hopkins made several rulings to limit pre-trial publicity, including allowing only credentialed media to view live-streamed court hearings.

Suzanne Morphew, a mother of two, went missing after leaving their Salida-area home for a bike ride in 2020. Though Barry Morphew was initially charged in the crime, no body was found and charges against her husband were dropped.

But in 2023, human remains were found in rural Saguache County in the San Luis Valley that were identified as Morphew’s. According to a grand jury indictment, the bones tested positive for a wildlife tranquilizer for which Morphew had access, and that he is the only person in Colorado with access to it. Prosecutors allege he and Suzanne Morphew were in a combative relationship and that his phone was turned off for a long period the day she vanished.

Morphew walked into the courtroom Monday clad in jeans, a sport coat and an ankle monitor, after his supporters posted $300,000 to guarantee the $3 million in bail set by the judge when he was extradited from Arizona earlier this year. One of his two daughters — who has publicly maintained his innocence — sat behind him.

The case has garnered national media attention since Suzanne Morphew went missing, the sort of story tabloids and evening television crime shows love: A young woman missing in the heartland, the husband at the center of suspicion.

Dozens of journalists are expected to follow the case when it goes to trial.

Anticipating the impact of such media focus at a rural courthouse, the judge has taken strict measures to limit media intrusions, like banning interviews, photos or filming on courthouse property.

In a recent order, Hopkins also restricted access to the trial’s live stream to credentialed media, after earlier hearings were streamed on YouTube by true crime enthusiasts, with thousands of views and comments.

Prosecutors said they still anticipate going to trial next summer, and the judge made it clear the Jan. 12 hearing will be the last time she approves a continuance.