DENVER • An arrest warrant affidavit for a Colorado man charged with murder in the death of his wife who disappeared last year will remain sealed, a judge ruled Friday, arguing that release of the document could harm the couple’s daughters and witnesses in the case and hinder Barry Morphew’s ability to prepare his own defense.

Chaffee County District Court Judge Patrick Murphy ordered that the affidavit, which details investigators’ reasons justifying Morphew’s arrest in the disappearance of Suzanne Morphew, remain sealed until a preliminary hearing scheduled to end on Aug. 24.

A coalition of news media organizations, including The Associated Press, had petitioned the court for release of the 130-page document, arguing in part that the public has a presumptive right to know what led to Morphew’s May 5 arrest.

According to prosecutors, Morphew, 53, is accused of killing his 49-year-old wife sometime between May 9 and May 10, 2020. The mother of two daughters was reported missing on May 10, 2020, which was Mother’s Day.

Prosecutors say Morphew tampered with her body around that time and tampered with other evidence in the case from last May through early March, about two months before he was arrested.