How cocktail of drugs found in Suzanne Morphew's system could provide vital clues about her murder

A Colorado mother who was murdered four years ago had a deadly cocktail of drugs in her system, reports show. 

An autopsy released Monday revealed that Suzanne Morphew, 49, was drugged with a lethal concoction of pain killers and sedatives: butorphanol, azaperone, and medetomidine.

The mother-of-two disappeared from her home in Salida, Colorado, on Mother's Day 2020, with her remains discovered last year 50 miles from her home. 

Colorado law enforcement officials now believe that this revelation could provide clues about the murder, which Ms Morphew's husband, Barry Morphew, was initially arrested for in 2021. The charges were later dropped. 

But how did these medicines in her system lead to her death and do they hold any clues that might help cops solve her murder? 

Police have released the autopsy report for Suzanne Morphew after her skeletal remains were discovered last year 50 miles from her home 

The autopsy showed that she had the tranquilizers butorphanol, azaperone, and medetomidine in her system. Her body was discovered last year, and her husband, Barry, was initially charged with murder before charges were dropped

Butorphanol 

This is a synthetic opioid that can be injected, taken orally or inhaled, and is used to treat severe pain in patients recovering from surgery or suffering agony from diseases like cancer. 

According to the Mayo Clinic, it is typically used when other pain medicines either do not work or are not well tolerated. It's also commonly used as an anesthetic and a cough suppressant in dogs.

The drug binds to certain receptors in the brain that send off pain impulses, blocking pain for short periods of time. 

As the body relaxes, people taking it may experience weak pulse, nausea, shallow breathing, and drowsiness. 

Because it's an opioid, using it repeatedly can be habit forming. Overdosing can lead to breathing stopping all together. 

Azaperone

This sedative is mostly used as an anesthetic - primarily in animals like pigs and elephants to calm them down before being transported. 

Rarely, it is used in humans as an anti-psychotic drug. Physicians are reluctant to use it because in doses, it can cause respiratory depression - which is when you breathe too slowly or shallowly and prevent oxygen from moving to your blood and other vital organs. 

This also prevents carbon dioxide from moving from the blood to the lungs, causing it to build up in the blood. 

Over time, this leads to respiratory failure, cardiac arrest, and coma. 

Medetomidine 

Also a sedative, this drug 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 reducing their heartbeat - as well as providing pain relief in humans. Lowering the heart rate puts less strain on the organ, lowering blood pressure as well. 

This is often done to reduce the risk of cardiovascular events like cardiac arrest during surgery.  

In some cases, it is combined with ketamine to be used as a general anesthetic.