Shoshona Darke is the Colorado woman identified in court records as Barry Morphew’s girlfriend, a relationship that surfaced publicly during his first murder prosecution and that investigators traced to within months of Suzanne Morphew’s May 2020 disappearance. Darke, 51 at the time the relationship became public, was later arrested for trespassing at Morphew’s former home, though the charge was dismissed. She has not been charged in connection with Suzanne Morphew’s death.
How Darke and Morphew Met
Darke told investigators she first encountered Barry Morphew in October 2020 at a dumpster near his Maysville home, about five months after Suzanne Morphew vanished on Mother’s Day.1Fox 21 News. Woman Accused of Having a Relationship With Barry Morphew Arrested for Trespassing Authorities received an anonymous tip on December 16, 2020 alleging the two were already in an intimate relationship, and multiple Salida residents told investigators it may have begun as early as July 2020.2New York Post. Barry Morphew’s Alleged Mistress Arrested for Trespassing
Suzanne Morphew was reported missing on May 10, 2020 near Salida, Colorado. Her bike and helmet were found separately along Highway 50, and investigators said the scene appeared staged.3CBS News. Suzanne Morphew Case Evidence Photos Her skeletal remains were not recovered until September 2023, when they were discovered in a shallow grave in Saguache County.
What Darke Told Investigators
A Chaffee County deputy questioned Darke on December 17, 2020, the day after the anonymous tip. She denied having a romantic relationship with Morphew. She also told the deputy she did not know Suzanne Morphew, but reportedly added that “a lot of people say I resemble her.”1Fox 21 News. Woman Accused of Having a Relationship With Barry Morphew Arrested for Trespassing
An arrest affidavit later described Darke as “evasive” during that interview. She reportedly deleted items from her phone in front of investigators, including what they identified as a possible second phone number for Morphew.2New York Post. Barry Morphew’s Alleged Mistress Arrested for Trespassing
Her denial did not hold up against the surveillance that followed. Between December 2020 and April 2021, the FBI ran a pole camera near Darke’s home. It captured Barry Morphew’s truck “consistently coming and going and sometimes staying through the night.”1Fox 21 News. Woman Accused of Having a Relationship With Barry Morphew Arrested for Trespassing On February 12, 2021, shortly before Valentine’s Day, the two checked into the Antlers Hotel in Colorado Springs. Surveillance footage showed Morphew carrying Darke’s luggage while she held a bouquet of flowers.2New York Post. Barry Morphew’s Alleged Mistress Arrested for Trespassing
The details of the relationship became public only after Morphew’s May 2021 arrest, when court documents in that first prosecution were unsealed.
The Trespassing Arrest at Morphew’s Former Home
On September 27, 2021, security cameras at Barry Morphew’s former Puma Path home in the Maysville area of Chaffee County captured Darke walking up the driveway and taking a package from the front door. The property was posted with “no trespassing” signs. Morphew had sold the house after Suzanne’s disappearance but before his own arrest earlier that year, and the new residents saw Darke on their cameras and reported it to the Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office.4CBS News Colorado. Shoshona Darke Arrested for Trespassing at Former Morphew Home
Darke was arrested the next day, September 28, 2021, and charged with second-degree criminal trespassing, a Class 3 misdemeanor. As a bond condition she was ordered to stay away from the Maysville home and have no contact with the current homeowners.1Fox 21 News. Woman Accused of Having a Relationship With Barry Morphew Arrested for Trespassing
The charge was dismissed on December 29, 2021. Prosecutors said further review of case law showed there was not a “reasonable likelihood of conviction.”5Fox 21 News. Shoshona Darke Has Trespassing Charge Dismissed
Darke and the Prosecution’s Motive Theory
Darke was never charged with any offense related to Suzanne Morphew’s disappearance or death, and the file does not describe her as a suspect. Her significance in the record is as evidence of Barry Morphew’s conduct in the months after his wife vanished.
Prosecutors have built their case around the theory that Barry killed Suzanne because she was planning to leave him. An arrest affidavit noted that in January 2020, Suzanne had begun steps toward a divorce, and four days before she disappeared, she sent Barry a text saying she was “done” and wanted to handle the separation “civilly.”2New York Post. Barry Morphew’s Alleged Mistress Arrested for Trespassing Investigators had separately identified Suzanne as being in a roughly two-year affair with a Michigan man; Barry told investigators he had suspected an “emotional affair” but not a physical one.6Denver7. Investigators Confirm Suzanne Was Having a Two-Year Affair
Where the Murder Case Stands
The first prosecution collapsed in April 2022, when then-District Attorney Linda Stanley moved to dismiss the case without prejudice days before trial, citing a belief that Suzanne’s body was near recovery at a snow-covered mountain site.7KKTV. Prosecution Files Motion to Dismiss Murder Case Against Barry Morphew Stanley was later disbarred by the Colorado Supreme Court in September 2025.8Colorado Politics. Colorado Supreme Court Upholds Disbarment of Ex-DA Linda Stanley
After Suzanne’s remains were found in September 2023 and an April 2024 autopsy ruled her death a homicide involving the wildlife immobilizer BAM, a Twelfth Judicial District grand jury indicted Barry Morphew again for first-degree murder on June 18, 2025.9Colorado Bureau of Investigation. Indictment of Barry Morphew He was arrested in Arizona two days later, where he had been living under the alias “Lee Moore.”10Denver7. New Arrest Report Reveals Barry Morphew Was Using a Fake Name in Arizona
At the time of the Arizona arrest, Morphew was living with an unnamed woman he had met in late December 2024 and moved in with in May 2025. The file identifies her only as the resident of the home where he was staying, not as a girlfriend named in court records. Shoshona Darke is not described in the available record as being in a relationship with Morphew at the time of his 2025 arrest.10Denver7. New Arrest Report Reveals Barry Morphew Was Using a Fake Name in Arizona
Morphew pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in January 2026 and is being held on a $3 million bond, later modified to allow a cash surety or property bond that could let him post roughly $300,000.11CBS News Colorado. Barry Morphew Bail Modified on Murder Charge On June 24, 2026, Chief Judge Amanda Hopkins granted a defense motion to continue the trial from October 2026 into the first half of 2027, citing an “almost unprecedented amount of discovery.”12The Gazette. Barry Morphew Trial Pushed Back to 2027 The trial is expected to last one month to five weeks.