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DENVER – A man accused of murder in the death of his missing fiancée tried to convince a woman with whom he had an affair to commit the murder, investigators said Tuesday.
Patrick Frazee was in court in Colorado for a hearing to determine whether he was going to stand trial after Kelsey Berreth's death. Testimony revealed that the police had initially found no evidence of indictable offense inside Berreth's home, but had subsequently discovered traces of blood belonging to the flight instructor. 29 years old at several places in her bathroom.
The woman has not been found since her disappearance on Thanksgiving Day, November 22nd.
Authorities had published little information on what had led to the arrest of Frazee a month later, until Tuesday's hearing. Prosecutors had to convince a judge that their evidence merited a criminal trial.
Tuesday's testimony has still not revealed the prosecutors' theory as a motive for which Frazee would kill Berreth or how she died.
Her parents argue in a suit for wrongful death filed last week that they thought Frazee wanted full custody of the girl 's daughter aged one year. The child remained with them during the criminal trial against Frazee.
The case relies heavily on the cooperation of Krystal Jean Lee Kenney, a 32-year-old woman from Idaho, who pleaded guilty to preventing the investigation by falsifying the evidence presented. She agreed to testify against Frazee.
A dramatic testimony on Tuesday revealed that Kenney had admitted to having started a romantic relationship with Frazee in March 2018. Investigating officer Gregg Slater said Kenney had told the police that Frazee had asserted that Berreth had mistreated the couple's daughter, although Slater had not stated any evidence.
Kenney added that Frazee had suggested many ways to kill Berreth, including poisoning his coffee or beating his head with a metal rod and a baseball bat, Slater said.
Kenney told police that she wanted to please Frazee and feared that it would hurt her family if she did not cooperate. Kenney told the police that she had not followed any of Frazee's plans, Slater said.
Berreth's body has not been found. Investigators first reported that she had been last seen on video surveillance with the couple's daughter in a grocery store near her home in Woodland Park, a mountain town near Colorado Springs. , south of Denver.
The police then found footage of a nearby surveillance camera showing Berreth, Frazee and their daughter at the entrance to Berreth Townhouse later in the afternoon.
Most of the prosecutors' testimony relies on cell phone tower data, suggesting that Berreth's phone was in the possession of Frazee or Kenney after November 22, when Frazee told the police that he had saw Berreth for the last time.
Frazee, 32, has not pleaded and has been imprisoned since her arrest. Prosecutors have added this week a charge accusing Frazee of altering the body of a deceased and two charges of violent crime, which would leave the state seeking a heavier sentence in the event of a conviction.
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