Frazee Search Warrants Released: Suspect Seen In Walmart Day Berreth Disappeared
WOODLAND PARK, Colo. (CBS4) - Search warrants reveal more about the murder of Kelsey Berreth. The Woodland Park mother disappeared on Thanksgiving Day.
The father of her child and her fiancée, Patrick Frazee, is charged with her murder.
Information from the search warrants includes a Facebook post from a woman with the same name as Patrick Frazee's mother saying, "YAY the witch is dead." The post was posted on Thanksgiving Day.
Police also shared a surveillance picture of Frazee in the baby section at Walmart on Thanksgiving.
Prosecutors say that is the day Frazee killed Berreth and then burned her body. Investigators have not found her body.
The search warrants also detail the first conversations Frazee had with law enforcement when Berreth's mother reported her missing. Frazee told authorities the two were having relationship problems, and Berreth suggested they go their separate ways. He also said he last heard from Berreth via text message when she asked him "Do you even love me?" He told authorities he responded to her saying yes.
"Frazee told officers that his romantic relationship with Kelsey was over, and during the custody exchange he returned items that belonged to her, including a handgun, residence keys, and other personal belongings. To date, none of those items have been recovered," the documents state.
Another search warrant details a situation when the couple's baby was born. Authorities say Berreth's mother, Cheryl, told them the baby girl was born three weeks early and needed special medical attention. Frazee became upset, Cheryl said, demanding the child be reunited with him and Berreth for bonding purposes.
Cheryl says Frazee became so upset, he became verbally abusive to the nursing staff, causing them to call Social Services to interview Berreth to determine if she was being abused by Frazee.
During the investigation, Cheryl was staying at Berreth's home and noticed what appeared to be blood on the outside of a toilet in the bathroom. She says she also noticed a bath mat was missing.
Crime scene analysts then tested the bathroom for blood and received positive results on:
Bathroom floor
Side of the bathtub that is next to the toilet
Ceiling above the toilet
The wall with the towel rack
Towel rack
Base of the trash can that was between the toilet and bathtub
A portion of the vanity countertop
Wall outlet
Vanity cabinet
Hinges on the vanity cabinet and door
Door knob on the interior of the bathroom door
Lower hinges of interior bathroom door
GFI outlet and outlet plate
Among other evidence collected were envelopes of teeth.
"Frazee's 14-month-old daughter [name redacted] was present in the residence when her mother was murdered by Frazee. Specifically, Frazee stated [name redacted] was inside a play pen in a back bedroom."
Investigators say more blood was found on curtains, pillows, books and baby toys, as well as on the kitchen floor, walls and television.
"Frazee originally took Berreth's body from her residence, and stored it in a black plastic tote with silver handles at the Nash Ranch on the 22nd of November. He later took the tote from the Nash Ranch to his property… on the late afternoon/early evening of November 24, 2018. Lee went with Frazee to Nash Ranch to retrieve the body."
Investigators also found Berreth's phone was pinged in Gooding, Idaho, days after her disappearance.
"Investigators learned that much of the communication between Frazee's cell phone and Berreth's cell phone between November 22 and 25, 2018 was a scheme developed by Frazee in an attempt to distract law enforcement, distort the actual day of her disappearance, and separate himself as a suspect in a murder investigation," the documents stated.
Investigators say Krystal Jean Lee Kenney took Berreth's phone to Idaho, where she worked as a nurse.
"Indeed, Lee admitted to sending messages from Berreth's cell phone on the return trip to Idaho, with the intent of distracting law enforcement at the direction of Frazee."
Kenney told investigators that she was in a romantic relationship with Frazee. She told detectives that Frazee beat Berreth to death with a baseball bat on Thanksgiving Day and then called her to help clean up blood inside the home.
"Lee took the items covered in blood from Berreth's murder and burned them on Frazee's property with Frazee."
Kenney described the scene inside the home as "horrific" and said that she brought gloves, a protective body suit and trash bags from her Idaho home, during a hearing in February.
Frazee has not entered a plea and has been in custody since his arrest.
Earlier this month, Kenney, 32, pleaded guilty to helping derail the investigation by tampering with evidence, specifically Berreth's cellphone. Kenney agreed to testify against Frazee.
