Krystal Lee, Key Witness In Kelsey Berreth Murder Trial Sentenced To 3 Years

TELLER COUNTY, Colo. (CBS4) – The woman whose testimony was a critical part of putting Patrick Frazee behind bars was sentenced to three years in prison followed by a year of mandatory parole. Krystal Lee, Frazee's on-and-off girlfriend, was a key witness in the trial for the murder of Kelsey Berreth.

Last year Lee testified that Frazee beat Berreth with a baseball bat inside her Woodland Park condominium, and their daughter was inside another room at the time of the killing.

"This is probably the most emotional case I've ever been involved in," said District Attorney Dan May.

Prosecutors say Lee helped them crack the case. Among other things, she showed them places in Berreth's condo where she cleaned blood from the scene. She also showed them where Frazee burned her body, which he had placed in a plastic container.

Lee took a plea bargain in the case and was sentenced to three years in the Colorado Department of Corrections with a year of mandatory parole on Tuesday morning. Without that deal, she could have faced a sentence of more than 100 years.

"Do I think she should have gotten a whole lot more time? You betcha. Do I feel bad that everyday that she only got three years today? You betcha," May said.

Lee will get good time credits. It's not unusual for someone to serve only 25% of their sentence.

"We did a deal with the devil. There's no ifs, ands, or buts about that. And I'm not proud of that. But there's no question that Kelsey wouldn't have had the sure justice today without making that deal with the devil," May said of the plea bargain.

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