Tuesday, February 19th:
*Preliminary Hearing (@ 9am MT) - CO – Kelsey Berreth (29) (last seen Nov. 22, 2018, Woodland Park; phone pinged 800 miles away in Gooding, Idaho on 11/25/18 @ 5:13pm, reported missing Dec. 2, 2018; not found) – *Patrick Michael Frazee (32) “fiancé” arrested (12/21/18) & charged (12/31/18) with 1st degree murder & 3 counts of solicitation to commit 1st degree murder & 1st degree felony murder (death during attempted robbery). Held without bond.
Was a suspect as of 12/15/18. Search warrant executed 12/14/18. Search & arrest warrants are sealed. The little girl, who had been staying with her dad up until his arrest, is now in protective custody & will be reunited with Berreth’s family. 12/27/18: The court continued the temporary custody of the minor child with maternal grandparents, but the Teller County Dept. of Human Services will retain legal custody.
12/21/18 Hearing on Advisement; first appearance hearing set for 12/31/18.
12/24/18: Defense has filed a motion to limit the release of information about the case before it goes to trial. His attorneys cite “massive pre-indictment and pretrial negative publicity.” Prosecutors are fighting to have the motion denied without a hearing. Motion has been denied re a request to limit pretrial publicity. Request Denied.
Other motions filed:
P-4 People’s Response to Defendant’s Notice of Invocation of all Statutory, Case Law, and Constitutional Privileges
P-3 People’s Response to Defendant’s Motion for Preservation of Physical Evidence
P-2 People’s Response to Defendant’s Notice of Representation and Demand for Notice of any Pre-Trial Nontestimonial Identification Procedure Sought Pursuant to Crim. P.41.1
P-1 People’s Response to Defendant’s Motion for Preservation and Production of Law Enforcement Notes, Recordings, and Other Evidence
D-004 Notice of Invocation of all Statutory, Case Law, and Constitutional Privileges
D-002 Notice of Representation and Demand for Notice of any Nontestimonial Identification Procedure Sought Pursuant to Crim. P.41.1
CTO-02 Decorum Order
12/27/18 Update: The court continued the temporary custody of the minor child with maternal grandparents, but the Teller County Dept. of Human Services will retain legal custody. Paternal grandmother file a motion to intervene. The parties agreed to reserve for later hearing paternal grandmother’s motion to intervene & placement request. The case is continued for a pre-trial conference on January 3, 2019.
12/31/18: Charged with 1st degree murder, 3 counts of solicitation to commit 1st degree murder & 1st degree felony murder. Defense motions to preserve law enforcement communication (emails & texts) and to limit pre-trial publicity (prevent press conferences, tweets & interviews) were both denied. No plea entered. No bond. DA asks for “consumptive testing” on unspecified evidence. Motion hearing on DNA testing & unsealing arrest affidavit scheduled for 1/4. A Preliminary hearing on 1/29.
12/31/18: Monday a 32-year-old nurse was a person of interest in the case & believed to have possibly disposed of Berreth's phone in Idaho in the days after she was last seen alive. She & Frazee had been in a romantic relationship for months (early 2016). The woman, whose identity is not being revealed as she has not yet been charged with a crime, could also be the person who had been plotting with Frazee about killing Berreth should the investigation prove she did in fact dispose of the cell. The nurse was in Colorado around Thanksgiving.
1/3/19 Update: PF's sister has now asked to intervene in the custody case too. Judge ruled to temporarily keep Kelsey’s daughter in custody of her parents. Court orders both side’s parents not to publicly comment about custody case. Court waiting to review info from Frazee’s criminal case before moving forward. Waiting for discovery in the criminal case before proceeding further with the custody case. Trial conference hearing set for 2/7/19 re child custody.
1/4/19 Update: New judge (Scott Sells) takes over the case (judge rotation). Prosecution says they are now comfortable sharing the arrest affidavit with Frazee. They still want them sealed to the public. The court is also hearing a motion regarding the testing of a specific piece of evidence. Prosecution says that piece of evidence is not as critical as they first thought. Judge will pass ruling on consumptive testing until 2/19 hearing. Frazee waived his right to prelim within 35 days. Lots of info in arrest affidavit, Defense asks to move 1/29/19 date. Preliminary hearing for Frazee has been moved to Feb. 19th per request of Frazee’s attorney. Both parties agreed on this date. KKTV11News has confirmed that Kelsey’s parents have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Patrick Frazee.
2/7/19 Update: Baby K stays with her maternal grandparents. Next disposition hearing on 4/4/19.
*Krystal Jean “Lee” Kenney (32) charged (2/2/19) with tampering with physical evidence. Teller County Case #D602019CR17
2/2/19: is scheduled to appear in a Teller County courtroom on Friday, Feb. 8 @ 8:30am. She will enter a plea deal with prosecutors (may plea for the destruction of the cell phone). She was believed to have disposed of Berreth's cell phone in the days after she was last seen alive. The probable cause statement has been sealed.
2/8/19 Update: Prosecutor says Kenney has agreed to plead guilty to one count of tampering with physical evidence, a class 6 felony, with an open sentence. Judge says WHEN sentencing happens, she could get 12-18 months in prison, community corrections, or probation. Could also be 90 days in El Paso County jail. Aggravated sentence could be attached at end of trial. Kenney will testify against Frazee in exchange for her plea deal. Won't be sentenced till that prosecution is complete. She is barred from speaking with press under deal. Monday June 24th at 11 AM there will be a review hearing for Kenney. They will differ charges at that point & will set up a periodic review every 90 days or so. Prosecution wants plea papers kept from public. Judge grants motion.
