TELLER COUNTY – Woodland Park Police Chief Miles De Young says Patrick Frazee is in custody for suspicion of first-degree murder and suspicion of solicitation of first-degree murder for the death of his fiancé Kelsey Berreth.
De Young says only one person was arrested today despite reports to the contrary. He also mentioned that additional arrests are a possibility.
Frazee will have his advisement via video conference at 3:30 p.m. on Friday. His first official court appearance is set for Dec. 31 at 9 a.m.
Frazee was arrested this morning at his family’s property in Florissant. The arrest came the morning after local, state and federal agents continued their search of Berreth’s home for a second time.
Chief De Young said they obtained sufficient evidence to get an arrest warrant from a judge on the belief that Berreth is no longer alive.
“Investigators have recovered a number of items that make us suspicious that the crime did occur at Kelsey’s residence,” De Young said. “That is why we have been coming back to her residence.”
As of Friday morning, investigators continue to search Berreth’s townhome in Woodland Park.
De Young said he does not know where Berreth’s body is located, and he didn’t want to speculate on a possible location. De Young did say that Berreth’s phone ended up in Idaho and that the information about Berreth’s phone pinging off of a tower in southern Idaho was accurate. However, her phone has not yet been found.
De Young said that Berreth’s family is now caring for Berreth and Frazee’s 1-year-old daughter. Frazee had cared for their daughter in the weeks following Berreth’s disappearance, but it’s not clear exactly when their daughter was taken from his custody.
District Attorney Dan May said it will be 10 days before charges are formally filed, and he said that the fourth judicial district will handle the investigation moving forward.
May also said that affidavits and court documents are sealed and it could take weeks before the documents are released in order to protect the investigation.
“We are not going to try this case in the press,” May said.
May also said that about 20-30 agents have worked the case as part of a multi-agency unit assigned to the investigation.
Murder cases are exceptionally rare for Teller County, the last one investigated by the Teller County Sheriff’s Office happened in 2013, according to data provided by authorities.
<figcaption class="wp-caption-text" id="caption-attachment-130517">Patrick Frazee is booked into the Teller County Jail on a charge of first-degree murder.Frazee’s arrest follows recent searches of Berreth’s home where News 5 saw investigators take several loads of evidence Thursday night.
Investigators then zeroed in on searching Berreth’s home days after News 5 talked with one of Berreth’s neighbors on Monday. That neighbor said she had previously seen two red pickup trucks at Berreth’s home on Thanksgiving Day, when Frazee said he picked up the couple’s daughter.
Berreth’s uncle, Ed Stanfill, said Berreth owns a red truck. Frazee’s truck, which was seized in the search over the weekend, was also red. The neighbor’s account of the events also fits Frazee’s timeline about when he last saw his fiancé.
“I looked up there, and there was both red pickups there Thanksgiving Day. And that was from 12:30 [p.m.] to 1 p.m.,” the neighbor said. “The other two cars were parked with the vehicles facing the apartment, but his was parked sideways behind them.”
The neighbor also added that they had seen the other red pickup truck before and that the man driving it had come and gone to pick up or drop off a baby.
The searches of Berreth’s home came shortly after multiple agencies searched the Frazee property in Florissant last weekend. The search started on Friday, which was the day De Young said he first considered her disappearance suspicious.
RELATED: Drone video shows are where investigators searched Frazee property
At a news conference last Friday, De Young said Frazee was not considered a suspect or a person of interest. However, De Young did ask Frazee to talk with investigators. He said all communications had been through his lawyer.
De Young’s statement appeared to contradict earlier statements provided by Patrick Frazee’s attorney, Jeremy Loew. Loew’s statement said Frazee has cooperated with the investigation and voluntarily handed over his phone, DNA samples and photos. However, Loew released a second statement last Friday that said, “Mr. Frazee was never asked to voluntarily participate in this search.”
At the time the search was executed, De Young said he had no reason to take Frazee and Berreth’s child away from her father.
LIVE: Search of Kelsey Berreth's home continues
LIVE: News 5's Sam Kraemer has followed the investigation into Kelsey Berreth's disappearance for weeks. He's live in Woodland Park to answer your questions about Patrick Frazee's arrest and other developments in the case. Full coverage: https://bit.ly/2GyEmRX
Posted by KOAA 5 on Friday, December 21, 2018
Berreth waslast seen in public on Thanksgiving at a Woodland Park Safeway store. Frazee told police he saw her later that afternoon when he picked up their daughter. She has not been seen since.
Frazee told Berreth’s mother that he received a text from her on Nov. 25, though authorities have not said what that message said.
Berreth’s employer, Doss Aviation in Pueblo, also received a text that day from Berreth’s phone which said she wouldn’t be at work the next week.
Ten days later on Dec. 2, Berreth’s mother reported her missing.
Anyone with information can call the Woodland Park Police Department at (719) 687-9262 or email the dedicated email account at kelsey@city-woodlanpark.org.
(Note: This story has been updated to reflect that Frazee’s first official court appearance will occur on Dec. 31. His video advisement will happen at 3:30 p.m.)
