CRIPPLE CREEK – At a motions hearing Friday, prosecutors said they are comfortable sharing the probable cause affidavit with Patrick Frazee, but the documents will remain sealed to the public.
Frazee’s attorney also requested that Frazee’s preliminary hearing be pushed back to Feb. 19, which the new judge in the case, Scott Sells, agreed to. That hearing is scheduled for 9 a.m.
Judge asked Frazee if he agreed to waive his right to a hearing within 35 days. His response: “Yes sir.” @KOAA #PatrickFrazee #KelseyBerreth
— Sam Kraemer (@SamKraemerTV) January 4, 2019
We’re told the decision to have a new judge in the case was part of a planned rotation.
Prosecutors also said during Friday’s hearing that they’ve learned the evidence needed for consumptive testing is not as critical as once thought. The decision about the testing will be pushed back to a later date.
Frazee’s court appearance comes as NBC News reports that the Twin Falls Sheriff’s Office is investigating a 32-year-old nurse who might have disposed of Berreth’s phone.
The Twin Falls Sheriff’s Office told NBC News that deputies executed search warrants in the Berreth case. Twin Falls is about 35 miles to the south of Gooding, Idaho, where Berreth’s phone pinged several days after her disappearance.
The woman has not been identified, and her connection to Frazee or Berreth is not clear.
Frazee was also in court on Thursday for a custody hearing over his and Kelsey Berreth’s 1-year-old daughter, Kaylee. The judge ruled the girl will remain with Berreth’s parents for the time being. The child is in the legal custody of Teller County Human Services.
Frazee was formally charged Monday with two counts of first-degree murder, but both are related to the presumed death of Berreth.
Prosecutors filed two charges to differentiate between the “theories” of murder. One of the charges was for murder with deliberation and the second was a charge of felony murder.
The list of charges obtained by News 5 indicated that Frazee, alone or with other persons, attempted to rob Berreth and killed her during the course of the crime. The deliberation charge said Frazee “after deliberation, and with the intent to cause the death of a person other than himself, caused the death of Kelsey Berreth.”
Frazee was arrested in connection to Berreth’s disappearance on Dec. 21, almost one month after Berreth was last seen in public at a Woodland Park Safeway store.
Berreth’s body has not been found.
