Testimony continued Monday morning in the murder trial of Patrick Frazee at the Teller County Courthouse. The entire case is expected to wrap up before Thanksgiving week.
Cameras and any live coverage of the trial are forbidden per judge's orders. News5 will bring you the latest on-air and online as it comes in during breaks in the proceedings.
He faces eight total charges — two counts of first-degree murder, three counts of solicitation to commit first-degree murder, one count of tampering with a deceased human body and two counts of a crime of violence — for the presumed murder of Kelsey Berreth on Thanksgiving 2018. Click here to see the criminal complaint and arrest affidavit.
State calls Kelsey Berreth's neighbor to the stand
The state called Leslie Jackson to the stand. She's Kelsey Berreth's neighbor and her fence is next to Berreth's door.
Jackson has three cameras at her residence. The first points out at her driveway, the second looks right at her front door, and the third looks at her bedroom window.
On Nov. 22, the bedroom camera had 27 notifications throughout the day. There were a lot around the late 11 o’clock hour, often around noon, and more around 1:20 p.m. Then there were more again around 4:20-4:30 p.m. An investigator with the 4th Judicial DA's office was able to extract 34 cached file images from Nov. 22, 2018. 27 of those came from the bedroom camera (the same number of notifications Jackson got from that camera). Of those 27, the cameras caught Frazee 11 different times.
The images show a photo appearing to be Berreth entering her home with a baby carrier at 3:54 a.m. (Nov. 22). That aligns with her getting home. Another photo shows a cat passing by. Another photo that day at 11:56 a.m. shows Berreth at her door. A different photo shows Frazee at 12:36 p.m. looking to enter Berreth's home. That’s the first spot of him. The second photo is at 12:37 p.m. His back is to the camera.
Photos then show the door open at 1:23 p.m. and again at 1:23. The photo picks up Frazee, Kelsey Berreth, and Kaylee. It's the last photo of Kelsey. Another photo picks up Frazee outside again at 1:24 p.m. The next is at 4:20 p.m. and shows Frazee holding Kaylee. He’s captured again on the camera at 4:24 p.m. with his back to the camera, no child. He’s captured again at 4:26, holding Kaylee with his back to camera. Frazee is captured again at 4:27, back to the camera and holding the child. Next capture shows the door open at 4:28. Next capture shows Frazee at 4:28 with his back to the camera. Next cached image is the 10th time Frazee is captured on surveillance. This is at 4:29. His back is to the camera. 11th capture of Frazee is at 4:30 with his back to the camera again.
Frazee visits Woodland Park Verizon store
An employee of the Woodland Park Verizon store was called to testify about his interaction with Patrick Frazee at the store on Dec. 11.
Frazee visited the store in the later afternoon/early evening on Dec. 11. He had Kaylee with him, according to the employee.
David Felis, the Verizon store employee, said Frazee seemed very nervous, paranoid, and sketchy when he came in. Felis said Frazee remarked, "Don't believe what they're saying about me." Felis said he could fee something was off, though he didn't know who Frazee was.
Felis said Frazee was concerned about people accessing his account and asked if the other phone on his account was destroyed, could he still get info from it. Felis said this raised red flags. Felis continued and said Frazee was concerned because there was a pin code to access the account and he wanted to change it. Felis said he had to call corporate over it, as he is not allowed to go into an account without that pin.
Felis said Frazee was visibly shaken, upset, and nervous over the phone issue and his purpose for access was the security of the account and then if he could get information off the stored device. Felis also said that Frazee's last name sounded familiar. He said Frazee took a gulp before asking about the destroyed phone. Felis emailed police the next day.
The state entered that email as an exhibit. The email has a specific quote about the question regarding information from the destroyed phone.
Frazee's request for surveillance video and transaction records
The manager of the Woodland Park Ent Credit Union was called to testify about her interaction with Patrick Frazee on December 5, the day after investigators seized his cell phone to check for evidence in Kelsey's disappearance.
According to Patricia Key, Frazee did not appear concerned about the well being of Kelsey as he asked for surveillance images of himself from November 22, the same day she was last seen in a Safeway. Key explains Frazee saud he needed a timeline because he and his fiancée broke up the day before. Key says she found that weird. She asked him if police didn’t know when she went missing, how would that video help him? Frazee is said to have replied, “well, exactly”.
Frazee also asked if he could see the baby in his car seat, she said yes and gave him a surveillance still of that. The manager noted he did not ask for any information about transactions, photos, or videos after Nov 22. She explained Frazee said he might have an issue with child custody as the reason for his requests.
Woodland Park Police officer testimony
At the time Kelsey Berreth was reported as missing, Andrew Leibbrand was a Sergeant with the Woodland Park Police Department. He's now a Commander with WPPD. Leibbrand explained to the court how he found Berreth's townhome door locked, but not the deadbolt, as he checked on her welfare. Leibbrand says he didn't see any signs of a struggle, but at the time was not looking for any. He also took part in search warrant executions at Kelsey's townhome, the Frazee property, and the Waste Management landfill in El Paso County.
Detective Michael McDaniel explained evidence collected during the multiple searches of Berreth's home, including the discovery of a box of ultra strong 13-gallon trash bags brought to the home by Krystal Kenney. He also spoke about the collection of Kelsey's toothbrush and mouth guard as part of the process in creating a DNA profile, even though she was only considered missing at the time.
In earlier testimony, there was mention of rock hard cinnamon rolls left on a table alongside a heated candle. Det. McDaniel says both appeared out of place and caught his eye.
It wasn't until after the police interview with Kenney that investigators conducted an extensive search of Berreth's home, including tearing up floorboards. In all, investigators collected about 630 pieces of evidence.
Cheryl Berreth's continued testimony
The victim's mother, Cheryl Berreth, was the first witness called at the conclusion of closing arguments on Friday. She resumed her testimony today under cross examination from the defense. Cheryl Berreth was asked about any strains on the relationship between Kelsey and Frazee. The defense pursued a line of questioning about Kelsey being supported fully by Frazee, instead of being able to make ends meet with her own flight training jobs.
Cheryl Berreth previusly testified about a close relationship with her daughter despite being separated by state lines. She mentioned being concerned as Kelsey did not have a good relationship with the Frazee family both before and after her pregnancy. The mother explained how she last spoke to her daughter on Thanksgiving 2018, but they had to cut the conversation short. Soon afterwards Patrick Frazee called Cheryl to inform her Kelsey had moved out, according to the testimony.
The mother explained that was odd as she had heard nothing beforehand and maintained a close relationship with her daughter. A few days after contacting Woodland Park Police, the mother and brother came to town looking for Kelsey. They noted to investigators things were out of place and saw a spot of blood on the toilet.
More of Cheryl Berreth's testimony here.
RELATED: Mother of missing 29-year-old Woodland Park woman pleads for public’s help (Dec. 10, 2018)
Kelsey's brother explains finding blood
In the days after Thanksgiving 2018, Cheryl Berreth and Kelsey's brother Clint became increasingly concerned when they never heard back from here, and heard from Patrick Frazee that he had not seen her either. The Berreth's came to Woodland Park on December 3rd to start looking for her. A missing person's report was filed the day before.
Clint's role in the discovery of blood is important, as police admit they found no evidence of that kind in Berreth's home during 3 days of searching at the address. He said he was sitting on the toilet reading Facebook when he looked down and saw blood on the underside of the bowl.
He also noted evidence around the townhome of a large cleanup job, primarily streaks from wiping down surfaces across the residence. Clint explained it was much easier to see with more sunlight.
Information from court documents detail how law enforcement used cadavar dogs and chemical agents as part of their search within Berreth's home on December 2-4, without finding any blood evidence.
News5's Sam Kraemer is in the courtroom. He'll provide more information on the case as available during breaks, which we will update here.
Kelsey Berreth's supervisor at Doss Aviation testifies
Raymond Siebring worked with Kelsey at Doss Aviation. He said it was common for Kelsey to text in to call out of work if there are unavoidable circumstances, but Kelsey would typically enter her PTO days ahead of time in their management system.
Siebring said he sent a late Happy Thanksgiving text on Nov. 22 to everyone in their flight. He said he was hesitant sending the text out but did anyway at 10:31 p.m. and got a response from Kelsey's phone.
He said Kelsey usually used smiley faces and an exclamation point after his name when texting. In the response from Kelsey's phone to Siebring, she used a comma after his name that he said was odd.
Defense attorney Ashley Porter asked Siebring if anything seemed out of the ordinary when he received the response from Kelsey's phone on Thanksgiving. He said he didn't notice the punctuation at the time, but he did after her continued absence.
He said he received another text from Kelsey's phone on Nov. 25 that also included a comma in the text after his name. The text from Kelsey's phone was letting Siebring know she would not make it into work that week because she needs to see her grandma who is sick.
Prosecutor Jennifer Viehman asked Siebring if she ever asked for extended PTO over text and he said no, but it sounded urgent. That was the last text he received.
Woodland Park Police Department patrol officer explains townhome search
WPPD Cpl. Dena Currin took the initial call to check on Kelsey Berreth. When she arrived at Kelsey's townhome, she said she noticed a package at the door and a service tag from Black Hills Energy.
She called Kelsey's phone and then Frazee. She asked him when he last spoke with her.
When asked what she found odd about the conversation, Currin says the lack of concern stood out. She said Frazee did not ask about Kelsey's welfare.
Currin called Kelsey's supervisor and was told she was headed to see her grandma and that she hadn't been to work.
Currin and another sergeant went back to Kelsey's residence and went through the front door. She said she didn't see anything unusual nor a sign of a disturbance.
She said the initial call was to check on Kelsey's welfare. She told prosecutors she did not recall any odors or notice anything in the bathroom.
Currin said she noticed Kelsey's car and truck were at the home. She said she called Cheryl Berreth and told her she did not find her daughter.
She was asked about being the first to examine the bathroom, but Currin said she did not notice any blood. She was also asked about the living room and Currin said she didn't see blood.
Currin stresses they weren't going through the home with a fine tooth comb and that they were just looking for Kelsey.
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Prosecution's case
Based on opening statements, prosecutors plan to describe Patrick Frazee as a man who manipulated his fiancee, his girlfriend, his family, and those around him to get what he wanted. He's accused of asking his girlfriend, Krystal Kenney, to kill Berreth by using the argument that she was an unfit, abusive mother, and their child would be safer with him.
“All you gotta do is hit her in the head and put her in the trash can,” Prosecutor Jennifer Viehman said, attributing to Frazee. When Kenney refused, Frazee is accused of telling her, “I guess I just care more about Kaylee than you do, and if something happens to Kaylee, it’s on you Krystal,” per Viehman.
The prosecution made a deal with Kenney to testify in the case. At some point, we expect to hear testimony about how she feared for her family's safety from Frazee. Viehman explains the prosecution's case that roughly an hour after Berreth was seen on Safeway surveillance video, she was killed by Frazee inside her Woodland Park townhome.
He allegedly texted Kenney to tell her, “You’ve got a mess to clean up. I need you to get out here now," with the meaning implied. Prosecutors say Kenney entered Berreth's home to find blood on the floor, walls, baby toys, baby gate, fireplace, and “a pool of blood in the living room."
Frazee is accused of of burning Berreth's body on his family's property after Kenney refused to drive it to Idaho. She reportedly did take Berreth's phone out of state. In the days after Berreth's disappearance, prosecutors say Frazee never tried to call Kelsey's phone, but contacted Kenney 46 times.
Defense argument
On Patrick Frazee's behalf, the defense is arguing he is not the person who carried out this killing, citing how Kenney made a deal with authorities early in the case to avoid serious charges.
“What they did not tell you is that Krystal did not go to police voluntarily. They had to track her down,” defense attorney Ashley Porter says. She pointed out Kenney’s lies to the FBI when she denies even knowing Berreth. Porter cites the second time the FBI meets Krystal at her home she has hired an attorney. “Before she says anything about this case, she cuts a deal, where she could spend zero days in jail,” Porter says.
Plus, they point out how she came from out of state with a lot of protective and cleaning gear to deal with what's described as a very bloody scene within Berreth's apartment.
More: Attorney explains Patrick Frazee's planned defense for murder trial
RELATED:
Visit our Frazee Trial section of the site for complete coverage
Breaking down the case against Patrick Frazee for the murder of Kelsey Berreth
Kenney primed for key witness role in Frazee murder trial
Berreths seek justice; Frazee supporters optimistic ahead of trial
Patrick Frazee arrested for first-degree murder in Kelsey Berreth case
Warrants reveal cell phone evidence in Frazee case
Arrest affidavit released in case against Patrick Frazee
Drone video shows area where investigators searched Frazee property
All public documents in the Patrick Frazee case
Cameras and any live coverage of the trial are forbidden per judge's orders. News5's Sam Kraemer is covering the trial during breaks in proceedings. Be sure to follow him on social media for the latest.
