The murder trial of Patrick Frazee is expected to wrap up by November 22, but in that time up to 60 more witnesses are expected to be called by the prosecution and defense.
As cameras, live tweeting and live blogging are not allowed during these proceedings, all of the information from the courtroom is drawn from extensive notes made by News 5's Sam Kraemer. Follow his updates online and on-air on News5 at 5, 6 and 10 p.m.
For more of our coverage from the beginning of Kelsey Berreth's case, you can click here.
Former lover and clients discuss Frazee's character
A former lover and client of Frazee's told the court she remembers him remarking that Teller County is a vast area where it would be easy to put a body on a horse and get rid of someone. Kayla Doherty did not appear happy to be in court to testify. She told the court Frazee did work on her horses for a few years before she was in a sexual relationship with him that ended abruptly. Her testimony was first delivered without the jury present as the judge and attorneys went over the relevance of what she has to say.
Prosecutors also called Savannah Greasby and Kathryn Donahue to testify about statements Frazee made about his personal life. Both woman hired him to care for their horses.
Greasby says she doesn’t remember Frazee saying a lot about Kaylee’s mother, only that he was trying to get full custody and that Kaylee’s mother was bipolar and in rehab. Greasby says he mentioned Kelsey by name but not often. At the time, she says Frazee said custody was mutual and he was looking into getting a lawyer.
Donahue says Frazee began showing up to do work with his daughter. She remembers he never had anything good to say about Kelsey. “We didn’t discuss her a lot, but he would never say anything kind about her.” Donahue called in a tip in this case, saying Frazee claimed Kelsey took off shortly after the daughter was born. She says he described the mother as "absolutely crazy." Donahue says she probably saw Kaylee probably 4-6 times. She saw nothing to show abuse toward Kaylee, and the girl was always happy.
Testimony has wrapped up for Tuesday. Court will return Wednesday at 8:30 a.m.
State calls Laurie Luce, who employed Frazee to take care of her horses
Luce first learned Frazee was a father when she a baby in his truck while he was at her property. In discussing the baby, Luce said Frazee said his daughter’s mother didn’t want to be a mother, so he’d have to be the parent moving forward. This was around Feb-April 2018.
Luce said she remembers Frazee going to her house on Dec. 20, 2019, after Kelsey went missing and his ranch had been searched. She said they talked about Nov. 22 and Frazee told her he went to Kelsey's house to pick up Kaylee before running errands. He told Luce he also gave Kelsey her gun back, as he had taken it away from her when she threatened suicide. Luce said he told her that Kelsey agreed to sell the gun. He wasn't getting a good enough price and just gave it back.
Luce said Frazee talked about a couple scenarios of what might have happened to Kelsey. He told Luce she had a lot of pilot friends so maybe she flew away. He says she maybe got mixed up with the wrong crowd in Pueblo. Luce asked about the ping in Idaho. She says he didn’t answer. Luce told him, admitting she’s guessing, that maybe Kelsey tried going home and committed suicide. Luce says maybe she’s coming back. “Oh, she’s never coming back,” Frazee said, per Luce. Luce didn’t tell this story initially but guarantees PF said that. She said she didn’t bring that forward until a couple weeks ago to the DA’s office because she didn’t want to get involved. When she got subpoenaed, that’s when she felt the need to bring it all forward.
Luce recalls some time between Aug-Oct 2018, when Frazee told her he wanted to raise his daughter with someone else. Luce asked him if he was getting any support. She says Frazee said he wanted Kelsey to help with medical expenses (not referring to her by name). Later, she says Frazee said, "I wanted her to help with medical expenses before. Now I just want her gone.”
State calls arson investigator
The state called an arson expert - Investigations Chief for Adams County Fire Rescue, Jerry Means. When shown a photo of the burn area on the Frazee Ranch, Means points out a black, melted down material in the soil. He says that based on his training, it's fairly obvious there was a black, plastic material melted down into the gravel there. When asked, means says he remembers seeing the identical totes on the property. He also says it's consistent with what he saw in the burn. Means didn’t describe the area wet like there had been fire suppression or water. Instead, he said the area looking wet (moving downhill) was oily.
Means says it’s very common for the body to somewhat liquefy with a fire like that. He says bones and teeth take longer.
Investigators conducted a more thorough search after hearing from Kenney
In the days after Berreth was first reported missing investigators did search her townhome but found no evidence of a crime. After her family found a bloodspot on a toilet and Krystal Kenney described what happened, a more thorough search was conducted in which they found tiny amounts of blood evidence and evidence of a clean up effort. When the floorboards were torn up there were signs of a dried reddish brown substance that tested positive for blood.
The prosecution presented these floorboards as evidence to show a blood stain pattern.
Frazee's friend discusses alibi obtaining trip
Robert Slagle, Patrick Frazee's “very, very good friend”, was called to the stand by the prosecution to discuss why he was seen on surveillance video at Berreth's townhome and about time spent driving around with Frazee after her disappearance. Slagle says Frazee asked him to pick up the item from her doorstep after the police department let him know there was a deliver. As for the drives, Slagle says they went around setting up an alibi by stopping at an Ent Credit Union, drove by Safeway and a gas station. According to Slagle, Frazee said he went to these places on the day Berreth was last seen. Under cross examination by the defense, he says Frazee never said anything about a hit man or “no body no crime."
Twin Falls, Idaho detective discusses searches at Krystal Kenney's home
Twin Falls Police Officer Josh Hayes was called to testify by the prosecution about his work cooperating with the FBI during the investigation into the disappearance of Kelsey Berreth. Hayes says he was there when swabs for evidence were taken from Kenney, took part in the download of her phone data, and took part in searches at her family property.
The detective says he was specifically instructed to look for evidence of a burn pile containing a purse, documents, cell phone, and even a baseball bat. Kenney has testified she destroyed items in a fire on her property based on Frazee's instructions. The search team did find evidence of a burned phone and documents in two areas on the property. Kenney's husband, Chad Lee, consented to the searches and told investigators the items were found in areas where they do not normally burn trash.
FBI agent talks about gun belonging to Berreth
Special Agent Rodney Draper, who worked out of the Boise office, said he was called to help law enforcement conduct the investigation around Dec. 15 or Dec. 16. He said he conducted interviews as part of the case and helped searched Kenney's home and phone.
Draper also said during his testimony that he interviewed Chad Lee, Kenney's husband, and that he told him she got a new phone that was a few weeks old. That phone was collected on Dec. 19.
When asked about Dec 21, Draper said he learned a gun was provided to Mark Pearson. The two met in a parking lot in Boise, so Draper could collect the gun. He said from there it was transfered to the Denver office and tested to determine the owner.
During Frazee's preliminary hearing in February 2019, CBI Agent Greg Slater said an ATF analysis revealed it belonged to Berreth.
Kenney's friend testifies about lending her car on Thankgiving 2018
Megan Garrison, Kenney's friend from Idaho, said she got to know Kenney through their ex-husbands who worked together.
Garrison told the court Tuesday that she and Kenney became close friends over time and that it was not abnormal to borrow each other's cars. She said Kenney would sometimes borrow her Volkswagen Passat because it was more fuel efficient.
Garrison said Kenney told her she had horses and a dog with a Colorado man, but she did not mention Frazee by his name until the night before her wedding.
Kenney's friend testified that Kenney did not mention her relationship with Frazee in 2018 and that she told Garrison her trips to Colorado were just to check on their horses.
The two swapped vehicles on Thanksgiving night at a Walmart because Garrison needed to borrow Kenney's truck to move. She said Kenney was supportive of it and that they gave the vehicles back over the weekend, but she did not remember if it was on Nov. 24 or Nov. 25.
It was about mid-December when Garrison said Kenney let her know that the FBI would be reaching out and wanted to search the Passat. Garrison said she was contacted and she gave them swabs.
The defense pointed out that Kenney texted Garrison that she was staying at Garrison's home that night as an alibi if Chad Lee, Kenney's husband, was looking for her. The defense also asked about a loaded gun Garrison kept under the driver seat to which Garrison responded that she keeps it for protection.
When asked by the prosecution, Garrison says there was no indication that the gun had been used.
Kenney's coworkers said she didn't act like herself on Dec. 26
Prosecutors called Delynn Bird, a former coworker of Kenney's from St. Luke's Magic Valley Hospital, said she was alerted by a charge nurse on Dec. 26 that Kenney was linked to Kelsey Berreth's disappearance and that she went to Colorado to be interviewed.
Bird said she saw Kenney that night and that she seemed quiet, flat and resigned. Kenney told Bird that the press might ask around at work about Berreth's case and that she did what she had to do to keep herself safe, according to Bird.
Kenney's coworker said she asked Kenney if she had the phone after reading some of the media coverage. Bird said Kenney just shrugged at that statement.
Bird said Kenney switched shifts with another nurse at the hospital named Allison Wright on Nov. 24. Wright was called to the stand Tuesday morning after Bird and said Kenney told her she needed to do something in Colorado but didn't say what.
Wright told prosecutors that she also saw Kenney on Dec. 26 and said she did not look good, like something was wrong when she got into work. She said Kenney was normally happy and talkative, but that day she was sad and quiet.
Kenney told her she got into a bad situation when she asked her if she was all right, according to Wright.
Then Kenney asked Wright if she heard about the missing Colorado mother. When Wright tells Kenney she has heard of the missing mom, she said Kenney told her she got herself mixed up in that.
Wright said Kenney did not explain how she got involved, but Kenney said she did what she had to do to keep herself and her kids safe. Kenney also told Wright how she was scared for her safety, Wright said.
Background:
Patrick Frazee is accused of first-degree murder for the death of his fiancee, Kelsey Berreth, despite investigators never recovering her body since she was last seen alive on surveillance video inside the Woodland Park Safeway on Thanskgiving 2018.
Woodland Park Police have not found Berreth's remains. Berreth, 29, is presumed dead after prosecutors said Frazee, 33, her fiancé, beat her to death on Thanksgiving 2018. In December of last year, Patrick Frazee was arrested and charged with first-degree murder and solicitation to commit first-degree murder.
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.
We will be updating this timeline with information from each testimony as the trial continues.
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Money problems:
The court heard from a handful of police officers, special agents and Frazee's brother, who described Thanksgiving Day at the family ranch Tuesday, Nov. 5.
Sean Frazee, the defendant's brother, testified that he and his siblings are still in a legal battle for their late father's assets with an estimated value of $400,000.
Combine that with documents seized from the Frazee Ranch showing Patrick essentially defaulted on a $70,000 loan, and other papers showing a possible custody arrangement, a picture emerges of money problems.
For more on his testimony and the other testimonies from Tuesday, Nov. 5, click here .
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Along with Kenney's testimony Wednesday, Nov. 6, the court heard from a FBI Special Agent who went over the phone records of Berreth's, Kenney's and Frazee's cell phones.
Click here to read the testimonies, include Kenney's, from Nov. 6.
Monday, Nov. 4, was filled with testimonies from Berreth's mother, brother, supervisor and among others.
Berreth's brother, Clint, explained how he found the blood on the underside of the toilet in her home. This turned the investigation from missing person to homicide. You can read more on his testimony and the rest of the testimonies from Monday, Nov. 4, here .
Based on opening statements, prosecutors plan to describe 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 that their child would be safer with him.
On 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.
Click here to read opening statements made by prosecutors and the defense.
The entire case is expected to wrap up before Thanksgiving week.
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.
