Twin Falls nurse admits to moving cell phone of Colorado woman allegedly killed by fiancé
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CRIPPLE CREEK, Colorado — A nurse pleaded guilty Friday to an evidence tampering count related to the case against Patrick Frazee, who is accused of killing his fiancée in Colorado.
Krystal Lee Kenney admitted before Judge Scott Sells in Teller County, Colorado, that she disposed of the phone of Kelsey Berreth, a 29-year-old mom who vanished on Thanksgiving near Woodland Park, a town between Denver and Colorado Springs.
Berreth’s body has not been found, but authorities do not believe she is alive. They have not determined a motive.
“I learned Patrick Frazee had committed a homicide on approximately November 22, 2018, in Teller County,” Kenney said in a statement read in court. “I knew that law enforcement would be investigating that crime. I moved the victim’s cell phone with the intent to impair the phone’s ability in the investigation. I have no right or authority to move the victim’s cell phone, that occurred between Nov. 24 and Nov. 25.”
Kenney pleaded guilty to one felony count of tampering with evidence and agreed to testify against Frazee. Frazee was charged in Teller County with two counts of first-degree murder and three counts of solicitation to commit murder in the first degree, according to District Attorney Dan May.
Berreth’s cell phone was pinged near Gooding on Nov.25 at 5:13 p.m. Gooding is around 800 miles from Woodland Park Colorado and 40 miles from Lee’s home in Hansen, a small community near Twin Falls.
Berreth worked as a flight instructor at Doss Aviation, in Pueblo, Colorado. Employees told police they got a text message from her on Nov. 25 saying she would not be in to work for the next week.
Authorities will not say how Kenney and Frazee know each other but sources told KKTV in Twin Falls that the two had known each other for at least 14 years.
Frazee’s charges reflect prosecutors’ dual theories in the case. One is that Frazee acted alone to kill Berreth; the other says he alone or with other people killed her during a robbery.
A judge decided Thursday that the 1-year-daughter of Berreth and Frazee will continue to live with her missing mother’s parents for now, according to Rob McCallum, spokesman with the Colorado Judicial Branch.
The girl, Kaylee, technically remains in the legal custody of the Teller County Department of Human Services, though Berreth’s parents have had custody of the girl since December.
Kenney will appear again at the Teller County Courthouse on June 24 at 11 a.m. She was not taken into custody and will be sentenced once she has testified against Frazee. As a condition of her plea agreement, she will not be allowed to talk to the media.
Felony tampering with evidence is a class six felony in Colorado with a maximum sentence of 18 months in prison and a fine of $100,000.
Details of the case are still sealed but more information is expected to be released after Frazee’s preliminary hearing on Feb. 19.