Search warrants reveal new details in Kelsey Berreth case
Published at | Updated at
GOODING — Unsealed search warrants in the homicide investigation of Kelsey Berreth give new details about what police say happened before and after her disappearance.
The Colorado mother was last seen in grocery store surveillance video with her one-year-old daughter on Nov. 22. Her cell phone was pinged near Gooding on Nov. 25, shortly after 5 p.m. Berreth’s fiancé, Patrick Frazee, is accused of killing her.
Before Berreth disappeared
One of the court documents describes an interview between a Colorado Bureau of Investigations agent and Frazee after he was arrested.
According to the agent, Frazee said that when he and Berreth’s child was born early, she required extra medical care and could not immediately spend time with the parents.
This made Frazee irate and he became verbally abusive to hospital staff, according to the documents. This led to social services being called, and the child was removed from Frazee’s care until a safety evaluation could be performed to determine whether Frazee was physically abusing Berreth.
The CBI agent said that Frazee later stated that he should have “killed” the nurse that reported him.
The search warrants reveal that on the day Berreth disappeared, she left a Safeway grocery store in a red Chevrolet Silverado. A red Toyota Tacoma matching Frazee’s vehicle is seen on surveillance video turning north onto Fairview Street in Woodland Park. A minute later, Kelsey Berreth’s vehicle is seen turning north onto the same street.
Fairview Street intersects with Lake Avenue, the road of the townhome where Kelsey Berreth lived.
A few minutes later, the same red Toyota Tacoma is seen on the same surveillance camera heading toward the Ent Credit Union. Frazee made four transactions at the ATM, according to the warrants, and then went to Walmart in Woodland Park. He left the store after making a purchase around 1:13 p.m. Documents do not specify what he purchased at the store.
Ten minutes later, the camera on the home of one of Berreth’s neighbors captured a man. matching the description of Frazee, entering the front door of his fiancé’s townhome. The red Toyota Tacoma was seen on the surveillance camera near Fairview Street around the same time. Investigators note it appeared there was some kind of crate in the back of the truck.
At around 3:36 p.m., the man thought to be Frazee is seen again on the same camera at Berreth’s house.
“It is noted that around this time, Frazee’s phone records indicated that he called his mother and Krystal Lee,” according to a warrant.
The following days
On Dec. 6, the manager of the Ent Credit Union in Woodland Park told investigators Frazee and an unidentified man went to the credit union and requested a timeline of transactions from Nov. 22. According to the manager, there was no account history after the Walmart purchase until Nov. 26 at a Conoco gas station.
The manager noted the unknown man said, “Well, you might as well let her know it is about the missing person.” She said as the pair was leaving the credit union, the man said, “Forget us about being here,” according to a search warrant.
The manager of the credit union said the unidentified man was tall and with a medium to heavy build. She described him as having grey hair and possibly facial hair.
According to documents, a UPS driver was seen dropping off a package at Kelsey Berreth’s home on a neighbor’s surveillance camera on Dec. 1. Two days later, an elderly man with white hair and white facial hair was seen picking up the package. The man was later identified as a friend of Frazee who approached detectives at the end of a news conference on Dec. 10.
He told detectives Frazee needed a ride from Woodland Park to his home in Florissant, Colorado. He said to investigators he was Frazee’s “best friend,” and “father figure,” knowing Frazee for decades. He also told investigators Frazee directed him to drive to Lake Avenue.
“Upon arriving, (the friend) further reported he instructed Patrick to remain in the vehicle while he (the friend) went to the front door and retrieved the package,” according to documents.
The friend told the detectives he wanted Frazee to stay in the vehicle so he would not be seen on the neighbor’s surveillance cameras. He said to investigators Frazee was not involved in the disappearance of Berreth but law enforcement should look into a Southwest Airlines pilot who Berreth formally dated.
Documents show for Berreth’s and Frazee’s phones were likely in the same general area for two days after investigators believe she was killed.
Frazee’s Idaho relationship
On Nov. 22, a phone call was made to a phone number belonging to Krystal Lee Kenney. Kenney and Frazee have been friends for over 12 years and they are suspected of having a sexual relationship.
Kenney told investigators that Frazee had called her and instructed her to come to Colorado, telling her “she had a mess to clean up,” according to documents.
Kenney drove to Colorado with bleach, gloves and other protective equipment to clean up the mess in Berreth’s home. She details what appeared to be a gruesome killing and told investigators she spent hours cleaning up the mess. She then says she witnessed Frazee burn what she believed was a baseball bat, along with the body of Kelsey Berreth, contained in a black plastic tote.
She said Frazee asked her to take the remains back to Idaho but she refused. She said that Frazee then gave her a gun and Berreth’s cell phone, which she ultimately drove back to Idaho on Nov. 24 and Nov. 25.
A cell phone that Kenney had at the time was tracked near Berreth’s phone during the trip back to Idaho after investigators reviewed phone records.
The evidence documented in the search warrants includes text messages between cellphones belonging to Frazee and Berreth. The texts were sent the evening of Nov. 23 but authorities believe Berreth was killed the afternoon of Nov. 22, according to an arrest affidavit.
“Actually do you mind keeping [redacted] tonight? Sorry I’m really tired and stressed out. Call me in the morning when you guys wake up,” one text from Berreth’s phone to Frazee’s reads.
“Sure I don’t mind. What’s going on? Are you OK? Do you need anything or can I do anything?” Frazee responded.
“No I’m fine, just worn out. Talk to you guys tomorrow,” the next text from Berreth’s phone said.
“OK if you do please let me know,” Frazee replied.
When Kenney arrived in Idaho on Nov. 25, a text message was sent from Berreth’s cellphone at 5:14 p.m. near Malad Gorge State Park. It is the last recorded location of Berreth’s phone, according to warrants.
At 5:21 p.m., a call from Frazee’s phone was made to Berreth but was not successful. At the time of the call, Frazee’s phone was in Colorado. Seven minutes later, Frazee received a phone call from an Idaho number traced back to a woman whom EastIdahoNews.com is not identifying because she has not been charged. The phone call was only 47 seconds and came from a house only 10 miles from the Malad Gorge State Park. Documents say Frazee was in “frequent” contact with the number.
Details of the woman’s relationship with Frazee are not mentioned in documents.
On Feb. 8, Kenney pleaded guilty to one felony count of tampering with evidence and agreed to testify against Frazee.
The body of Berreth has not been found. Investigators have been searching since last week at a Landfill in Fountain Colorado for her remains. Frazee is expected to be arraigned on April 5 at the Teller County Courthouse in Colorado.