FEB 20, 2019
Kelsey Berreth murder case: Patrick Frazee, nurse's affair fueled conspiracy
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After Lee refused to kill Berreth, Frazee allegeedly took matters into his own hands.
On Thanksgiving Day while at Berreth’s house, Frazee tied a sweater around her eyes as a blindfold and asked her to guess the scents of candles, the affidavit said.
“While she was blindfolded and distracted, he hit her with the bat, causing her death,” the affidavit said.
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Lee told investigators that Frazee called her later that day and told her she “had a mess to clean up,” referring to Berreth’s townhome after he had killed her. She drove in Garrison’s car all night on Nov. 23 and arrived at Frazee’s ranch the next day [ Nov. 24]. He had left a key for her next to the property’s front gate, Slater testified.
Lee used the key to enter Berreth’s townhome where she found blood on books, baby toys, oven mitts, stuffed animals and Berreth’s purse, the affidavit says. Blood coated the living room walls, the ceiling, wood floor, and furniture, Slater testified. Lee wore gloves, a hair net, booties and a white hazardous materials suit over her whole body when she cleaned the apartment over the span of four hours.
He asked Lee to search for a tooth because when he hit Berreth in the face with the bat several of her teeth flew out, the affidavit says. Lee told authorities she later found a tooth, root and all and threw it away.
Lee accompanied Frazee to the “Nash Ranch” about a half hour drive time from his ranch to retrieve a black tote bag containing Berreth’s body and the bat he allegedly used to kill his fiance, Slater testified.
Frazee asked Lee to take the body with her to Idaho but she refused, the affidavit said.
They returned to Frazee’s ranch. He put the tote into a 100-gallon metal trough, put wood in the trough, poured gasoline from a five-gallon container on the wood and tote and lit it on fire, the affidavit said.
“Lee never saw the body prior to it being burned, but Frazee said the body was in the black tote. At one point, the tote had melted, and there was a heap that Lee believed to be a human body still in the fire,” the affidavit said.
Frazee gave Lee a bag containing Berreth’s gun, the affidavit says.
“Frazee wanted Berreth’s firearm to appear to be missing in an attempt to lead investigators to believe that Berreth might have committed suicide. Frazee said that because she wouldn’t take the body, she had to take Berreth’s firearm with her and dispose of it,” the affidavit said.
Slater said that after Lee returned to Idaho, she gave the gun to a friend. Investigators retrieved the gun from the man and confirmed it had been purchased and owned by Berreth.
