GUILTY Kelsey Berreth, 29, Woodland Park, Teller County, 22 Nov 2018 - *Arrest* #67

[TrialLurking]

Josh Whitston on Twitter
Day 11 of the #PatrickFrazee murder trial. Waiting for court to start. Expecting closing arguments this morning and then it goes to the jury. @DenverChannel

6:58 AM - 18 Nov 2019

Lauren Scharf on Twitter
Beautiful view from Cripple Creek, CO. @danielaleontv and I are back in Teller County to cover the murder trial against Patrick #Frazee Closing arguments are set for this morning. Head to @FOX21News for the latest info.
: @KelseySouto

7:08 AM - 18 Nov 2019

Very beautiful place. It's hard to believe that such evil dwelled amongst such beauty.

 

[TrialLurking]

I predict that we will have a guilty of 1st degree murder verdict by late afternoon.

Justice for Kelsey!

I agree with you. The evidence is overwhelming.

 

[scdiv]

NOV 18, 2019
Facts from the Patrick Frazee trial; Closing arguments set for Monday
[...]

• A jail inmate, Jacob Bentley, said Frazee asked him to kill Lee. Bentley also testified that Frazee wanted him to kill lead investigator Gregg Slater, Lee’s relatives and others. Slater said notes provided by Bentley appeared to be in Frazee’s handwriting. Frazee’s lawyer questioned Bentley’s credibility. He said Bentley was expected to testify in another case in which a defendant also asked him to kill a witness.

[...]

He's certainly the go-to guy!

 

[Insomnia Momma]

I’m here! I can’t settle to anything this morning, anxiously awaiting updates! It’s already 10:30 EST here, it’s going to be a long day!

Justice for Kelsey!!!

 

[GordianKnot]

The fact that we can't at least listen to audio of the closing arguments is infuriating.

JMO.

 

[TrialLurking]

The fact that we can't at least listen to audio of the closing arguments is infuriating.

JMO.

Agree. Audio would be nice. Still don't understand the strict rules?

 

[Noharg]

It's so ridiculous. I mean, just look at that scene.

It looked like the Presidential motorcade was pulling up to the courthouse.

Pylons everywhere, roadways blocked off to the public....

At this point, the only thing missing is the bulletproof Pope-mobile.

JMO.

“What looks like #PatrickFrazee...” -from Josh Whitson’s Tweet I won’t touch that.
“Pope-mobile” you are so funny. Love it!

 

[Yellow Rose]

The fact that we can't at least listen to audio of the closing arguments is infuriating.

JMO.

Right? How are we supposed to decide our verdicts?

 

[PommyMommy]

Jakob Rodgers and Lance Benzel are usually the quickest with courtroom updates. I have visions of them roller skating across the street to tweet!

I think you may be on to something! Heely's maybe? MOO

 

[NoSI]

Day 11 of the Trial.

Roll Call!

Who's Here for Kelsey?

Here and ready for a 1st degree murder conviction ... "I hear the train comin' it's rolling round the bed" (can't get that song out of my head this morning)...

 

[dixiegirl1035]

Ooooooh I wonder who that defendant could be in the other case. That he going to testify for. Bet there's a connection. Ring Ring. Going on an Elk Hunt.
MOO

I wonder WHEN they notified everyone on the list that they were on the list. If indeed they thought credible, I would think that notification was mandatory? I would have hated that the first these folks had heard of such was when media reported it.

 

[1mtroyal]

I agree with you. The evidence is overwhelming.

My only concern is that there is so much evidence that it may take the jury over a day to just read thru it. I suppose the judge will give an hour's notice for those concerned to get back to the courthouse and the public will be notified a verdict is reached.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

NOV 18, 2019
Facts from the Patrick Frazee trial; Closing arguments set for Monday
[...]

Here are the facts from the murder trial:

• Frazee was described as a cold, calculating manipulator during opening arguments
• Prosecutor Jennifer Viehman told jurors Frazee asked Krystal Lee at least three times to kill Berreth
  • Lee is a former Idaho nurse who pleaded guilty to evidence tampering for moving Berreth’s cellphone. Lee, who was in a relationship with Frazee, agreed to testify against him under a plea deal.
• Frazee could be heard on a police officer’s body camera when he was asked if he had seen Berreth.
  • “We basically had a heart-to-heart and wanted to go separate ways,” Frazee is heard saying. “She request I give her all her possessions.”
• Clinton Berreth testified that when he came to Woodland Park to help search for his sister, he grew more worried when “I looked down and noticed blood on the toilet bowl … and we called the police.”
• During the trial, Lee said she grabbed several blood-spattered items from Berreth’s home to be burned, including a stuffed animal, children’s building blocks and what she thought was a Bible. She also testified that Frazee and Berreth’s baby daughter was in the home when the blindfolded mother was bludgeoned to death with a baseball bat.
• Lee also said Frazee put Berreth’s body in a dry water trough and lit it on fire. At one point she said flames were as high as the nearby trees, so Frazee covered the blaze with what appeared to be metal roofing.
• Jurors were shown a photo of what is believed to be a tooth belonging to Berreth. Federal Bureau of Investigation special agent Charles DeFrance testified the tooth shown in the photo was found in a burned area of land on a ranch belonging to Frazee.
• Jurors were also shown video of a bloodhound named “Radar” who found evidence of a decomposing body at Frazee’s property.
• A friend of Frazee’s said Frazee wanted to kill Berreth before. He said Frazee repeatedly said, “no body, no crime.”
• One witness told the jury that Frazee said Berreth, “is never coming back.”
• A horse owner testified that Frazee said he just wanted Berreth “gone” so he could raise their daughter with someone else.
• Another witness said Frazee would never say anything kind about Berreth and claimed she was not a good mother.
• A coworker of Lee testified that Lee said, “I did what I had to… to get out alive and keep my kids safe.”
• Another coworker told the court that Lee said she had gotten herself into a bad situation.
• A Colorado Bureau of Investigation agent testified, saying she found a number of suspected blood stains in Berreth’s condo even though it had been cleaned.
• Jurors also heard from some of Berreth’s coworkers who say they were concerned about her before her disappearance. “She had gotten into a confrontation with Patrick… he was acting like a (expletive),” said one friend.
• A forensic anthropologist talked about a tooth found on Frazee’s property. An image of the tooth was displayed to the jury on a large screen. “This tooth has been broken. This is not a whole tooth. I think it’s human,” the anthropologist said.
• Another investigator later said the fragment did not provide enough DNA to determine its source. Investigators have theorized Frazee burned Berreth’s body and the tooth was left behind.
• A social services worker with Teller County told the court she knew there were serious issues brewing between Frazee and Berreth.
• The child and family services administrator — who was assigned to handle custody issues for the couple’s daughter after Frazee was charged with murder — said Frazee talked to her about how they agreed to separate.
• The social worker also said Frazee spoke with her about his co-parenting plan with Berreth and how they planned to share custody.
• Colorado Bureau of Investigation Agent Greg Slater said in the days before Thanksgiving, Berreth was expressing frustration.
• Slater gave a detailed account of text messages between Berreth and Frazee. Slater said Berreth seemed to be upset about the promise Frazee had made to her about establishing a life together.
• A Federal Bureau of Investigation agent told jurors phones belonging to both Berreth and Frazee were traveling together near Florissant even after she disappeared. He showed the court how he tracked a phone belonging to Lee to Teller County the day after Thanksgiving. Not long afterward, Berreth’s phone went off the grid in Idaho, Lee’s home state.
• A jail inmate, Jacob Bentley, said Frazee asked him to kill Lee. Bentley also testified that Frazee wanted him to kill lead investigator Gregg Slater, Lee’s relatives and others. Slater said notes provided by Bentley appeared to be in Frazee’s handwriting. Frazee’s lawyer questioned Bentley’s credibility. He said Bentley was expected to testify in another case in which a defendant also asked him to kill a witness.

[...]

Great summary, pommy. Much appreciated.

 

[kkdj]

He's certainly the go-to guy!

Does he offer, gets bailed out, then snitches for plea bargains? It's odd that this isn't the first time for this JD.

 

[dixiegirl1035]

Agree. Audio would be nice. Still don't understand the strict rules?

The judge perhaps decided that this was better than jury sequestration in such a high profile case. I'll take media blackout in court vs. sequestration (a la Pinellas case) any day of the week.

 

[dkryder]

Agree. Audio would be nice. Still don't understand the strict rules?

i did not either at first but the deal with the gangs killing people made me think that if even audio was cast there could be some possible problems with something happening due to that testimony. it was the first time a trial that i've experienced could have real-time consequences to innocent witnesses.

 

[MsBetsy]

Ooooooh I wonder who that defendant could be in the other case. That he going to testify for. Bet there's a connection. Ring Ring. Going on an Elk Hunt.
MOO

What other case is there that could be connected?
I wonder what it is about this guy that makes people ask him to be a hitman.

 

[kkdj]

Can the jurors give interviews after the verdict is read? Like, tonight?

 

[Yellow Rose]

Gotta give it to the judge....he is running a very tight ship.

 

[Medstudies]

Am I alone in thinking he will be convicted on all three counts? I mean, I know the feels about KK...

• First degree-murder
• Solicitation to commit first-degree murder
• Tampering with a deceased human body