Prosecutors worked Tuesday to establish a timeline for Thanksgiving Day 2018, the day they say rancher Patrick Frazee bludgeoned to death his fiancee Kelsey Berreth and burned her body on his Colorado ranch, the Denver Post reported.
Although Berreth’s body has not been found, Frazee has been charged with her murder.
Law enforcement and Frazee’s brother provided most of the testimony on Wednesday as they went through a series of images from a surveillance camera at Berreth’s neighbor’s home and Frazee’s late arrival to Thanksgiving dinner at his mother’s home.
Chad Meninger, the expert who compiled the photos from the surveillance camera, said they captured Frazee at Berreth’s door 11 times on November 22 — photos that included a shot from 1:23 p.m. that showed Berreth, Frazee, and their daughter Kaylee. That was the last known image of Berreth before her disappearance. Frazee returns to the condo at about 4:20 p.m., when he appears to be pictured with Kaylee in his arms. The surveillance camera, which is motion activated, captured its final images between 4:24 p.m. and 4:32 p.m., with the doo ropen and nobody around, then closed in three pictures.
Surveillance footage from business cameras captured Frazee between 1:30 and 4:20 as he ran errands as well as Berreth as she visited a Safeway and returned to her home just minutes before Frazee returned. He had previously told investigators that he arrived to pick up Kaylee earlier in the day but Berreth wasn’t home, so he ran errands and returned later. Prosecutors also discussed a black tote seen in the back of Frazee’s truck that they believe he used to transport Berreth’s body after he killed her at her home.
Sean Frazee, a Colorado Springs police officer, testified that his brother arrived late, with Kaylee, for Thanksgiving dinner, at about 5 p.m. after he, his family, and his mother had already eaten. Sean said that Patrick made plates for him and his daughter and then went out to do chores with Sean, 9 News reported. Sean and his family left at about 7:30 p.m. He testified that he wasn’t close with his brother and didn’t know Berreth well and that Patrick told him she was missing on December 3, a day after Berreth’s mother said she was coming from Washington state to look for her.
Another piece of information foreshadows upcoming testimony from Krystal Kenney, an Idaho nurse who with a longstanding relationship with Frazee. Prosecutors say Kenney told them Frazee tried three times to get her to kill Berreth and that she ultimately helped him burn Berreth’s body, cleaned up Berreth’s apartment, and drove Berreth’s phone into Idaho to dispose of it. On Wednesday, an investigator testified she’d learned the last time Berreth’s cell phone was turned on was November 25, when it pinged a tower in Gooding, Idaho, the Denver Channel reported.
Kenney pleaded guilty to tampering with evidence and is expected to testify later in the trial.
For the latest true crime and justice news, subscribe to the ‘Crime Stories with Nancy Grace’ podcast.
