Officials probing the disappearance, suspected death of Kelsey Berreth set to search landfill for her remains
Officials searching for remains of Colorado mother Kelsey Berreth, who was allegedly killed by her fiance Patrick Frazee, receive tip that her body was burned and may have ended up in a landfill.
Colorado police announced Wednesday that they are discontinuing an almost two-month-long landfill search for the remains of Kelsey Berreth, who police say was killed by her fiancé, Patrick Frazee.
The Woodland Park Police Department began its search on February 25, excavating a deep plot at Midway Landfill in the city of Fountain. Police failed to find any bones, teeth or other DNA remains of the former mom and flight instructor. Colorado Bureau of Investigations contacted Waste Management as early as January about a possible search, ABC 7 Denver reported.
LANDFILL SEARCHED WHERE MISSING COLORADO MOM KELSEY BERRETH’S REMAINS ARE BELIEVED TO BE LOCATED
Frazee, 32, is charged for the murder of the 29-year-old mother of his child. During a February 19 preliminary hearing, prosecutors alleged that Frazee beat Berreth to death with a baseball bat at her home, set her body on fire at the property and then used a tote to dispose of her remains at either the landfill or a nearby river, ABC 7 Denver reported.
Frazee’s girlfriend, Krystal Lee Kenney, admitted to witnessing Frazee set Berreth’s body ablaze, investigators testified. Kenney told police that Frazee repeatedly asked her to murder Berreth and later demanded she come to Colorado to help him clean up blood at Berreth’s home. The former Idaho nurse also recalled Frazee talking about disposing of Berreth’s charred remains at either a dump of a landfill, investigators said.
Berreth was last seen alive on Thanksgiving Day. Security camera footage showed her shopping at a Safeway supermarket with her 1-year-old daughter, Kaylee. Police began to search for Berreth on December 2 when her mother reported her missing. Police launched a wider investigation after Berreth’s phone pinged in Gooding, Idaho days after her disappearance.
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Berreth’s parents also filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Frazee, alleging he murdered their daughter as part of a custody battle. Frazee faces two counts of murder and three counts of solicitation to commit murder, as well as tampering with a deceased body and two crime of violence sentence enhancers, ABC 7 Denver reported. He will be arraigned in Teller County court on May 24, and no trial date has been set.
Fox News’ Katherine Lam and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
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