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Colorado man tried to have wife killed 3 times, investigator says

CRIPPLE CREEK, Colo. — A Colorado man charged with killing his fiancee allegedly tried to have her killed three times before he beat her to death, according to court testimony.

This and other details surrounding the disappearance and presumed death of 29-year-old Kelsey Berreth were revealed in a Tuesday preliminary hearing for 32-year-old Patrick Frazee. Frazee was arrested in December on murder charges and is being held without bond.

At the conclusion of the hearing, Teller County Judge Scott Sells ruled there is enough evidence for Frazee to stand trial for murder and other charges, CBS News reported.

Krystal Lee Kenney, 32, of Idaho, told investigators that she began a romantic relationship with Frazee at the beginning of 2018, Colorado Bureau of Investigation Agent Gregg Slater testified Tuesday. Kenney said Frazee asked her to kill Berreth on three separate occasions.

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In the first instance, Frazee allegedly told Kenney to give Berreth one of her favorite drinks -- a caramel macchiato -- with poison in it, Slater said. Kenney told police she went to Berreth and Frazee’s townhouse, said she was a new neighbor and gave her the drink, but didn’t put poison in it.

For the second attempt, Kenney said she was supposed to beat Berreth outside her home with a metal pipe, CNN reported. Kenney said she waited for Berreth, but couldn't follow through with the act.

In the third alleged attempt, Kenney said she was supposed to beat Berreth with a baseball bat. Again, she said she couldn’t do it.

Frazee allegedly took matters into his own hands on Thanksgiving Day and beat Berreth to death with a bat in the couple’s home, Kenney told police. Frazee then allegedly moved the body to a farm, where he burned it, and went on to eat Thanksgiving dinner, Slater testified.

"You don't know how hard it is to have Thanksgiving dinner after killing her," Kenney told police Frazee told her, according to Slater.

Kenney told police that on Nov. 22, Frazee called her and asked for help cleaning the scene where he killed Berreth. Kenney said she drove overnight to Colorado and brought cleaning supplies with her. She then allegedly helped Frazee clean the home, which she described as “horrific.”

Kenney told police that Frazee told her Berreth was abusive to the couple’s 1-year-old daughter and that feared she would hurt the child. The CBI has found no evidence of such abuse, CBS News reported.

Frazee told police he last saw Berreth on Nov. 22 when he picked up their daughter, making him the last known person to see her alive. Her body hasn’t been found.