Key witness in the case of missing Colorado mom gives details of her murder in court

On Tuesday, a key witness alleged that Patrick Frazee murdered his fiancee by hitting her with a baseball bat and burning her body.

Frazee, 32, attended a court hearing where he is accused of murdering Kelsey Berreth, 29. Berreth was last seen on a surveillance camera at the entrance of her townhome on November 22.

As they sat in a court in Cripple Creek, Colorado, nurse Krystal Lee Kenney's account of what happened was made known. Kenney had pleaded guilty to tampering with evidence in connection with Berreth's murder.

According to the Coloradoan, after reaching a plea, the details of Kenney's interviews were shared on Tuesday. She and Frazee reconnected via telephone in 2017 and then started having an official relationship in March 2018.

At one point, Frazee told Kenney that his fiancee was a horrible mother who abused their young daughter. This, Kenney said, made her start to worry about the girl.

Three times afterward, Frazee tried to compel Kenney to kill Berreth. He asked her to poison his fiancee. Then he asked her to hit Berreth with a pipe. The last time, Kenney took a baseball bat and went to assault Berreth.

She did not follow through any of those times. Kenney then allegedly said that Frazee decided he would get it done himself. November 22, Thanksgiving Day, was the last day Berreth was seen.

That day, Kenney said that Frazee called her and said he had "a mess to clean up." The nurse told the court she wanted to "please" Frazee and so she went along for a while.

She said that Frazee tied a sweater over Berreth's eyes and played a game with her. He had her guess candle scents. Then, he used a baseball bat to beat his wife to death. Soon after, he told Kenney she had "a mess to clean up."

He then allegedly placed the body in a black tote bag behind his truck and proceeded to attend a family Thanksgiving dinner. Kenney was asked to help hide the body by taking it to Idaho with her.

She refused to do it although she did arrive in Colorado on November 23 with gloves, a hairnet, trash bags, and bleach. Kenney asserted that she "was hoping law enforcement would find [bloody items] sooner and that she would be contacted sooner."

Kenney was referring to some cookie cutters, curtains, pillows, a stuffed animal, and a Bible that was soiled by blood. She says she left blood splatters in some areas for the police to find.

Afterward, she spent almost four hours cleaning before joining Frazee at the Nash Ranch in Fremont County where the body was burned. When Kenney drove home, she made sure to use Berreth's phone in an effort to draw investigators to her.

Frazee also had her use the phone to send a text to himself saying "Do you love me anymore?" and another to his fiancee's employer that stated she would no longer be going to work. Kenney then burned the phone.

When Frazee later spoke to police about his supposed missing wife, he said she "wanted some space and time to figure this out." He tried to convince officers that she was in Pueblo at work and living in Woodland Park.

Kenney said she feared for her and her family's safety if she didn't help him. Berreth's parents suggest that Frazee committed the act in order to get full custody of their one-year-old daughter.

Police have found many blood samples in the home. They also determined that Berreth and Frazee's phones were moving together on the day of her disappearance.

Frazee will remain in jail without bond until his arraignment which is set for April 8 at 8:30 am at the Cripple Creek court.

A similar story of a man who killed his wife dates back to 2011. Harry Jarvis, 61, also allegedly tried to get help from his lover when he murdered Carol Jarvis. Harry did not tell the woman his wife was dead, he said.

His lover, Rita Heyster, was told that the wife was going for respite care. Harry had Heyster go on a false errand. All the while, Jarvis was hiding his wife's body in a cellar.

Earlier this month, another death of a wife is alleged to be at the hands of husband Matthew Lynn Jansen. He confessed he had shot her, seemingly shocked at what he had done.

The two were in the final stages of their divorce when the incident happened. Jansen reportedly told police at one point: "I guess I don't have to worry about a divorce now."