Photo: Colorado Springs Police Department
She's testifying against Patrick Frazee.
By Sarah Gangraw — Written on Feb 22, 2019
An Idaho nurse is at the center of the investigation into the disappearance and murder of Colorado mother Kelsey Berreth.
Berreth, 29, went missing on Thanksgiving Day and was last seen on surveillance footage shopping at a local convenience store with her 1-year-old daughter. Her fiance and father of her child, Patrick Frazee, 32, was charged with her murder and solicitation to commit murder over a month after Berreth disappeared. His lover, Krystal Jean Lee Kenney, is now in the spotlight.
So who is Kelsey Berreth? Here's what we know about the Twin Falls nurse and her connection to Kelsey Berreth's murder.
1. She pleaded guilty to tampering with evidence.
Kenney pleaded guilty to hiding evidence earlier this month and agreed to testify against Frazee. She admitted that she disposed of Berreth's cellphone in Idaho two days after her disappearance.
“I knew Patrick Frazee committed a homicide on approximately Nov. 22, 2018, in Teller County," she said in court on Feb. 8. "I knew that law enforcement would be investigating that crime. I moved the victim’s cell phone with the intent to impair the phone’s availability in the investigation. I had no right or authority to move the victim’s cell phone. That occurred between Nov. 24 and Nov. 25, 2018, in Teller County.”
She is not in custody but could face up to three years in jail. She will not be sentenced until Frazee's case is complete.
2. She knew Frazee killed Berreth — and cleaned up her blood.
Kenney told investigators that Frazee covered Berreth's face with a sweater and beat her to death with a baseball bat on Thanksgiving Day while their 1-year-old daughter was in the room in her walker. Then, he called Kenney and asked her to help him clean up the mess, the Denver Post reported.
“You need to get out here now. You’ve got a mess to clean up," Kenney said Frazee told her over the phone on Nov. 22.
Kenney said she brought gloves, trash bags, bleach, and a protective body suit to the Colorado home that day to assist in covering up Berreth's murder. According to Kenney, Frazee burned Berreth's body on his ranch and disposed of the ashes in a river or at the dump.
Patrick Frazee, Kelsey Berreth, Facebook
3. She described the scene as "horrific."
When Kenney arrived at Berreth's Colorado home she found "blood everywhere." There were stains and splashes of blood on the walls, floors, furniture, and toys, and it took her four hours to clean up, Colorado Bureau of Investigation Agent Gregg Slater testified.
Authorities searched Berreth's home twice n December and did not find any evidence of blood or foul play. Berreth's parents later sent law enforcement photos of blood in the bathroom and on the floor in her home, prompting police to search again, according to Slater. CBI technicians searched the house thoroughly and found traces of blood — which was tested and proven to belong to Berreth's — all over the home and on the floors as well as evidence that areas were wiped down to rid surfaces of blood.
4. Frazee told her to drug Berreth's coffee.
Kenney claimed Frazee asked her to help him kill Berreth on three separate occasions but that she did not comply.
“We heard evidence that Patrick Frazee contacted Krystal Lee in Idaho on three separate occasions had her come to Colorado to murder Kelsey,” said prosecutor Jennifer Viehman.
According to Kenney, Frazee told her to drug Berreth's favorite coffee, a caramel macchiato. She said she bought the drink and had the drugs in her possession but she couldn't go through with it.
“Krystal tells investigators that she didn’t comply with any of those and that the last time she was here on Oct. 21 she sat and said ‘I can’t do this…’ and tells Patrick ‘I can’t do this,'” Viehman said.
Colorado Springs Police Department
5. She was scared of Frazee.
A close friend of Kenney told CBS that the nurse feared for her life.
"I will just tell you Krystal was very, very scared," Michelle Stein said. "Krystal's a very level-headed, kind, fun-loving, happy-go-lucky person. She's a tough cowgirl. But she was absolutely scared and extremely upset."
Stein said that Kenney confided in her about her role in covering up Berreth's death and that she believed Frazee was "evil."
"She did tell me that she has never seen that kind of evil in anybody," she continued, adding that Kenney was afraid Frazee would kill her, too, if she did not do as he asked.
Woodland County Police Department
Sarah Gangraw writes about all things news, entertainment and crime. You can follow her on Instagram and Twitter.