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Patrick Frazee's attorneys to shift blame to ex-girlfriend in Kelsey Berreth's killing, filing says

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Posted at 5:43 PM, Sep 18, 2019
and last updated 2019-09-18 22:01:06-04

TELLER COUNTY, Colo. – Patrick Frazee's attorneys officially plan to shift the blame in Kelsey Berreth's killing to his ex-girlfriend, Krystal Lee Kenney, one of the state's key witnesses in the upcoming trial against Frazee, according to a court document filed Tuesday.

The document was Frazee's attorneys' endorsement of defenses and witnesses ahead of the trial, which is scheduled to begin Oct. 28 in Cripple Creek. The endorsement also included a defense of a general denial of Frazee's involvement in the killing of Berreth, his 29-year-old fiancee. The filing also shows the people whom the defense plan to call as witnesses.

Berreth went missing in Woodland Park on Thanksgiving Day 2018. Her body has not been found.

About a month after Berreth's disappearance, Frazee was arrested on investigation of first-degree murder and solicitation to commit first-degree murder. On Dec. 31, 2018, he was formally charged with two counts of first-degree murder and three counts of solicitation. A tampering with a deceased body charge and two crime of violence sentence enhancers were added later.

According to an arrest affidavit, authorities said they believe Frazee tried to convince Kenney, who lives in Idaho, to kill Berreth. Frazee and Kenney had previously been in a relationship, and Kenney was living in Idaho at the time of the crime. Despite their plans, Kenney backed out of the crime each time.

Kenney and Frazee used Berreth’s cell phone to carry out a scheme to distort the date of Berreth’s disappearance and throw investigators off of their trail, according to the affidavit.

Frazee and Kenney burned Berreth’s body, the bat and other items in a 100-gallon trough at a ranch in Florissant on Nov. 24, 2018, according to the affidavit.

On Feb. 5, 2019, Kenney was formally charged with one felony count of tampering with physical evidence in the case. She pleaded guilty on Feb. 8. As part of her plea deal, she agreed to testify in Frazee’s pending trial. Prosecutors said they anticipate that she will come to Colorado to testify in the jury trial.

Click here for all of Denver7's coverage of the Kelsey Berreth case.