The Latest: Colorado man sentenced to life in fiancee death
CRIPPLE CREEK, Colo. (AP) — The Latest on the trial of a Colorado man accused of killing his fiancee (all times local):
4 p.m.
A Colorado rancher convicted of murder in the death of his fiancee has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Patrick Frazee was sentenced Monday shortly after a jury found him guilty of first-degree murder, solicitation to commit murder and tampering with a deceased human body.
Since prosecutors didn’t seek the death penalty against him in the death of 29-year-old Kelsey Berreth, the murder conviction carried a mandatory life sentence.
Before the punishment was formally handed down, Berreth’s family and others impacted by her death told Judge Scott Sells how her death had affected them.
Prosecutors said Frazee killed Berreth with a baseball bat while their infant daughter was in a nearby room and then burned her body on his property. Her remains have never been found.
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3 p.m.
A jury has convicted a Colorado rancher of beating his fiancée to death while their 1-year-old daughter was in a nearby room and then burning the body.
Jurors reached the verdict Monday in the case of 33-year-old Patrick Frazee following a three-week trial.
He was accused of killing 29-year-old Kelsey Berreth with a baseball bat and burning her body on his property.
Berreth was last seen nearly a year ago on Thanksgiving, but her body hasn’t been found.
With little physical evidence, prosecutors relied heavily on the testimony of a former Idaho nurse who had an on-and-off relationship with Frazee.
Krystal Lee testified that Frazee asked her to clean up the scene of the killing and that she watched him burn a plastic tote she believed contained Berreth’s body.
Frazee’s lawyers questioned Lee’s reliability.
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11:50 a.m.
A Colorado jury is deliberating the case of a rancher charged with beating his fiancée to death with a baseball bat.
The Teller County jury is considering the murder case against 33-year-old Patrick Frazee after hearing closing arguments from prosecutors and the defense Monday.
Frazee is charged in the death of 29-year-old Kelsey Berreth, whose disappearance nearly a year ago drew national attention.
Testimony wrapped up Friday with a jail inmate alleging that Frazee tried to get him to kill the lead witness in the case, a former Idaho nurse who was having an affair with Frazee.
The defense has questioned her credibility and highlighted the lack of a body, motive and murder weapon.
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9:45 a.m.
The case of a Colorado rancher charged with beating his fiancee to death with a baseball bat is close to going to jurors.
Closing arguments are set Monday in the trial of 33-year-old Patrick Frazee. He’s charged with murder in the death of 29-year-old Kelsey Berreth, whose disappearance nearly a year ago drew national attention.
Testimony wrapped up Friday with a jail inmate alleging that Frazee tried to get him to kill the lead witness in the case, a former Idaho nurse who was having an affair with Frazee. Krystal Lee said she cleaned up the crime scene and watched as Frazee burned a plastic tote that she believed contained Berreth’s body.
The defense has questioned her credibility and highlighted the lack of a body, motive and murder weapon.
