The jury deliberated 15 minutes shy of 4 hours before delivering the verdict. Patrick Frazee was convicted of tampering with a deceased human body and three counts of solicitation to commit first-degree murder.
Kelsey's dad stared Frazee down as the verdict was read. Frazee didn't react at all while Kelsey's family smiled, cried and hugged one another.
Before Frazee's sentencing, several of Kelsey’s friends and family members gave victim impact statements, which were all read out loud by Berreth's uncle, Scott Morin.
Another coworker, David Deray, wrote how Kelsey was a pleasure to fly with and was a great instructor. He called her a “natural pilot” and saying he would remember he kindness and smile, one that would lift him up about most anything, forever.
And a third coworker talked about the impact Kelsey made on others. He called her a quiet and unassuming soul.
The last letter was written by Cheryl Berreth, Kelsey Berreth’s mother. “She was our daughter, a devoted, loving mother, a sister, a friend,” the letter read. The letter went on to say how Kelsey was a positive contribution to society and was beautiful inside and out.
Not only did Frazee kill their daughter, but he chose a horrific death, beating her head with a baseball bat while she tied to escape, it read. He showed no remorse when he put her body in a tote and had Thanksgiving dinner with his family. Then he burned her body, she said, all in the presence of his 13-month-old daughter.
“He sent me a text that morning wishing me a happy Thanksgiving,” her letter read. “What a sick man.”
“Patrick chose Thanksgiving to execute his plan, forever tainting this holiday for us,” Cheryl’s letter read.
“We have taken additional steps to protect ourselves as Frazee said he had hitmen and we have his daughter against his will,” her letter went on.
“We have taken additional steps to protect ourselves as Frazee said he had hitmen and we have his daughter against his will,” her letter went on.
At times, the case forced them to reevaluate their faith in God.
She also said they plan to establish an aviation scholarship in Kelsey’s name. Cheryl asked that Frazee contribute a substantial amount each year to this cause. She said she wants people to know that her daughter made a difference.
She said Kaylee will probably someday find out the gory details of her mother’s murder and will suffer for a lifetime because of Frazee’s selfishness.
She said her family is requesting a no-contact order between the Frazee family and the Berreths. That the Frazee family has a complete lack of courage by choosing to withhold relevant information during this trial. Instead, they chose “to support a killer, which forfeited their rights to Kaylee.
Cheryl said that she believes in the death penalty, but that it's god's decision whether to take a life or not.
Cheryl then acknowledged that without Kenney’s contribution and testimony, a conviction may have been much harder or even impossible, but it doesn’t excuse the fact that Berreth would still be alive if Kenney had taken just one opportunity to tell law enforcement about Frazee’s plan.
After reading the letters, Morin thanked Judge Sells for overseeing the case and for those who decided Frazee was guilty of murdering his niece. He went on to say how that he and his family have prayed for justice. And that Kelsey was a great hugger, very loved, and that she loved everyone else. He said that she is gone, but not forgotten.
Cheryl also added that Kenney has only shown remorse for getting caught and deserves a harsher sentence.
She talked about how Kelsey attended her daughter's wedding alone. They laughed and smiled the whole time. Kelsey told her aunt that Frazee said she couldn’t get her nails done for the wedding because “only whores” do so.
Kimberly said that she had never been so angry and she will love Kaylee just as she loved Kelsey.
Prosecutor Jennifer Viehman stood at the stand and said, “We all knew early on that something terrible had happened to Kelsey Berreth,” she said. “We didn’t know just how terrible and how horrible and how brutal the murder of Kelsey was until Dec. 20, 2018.”
Viehman said that is one of the most brutal murders that she has ever seen in her career.
“Mr. Frazee took a shining light from this Earth,” she said. “He not only took her life on Thanksgiving Day of last year, he planned for months to do it. He had Krystal Lee come to Colorado three times to kill Kelsey.”
Viehman asked Judge Sells to sentence Frazee to life without parole for murder after deliberation, plus 156 years for the maximum sentence for solicitation for murder and tampering with a deceased human body.
Judge Sells asked Frazee to stand up. He told Frazee that his actions were “vicious,” “senseless,” and “without reason.”
Frazee received the mandatory life in prison without parole for the two murder counts, which were merged. For each of the solicitation charges, he received the maximum 48-year sentence, which run consecutive to one another. And for the tampering with a deceased human body count, Frazee was sentenced to the maximum of 12 years, which also run consecutively.
In total, he received life in prison without parole, plus an additional 156 years.
Krystal Kenney has not yet been sentenced. She faces a maximum of three years in prison for tampering with evidence.
In total, he received life in prison without parole, plus an additional 156 years.
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