Man Convicted Of Killing Fiancée Kelsey Berreth With Baseball Bat To Appeal Case

Patrick Frazee, the Colorado cattle rancher convicted of murdering his fiancée, Kelsey Berreth, has filed an appeal to his 2019 murder conviction.

Frazee, 33, was convicted last November on two counts of first-degree murder, one count of tampering with a body, and three counts of solicitation to commit murder for the killing of Berreth, a 29-year-old mother and flight instructor, on Thanksgiving 2018.

Frazee’s lawyers filed a motion to appeal his conviction on Jan. 6, 9News in Denver reports. He is currently serving 156 years plus life without the possibility of parole for the murder.

The reason or reasons for the appeal have not yet been listed. His lawyers have asked for transcripts of all of Frazee’s court appearances and motions hearings, the outlet reported.

During his trial, prosecutors said Frazee beat Berreth to death with a baseball bat, while the couple's 1-year-old daughter was in the other room. Prosecutors alleged he then burned Berreth’s body and the bat at his family’s ranch in Florissant, Colorado.

Despite the murder conviction, Berreth's body has never been found.

Frazee then enlisted his longtime mistress from Idaho, Krystal Lee Kenney, to help with the clean up of the bloody murder scene. 

"He told me I have a mess to clean up,” she later testified. Kenney, who worked as a nurse, claimed that two days after the killing she arrived in Colorado to help Frazee clean up what she described as “a horrific scene” at Berreth’s apartment, according to an affidavit obtained by the Denver Channel. 

She brought cleaning supplies, a body suit, and foot covers to assist her lover and claimed it took hours to get the job done. She noted there was blood splattered everywhere, including all over baby items and toys. Kenney then disposed of Berreth’s cellphone in Idaho.

Kenney has also admitted that Frazee had asked her to help him kill Berreth three times prior, plans that Kenney was a part of, CNN noted. In one murder plot, the pair planned to poison a caramel macchiato drink and give it to Berreth to drink.

Instead of being charged with conspiracy to commit murder or similar serious charges Kenney could have faced, she instead took a plea deal and admitted to tampering with evidence. The bargain has been dubbed a “deal with the devil” by 4th Judicial District Attorney Dan May, according to Colorado Springs newspaper the Pikes Peak Courier.

Kenney then became the star witness in Frazee's prosecution, and her testimony heavily impacted his conviction. Frazee was later accused of wanting to kill her and other witnesses connected to the murder.

Kenney is expected to be sentenced on Tuesday and faces up to three years in prison as part of her plea deal. However, she could end up with just a sentence of probation.