CRIPPLE CREEK, Colo. (AP) — 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.
