The fiancé of missing Colorado mother Kelsey Berreth has been arrested on murder charges in connection with her disappearance — and he may have had help from another person, police said Friday.
Patrick Frazee was booked on first-degree murder and solicitation for murder charges and is being held without bail at the Teller County jail, Woodland Park Police Chief Miles De Young said at a press conference.
“Due to multiple interviews, we’ve come to a point as of last night that we were able to apply for an arrest warrant that was signed off by a judge,” the top cop said.
Berreth, 29, has been missing since she was last seen on Thanksgiving Day at a grocery store in near her home in Woodland Park.
“We do not believe, sadly, that Kelsey is still alive,” De Young said.
The chief added that evidence turned up in multiple searches of Berreth’s home leads investigators to believe her murder occurred there.
Prosecutors expect to file formal charges against Frazee within 10 days, which likely will include the solicitation charge — meaning someone else may be involved in Berreth’s slaying.
“You don’t necessarily have to complete it [the crime] to have a solicitation charge, but you have to show firmness of what you intended to do,” explained Fourth Judicial District Attorney Dan May.
So far, no one but Frazee has been charged in Berreth’s death. But De Young called further arrests “an absolute possibility.”
Through his attorney, Frazee had previously said he last saw Berreth, who worked as a pilot, when he picked up their 1-year-old daughter, Kaylee, on Thanksgiving.
The little girl, who had been staying with her dad up until his arrest, is now in protective custody and will be reunited with Berreth’s family, De Young said.
He wouldn’t divulge details leading to Frazee’s arrest but said investigators from multiple jurisdictions relied on cell phone records and other data to close in on him.
Berreth’s body has not been recovered.
Authorities are working on recovering her cell phone — which was pinged in Idaho, De Young said.
Police have also searched Frazee’s 35-acre property in Florissant, where he was arrested Friday.
Frazee’s attorney Jeremy Loew didn’t immediately comment on the charges.