Kelsey Berreth killed by fiancé Patrick Frazee over custody dispute, her parents claim
The parents of a missing Colorado mother who disappeared nearly three months ago are revealing a possible motive for their daughter's murder. Kelsey Berreth's parents claim Patrick Frazee had motive to kill Berreth because she refused to give him custody of their 1-year-old daughter. The new allegation is part of a civil complaint filed by Berreth's parents, reports CBS News correspondent Jamie Yuccas.
They're suing Frazee for emotional distress following a series of "false statements" he allegedly made to Barreth's mother, Cheryl, over the phone on Dec. 2, including that he and Berreth "broke up on/or about Thanksgiving Day" and agreed at a Cracker Barrel restaurant in Colorado Springs to split custody of their daughter.
When Cheryl pressed Frazee for details about her daughter's whereabouts, he apparently suggested that "Kelsey may have flown somewhere with a friend or co-worker."
"Typically, if Kelsey was going to travel, we knew ahead of time," Cheryl told CBS News in December. She said she talked to Berreth on the phone Thanksgiving morning shortly before the 29-year-old went shopping at a Colorado supermarket where she was last seen on a surveillance video with her daughter.
The lawsuit alleges Frazee told Cheryl a series of lies "knowing that Kelsey was dead because he had killed her, or caused her to be killed."
Authorities believe Frazee murdered Berreth at her home, but they have not determined a motive and her body still has not been found. Frazee is currently in jail without bail.
Michelle Stein said her close friend, Krystal Lee, talked to her about her relationship with Frazee. "I think he's a very dangerous person," Stein told CBS News.
Earlier this month, Lee pleaded guilty to tampering with evidence for allegedly helping Frazee get rid of Berreth's cell phone.
"I think he is a true narcissist. He's a master manipulator," Stein said. "He probably manipulates every single person that comes in contact with him because he thinks he can."
Berreth's parents are suing Frazee for an unspecified amount and have been granted temporary custody of their 1-year-old granddaughter. Frazee's attorneys have filed a motion to dismiss the civil suit, claiming Berreth's parents do not have the right to sue him.