A close friend ofKelsey Berrethsays she suspected thatPatrick Frazeehad something to do with the disappearance of the missing Colorado mom.
“The moment that I found out that she had been missing, the first words that came out of my mouth were, ‘He did something to her,’ ” Ashley Cogburn toldCBS Newsof Berreth, who is presumed to be dead.
Frazee, whofaces two counts of murder and three counts of solicitation to commit murder, was always “mad about something,” according to Cogburn, who met Berreth in elementary school and grew up together in Washington state.
On Thanksgiving 2018, surveillance video captured Berreth and her 1-year-old daughter Kaylee entering a local supermarket. That was the last time she was seen publicly.
Patrick Frazee, Kelsey Berreth and the couple’s infant.Facebook
Recalling how Frazee could be “somewhat demeaning” towards Berreth, Cogburn said, “She couldn’t win … the things that he would say to her were somewhat demeaning.”
Cogburn added, “I remember one time, in particular, she came to me and she was just crying. And Kelsey is this – she’s a tough girl … and I can’t remember specifics, but I just remember gathering, ‘This person is borderline emotionally abusive to you right now.’ ”
Frazee, who did not live with Berreth, told police that he and his fiancée met up that same day so that Berreth could hand off their daughter to him.
Berreth’s mother, who lives out of state, reported her missing 10 days later, on Dec. 2, 2018.
Ashley Cogburn.CBS This Morning
While Teller County investigators have yet to detail the specific allegations that led to the solicitation counts, it likely means prosecutors think Frazee allegedly solicited an individual three times or three people on three separate occasions as part of an alleged murder plot.
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At first, Cogburn believed that Berreth was still alive after learning of Frazee’s arrest. “I wanted to hold onto hope that that wasn’t the case. You know, so you – I grasped onto, ‘Well, maybe somebody took her. Maybe.’ I think deep down I knew,” she said.
Frazee remains in police custody without bond. He has not yet entered pleas to the charges, and his criminal attorney could not be reached for comment. It is unclear if Frazee has representation in the civil case.
source: people.com
