Dateline: Unforgettable Season 2: Where is Micaela Costanzo's killer Kody Kree Patten now?

Oxygen's true crime series Dateline: Unforgettable season 2 will delve deep into the gruesome 2011 murder of a Nevada teen named Micaela Costanzo. Costanzo went missing after track practice at school on the evening of March 3, 2011. 2 days later, her body was discovered in a grave.

The ensuing investigation revealed the involvement of Costanzo's classmate in her death. Read further ahead to find out where Micaela Costanzo's killer, Kody Kree Patten, is now ahead of the Dateline: Unforgettable episode on June 7, 2022.

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Dateline: Unforgettable Season 2: Who killed Micaela Costanzo?

Micaela Costanzo disappeared after track practice at school on March 3, 2011. Her parents began to worry when she did not respond to their calls and messages. Two days later, a volunteer discovered Costanzo's body in a grave. Authorities soon began their investigation, questioning Costanzo's friends and classmates. After going through her phone records, police began looking into her childhood friend Kody Kree Patten, with whom Costanzo was seen in the school hallway on the school's security camera footage. When questioned by the police, Patten said that he saw Costanzo with her boyfriend in front of the school.

Police discovered that Patten was involved in a relationship with a girl named Toni Fratto. According to ThoughtCo, Fratto was jealous of Patten's friendship with Costanzo. Later, Patten confessed to the crime in an interview with the police. He said that he'd gone for a drive with Costanzo and the two started arguing after Costanzo asked him to break off his engagement with Fratto. After Costanzo started getting physical, Patten pushed her, following which she started experiencing convulsions. He then hit her with a shovel and slit her throat.

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Dateline: Unforgettable season 2: Where is Kody Kree Patten now?

Patten was then arrested and charged with first-degree murder. However, a conflicting story from his girlfriend Toni Fratto further complicated matters. Fratto, in a taped confession, told Patten's lawyer that she received a text from Patten saying, ''I've got her,'' meaning Costanzo was with her in the car. He later picked up Fratto and the three went off to the gravel pit where Patten and Costanzo got into an argument. After hearing a loud noise, Fratto stepped out of the car and found Costanzo lying on the ground, almost unconscious. The two later hit Costanzo with a shovel and slit her throat.

After her arrest, however, Fratto gave a different version of the incident to the police wherein she said that Patten told her that they had to kill her. She said she initially refused to hit Costanzo when Patten asked her to do so. She later hit Costanzo in the shoulder while Patten punched her and struck a blow to her head. Patten, meanwhile, further changed his story during a discussion on plea deal. He said that Fratto wanted to confront Costanzo and the two girls decided to fight it out.

Fratto eventually pled guilty to second-degree murder in April 2012, with no possibility of parole until 18 years. Patten, on the other hand, pled guilty to first-degree murder to avoid the death penalty without the possibility of parole. As of August 2018, according to ThoughtCo, Patten is serving his sentence at the Ely State Prison in White Pine County, Nevada.

The upcoming episode of Dateline: Unforegttable, titled Under the Desert Sky, delves deep into the shocking murder and examines various aspects pertaining to the death of Micaela Costanzo. Dateline correspondent Keith Morrison shares his experience of covering the case.

You can watch Dateline: Unforgettable on Oxygen on June 7, 2022 at 8 pm ET.