'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
The disappearance of Kelsey Berreth on Thanksgiving Day of 2018 led the investigators to a harrowing truth. While Kelsey's body was never discovered, officers found their way to a former rodeo queen, Krystal Lee Kenney, whose confession solved the murder case.
Kelsey's fiance, Patrick Frazee, had been having an affair with Krystal, who revealed that she had attempted to kill Kelsey thrice on Frazee's instructions. She shared that Patrick had taken it upon himself to beat Kelsey to death, and she had driven down from Idaho to clean up the blood evidence, per Oxygen.
The Dateline: Secrets Uncovered episode titled Devil's Bargain aired on Oxygen on July 17, 2024, and is currently streaming on Apple TV and NBC. The official synopsis reads,
Trending
"Kelsey Berreth vanishes after she was last seen grocery shopping on Thanksgiving; the case makes national headlines, but the secret behind Kelsey's disappearance is lurking much closer to home."
Did Krystal Lee Kenney confess to Kelsey Berreth's murder?
As the investigators looked into the disappearance of Kelsey Berreth, they found phone records on Patrick Frazee and Kelsey Berreth's cell phone, which made the ordeal all the more confusing. According to CBS News, Patrick's cellphone records led the investigators to a senior nurse and a horse enthusiast based out of Idaho, Krystal Lee Kenney.
Krystal and her family were a prominent part of the rodeo community, and she had been in an on-and-off relationship with Patrick since 2006. On the other hand, Patrick and Kelsey met on a dating website in 2015, according to The Denver Post.
Krystal and Patrick became involved again in 2018, but the former was allegedly unaware of his fiance and daughter, Kelsey and Kaylee Berreth. Per The Denver Post, Patrick told Krystal that Kelsey had been an unstable mother. The CBI Agent Jon Grusing shared,
“He started telling Krystal that Kelsey was an abusive mom, that he had people watching Kelsey and that he was concerned that Kelsey was going to hurt the baby, if not worse.”
As Krystal was confronted with the cellphone records, she denied all plausibility but returned with a confession and a lawyer a few days later. According to KTVB, Krystal undertook a 13-hour drive to Colorado as Patrick beat Kelsey to death with a baseball bat and texted Krystal saying,
"You have a mess to clean up."
Krystal was the prosecution's key witness in Patrick Frazee's murder trial. She confessed to cleaning up extensive blood evidence in Berreth’s Woodland Park condo. Per Oxygen, she shared,
“When I first walked in, I saw, um, blood all over the floor. I saw blood up the wall. Saw blood on this wall.”
Patrick Frazee had blindfolded Kelsey Berreth to make her guess the fragrance of the scented candle when he struck her in the head with a baseball bat at least 10 to 15 times, a blood splatter analysis determined.
Krystal helped scrub out all the blood from the floor when she found a human tooth as well. Frazee and Kenney collected all blood-soaked belongings as well as Kelsey's body and burnt it at the Florissant ranch. While the testimony landed Patrick behind bars for life, Krystal was convicted of tampering with evidence and has been released since.
Catch all the details of Kelsey Berreth's murder as Dateline: Secrets Uncovered's new episode is currently streaming on Apple TV and NBC.
