Nikki Battiste: Do you think if Patrick hadn't involved Krystal, he would've gotten away with Kelsey's murder? The former inmate had watched a"48 Hours" episode on Kelsey Berreth's murder. He was also worried agents considered him a suspect. BARRY MORPHEW: Let me tell you what happened. Published: Dec. 29, 2020 at 10:45 AM PST. Patrick Frazee was arrested on charges of first-degree murder in the death of Kelsey Berreth. "The affidavit that was filed in this case was egregious, and wrong, and had so many misstatements that carried it through to preliminary hearing where more lies and perjury were committed in order to get Mr. Morphew wrongfully convicted," she said at a press conference after the dismissal. Then, she says, she drove to Kelsey's home. CHIEF MILES DE YOUNG [to reporters]: Today we arrested Patrick Frazee on charges of first-degree murder of Kelsey Berreth As a reminder Patrick Frazee is presumed innocent until proven guilty. Cheryl Berreth: You can't eat, and you can't sleep and the stress won't end until we find her. Suzanne, who shared two daughters with her husband, disappeared on May 10, 2020, near the small mountain town of Salida, in Chaffee County. Ashley Franco: And where's Kelsey? Gannon's biological mother and father had offered their own joint statement -- a tearful plea for anyone with information on his disappearance to come forward. But prosecutors arrested Barry Morphew for first-degree murder even though Suzanne's body was never found. 'It feels like a nightmare': Colorado family searching for 16-year-old, missing since Sept. 6 Sept. 22, 2021 01:57. . The judge wrote that while he did not find those actions "willful the court does find this pattern to be negligent, bordering on, reckless." Cody Cox: She was a sweetheart. Nikki Battiste: Your last witness, I think jaws dropped when he started testifying. Nikki Battiste: Do you regret now not calling the police? Questions about Gannon's stepmother became so persistent early in the search that she responded twice. Neighbor Roderrick Drayton told ABC News he decided to look through his footage once the search intensified and saw Stauch getting into a red pickup truck Monday morning at 10:13 a.m. Ashley Franco: and then spends, you know, three to four hours cleaning and scrubbing the murder scene. Officials said they had put in thousands of hours into search efforts, including through aerial drone footage and search and rescue canines. Ashley Franco: But it's suspicious that you would go to five different trash areas to dispose of several things. I'd have to look at my phone." Barry offered a $100,000 reward for information that was later doubled to $200,000. Ashley Franco | KKTV reporter: He said that Kelsey wanted to go their separate ways and things weren't working out between them. The tale begins with the haunting images of a mother in the grocery store shopping with her baby. On Colorado Missing Persons Day we remember them and show support to their loved ones who struggle with this void every day.". Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. On May 9, 2020, the day before Mother's Day,records show Suzanne Morphew and Jeff Libler messaged each other 59 times leading up to the moment investigators believe Barry Morphew murdered his wife. Ashley Franco: there was a text from Kelsey's phone to her supervisor at Doss Aviation saying "I won't be at work." Letecia Stauch makes her first appearance in Colorado, after being extradited from South Carolina where she was arrested. A neighbor reported her missing, officials said at the time. So, what we mainly have connecting Patrick Frazee to an incredibly brutal and violent crime is Krystal Lee's testimony. PeterVan Sant: So, if Suzanne had been struck by one of these darts would she have time to run around, try to escape? There are two families who are suffering deeply. "Done headed back.". Nikki Battiste: Describe to me what was in the 16 notes passed between Patrick and the former inmate. The first day authorities searched for Suzanne, they found her mountain bike close to the Morphew home. DA Dan May | Teller County, Colorado: I gotta tell you, it's one of the most emotional trials I have ever been through and I've been through a lot of trials in my career. Court papers specifically mentioned "a remote and mountainous region nearby the Morphew residence" that will be excavated after five feet of snow melts. Kelsey didn't seem all that worried about it. The DNA also did not match Suzanne's lover Jeff Libler. Story tips can be sent to stephanie.pagones@fox.com and on Twitter: @steph_pagones. There's plenty of places to dispose of of a body. A few days later, investigators found an item possibly belonging to the 49 . CHERYL BERRETH [to reporters]: She's not the kind that runs off. In the months after Suzanne went missing, Jeff kept quiet. Ashley Franco: Investigators also found that Suzanne, on several instances, had gone on vacation to meet up with Jeff in many different states, ranging from Louisiana to Florida. They go to sleep, I cut their horns off It's totally illegal But you're gonna find tranq darts around my property because I've done that.". "I took care of Gannon for the last two years in our home. Nearly two years after Suzanne Morphew, a mother of two, disappeared on Mother's Day, authorities say they are "close to discovering the victim's body" but need to wait for snowpack to melt. I'll call you guys when I get out. The case went to the jury. Nikki Battiste: Is there justice for Kelsey and Kaylee? I regret it every day. Peter Van Sant: Barry Morphew can stand up and say, "I'm not your killer. He told them that the day before Thanksgiving, Kelsey saidshewanted to end their relationship. Stein says she asked Lee why Frazee wanted to kill Kelsey. Chaffee County Sheriffs Office via Facebook. The footage also appears to show Gannon walking slowly as he approaches and gets into the truck, according to Drayton. The cap, however, did not contain any of Barry's DNA. Ashley Cogburn: He never came to see her, but she would, like on her days off, she would go back and be with him. Details on the circumstances of the boy's death have been sparse, however, with authorities keeping a tight lip about the investigation. Elena DiFiore is the field producer. But prosecutors then changed course, successfully asking a judge on April 19 to drop the charges. The initial press release on his disappearance describes the call about him as a "report for a juvenile runaway.". The neighbor of a Salida, Colorado construction site where the husband of Suzanne Morphew, who has been missing since Mother's Day, worked as a landscaper is now reporting she heard a mysterious, ongoing loud noise emanating from the property the night before mom of two disappeared, the Daily Mail reports. On nearly the anniversary of Suzanne's disappearance, Barry is arrested in May 2021. This photo taken from police body cam footage shows Suzanne Morphew's mountain bike after being discovered by sheriff's deputies on the side of a cliff off a road near the family home. Friends say Kelsey was struggling to balance the baby, her job and a long commute. Her story was stunning: she claimed Patrick Frazee tried to get her to kill Kelsey Berreth three different times. The husband of missing Colorado mother Suzanne Morphew has been arrested for her murder, nearly a year after she disappeared last Mother's Day. She has family in Colorado. Iris Eytan: There's DNA that is placed on all the critical items of evidence in this case on the bike, on the bike helmet, in the house, in the car that is linked to unknown males. Part of his problem, Aya says, is that Barry granted between 30 and 40 interviews all without a lawyer to everyone from a county detective to members of the FBI. Gauch's stepmother, Letecia, who was arrested March 2, is now facing additional charges. Suzanne Morphew, 49, disappeared on Mother's Day last year. Aya Gruber: there are events in the car that aren't recorded. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. In this still image from video, Barry Morphew, center, appears in court in Salida, Colo., Thursday, May 6, 2021. Tuesday is Colorado Missing Persons Day, an opportunity to honor more than 524 people currently missing for more than a year in Colorado. I would only ask, "Where's Suzanne?". He told investigators he often dropped trash in accessible bins to avoid paying to have it disposed of at a landfill. They had pulled up the floor boards where they found Kelsey's blood. I wiped the there was blood on the front of the dishwasher. It was just days after Suzanne Morphew went missing when investigators make that intriguing discovery. Thats the law enforcements job.". KRYSTAL LEE: He poured gasoline in the bucket and then pitched it into the fire. I think it's very possible he would have gotten away with that. Morphewwas chargedin May 2021 with murder, tampering with a deceased human body and tampering with physical evidence, among others, in connection with the May 2020 disappearance and presumed death of his wife. Lee claims Frazee was back at his ranch during the cleanup. Frazee's friend, Clint Cline, was there almost every day. Heres the timeline of Suzanne Morphews disappearance: At one point in the investigation, police said they believed Suzanne Morphews body was in a remote and mountainous region near the Morphew home. Peter Van Sant: Give me a sense of how your technology, from your company, helps solve criminal cases. Peter Van Sant: Did Barry Morphew cooperate with investigators during the course of this? This would dispel all rumors of her whereabouts.". In a131-page affidavitreleased after Morphew's arrest, investigators described how Morphew realized he couldnt control his wife and her decision to leave him, so instead "he resorted to something he has done his entire life hunt and control Suzanne like he had hunted and controlled animals," the document states. Morphews daughters, Macy and Mallory, stood by their father during an interview with ABC, which aired Friday. Attorney Iris Eytan laid out 12 specific complaints against 11th Judicial District Attorney Linda Stanley and six other prosecutors involved in the case. Laura Stutzman: No, I wouldn't say it was a reputation of getting what she wanted Krystal worked so hard at everything she did to try to do everything completely correct. KMVT ANCHOR: Tonight, we have new information about a 32-year-old Twin Falls woman that may have helped Patrick Frazee cover up the disappearance and alleged murder of his fiance, Kelsey Berreth. I don't like to pay to have it disposed at a landfill, I this is just what I do. If you have any information about Stine, you are asked to call the Aurora Police Department at (303) 739-6130 or (303) 739-6109. Imagine how afraid he is," Gannon's mother Landen Hiott said through tears in a YouTube video that was posted to El Paso County's official channel. After that,, Stock market today: Markets steady after latest bank, Insider Q&A: Aurora CEO Chris Urmson on self-driving, A good sign for summer travel? Here is somebody who arguably had the last communication with Suzanne before she went missing. Lee, who had cut that deal with prosecutors, seemed shaken when she appeared in court after she turned herself in to authorities. And it's gone. Investigators also found a plastic cap for a syringe that they believe was used to load a tranquilizer dart in the couple's dryer. Peter Van Sant: And his claim, well, I just always have a lotta junk in in the vehicle. And it's just not right. I excuse me [in tears]. We certainly see a certain amount of justice but not the justice this case deserves. But the truck's computers show that someone was opening and closing the truck's doors around 3:30 a.m. Investigators believe Barry began driving toward Broomfield much earlier than he claimed, but there is a 4-hour windowapproximately 4 a.m. to 8 a.m.when no activity was recorded by the vehicle's computers. It was between them and God. He told agents he took a left upon leaving his home instead of a right because, even though it was dark, he remembered seeing some elk. Nikki Battiste: Were they affectionate at all? Susanne Morphew, center, with daughters Macy, left, and Mallory. But if Barry knew nothing about Suzanne's affair, what motive would he have to kill her? Nikki Battiste: Do you remember Kelsey talking about wanting to be a pilot? Nearly a month after Kelsey Berreth vanished, Woodland Park Police Chief Miles De Young made this grim announcement: CHIEF MILES DE YOUNG | WOODLAND PARK POLICE [to reporters]: Patrick Frazee was taken into custody this morning in Florrisant, Colorado, just after 7 o'clock this morning Mountain Standard Time. Ashley Franco: Authorities say that they believe, when his phone went into airplane mode, that he was disposing of possible evidence. In the back of his truck, pictured right, is the black tote that prosecutors say he soon used to transport Berreth's body after beating her to death with a baseball bat. El Paso County Sheriff's Office Allen would not elaborate on what he believes happened to Gannon. CNN Sans & 2016 Cable News Network. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated. Had Suzanne fallen into the hands of a sexual predator? In this still image from video, Barry Morphew, center, appears in court in Salida, Colo., on May 6. Where is Suzanne? Kelsey Berreth " wasn't afraid to challenge the typical boundaries," said friend Nicole Haywood. However, to this day, Suzanne Morphews body has not been found. Eventually Kelsey moved to Colorado from Washington State to be closer to Frazee and they were expecting a child. And by then, Barry's cell phone had also come back to life. The Colorado Missing Person (s) Unit assists local law enforcement and other partner organizations in locating and recovering missing children and adults. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. Surveillance image shows Frazee at an ATM earlier that day with a black tote in his truck. Ashley Franco | KKTV reporter: Right the last day she's seen publicly. Later, Frazee is seen at that same location alone. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. So, he was interested, and he wanted to get an up-close look. For the year 2020, there are 1,186 missing persons cases that remain open. He didnt go to a friend's house,'" Drayton said. Today has officially been declared Colorado Missing Persons Day . Aya Gruber | University of Colorado law professor: She says "I'll get the drugs. Her mother Cheryl says they were engaged. Nikki Battiste: And the alarms go off in their minds? Peter Van Sant: So how can that DNA end up in her car? We miss you. Kade Atwood:Krystal and her family are a big part of the rodeo community. In October 2020, DNA testing revealed at least a partial match to an unnamed man connected to three unsolved sexual assault cases in Tempe, Phoenix and Chicago. Meanwhile, Barry Morphews defense attorney, Iris Eytan, recently told ABC her team will be taking action against the district attorney on the case and will be calling for a probe into prosecutors mishandling of the investigation. There's blood everywhere. Police say this is likely when Frazee killed her: CHIEF MILES DE YOUNG [to reporters]: investigators have recovered a number of items that make us suspicious that the crime did occur at Kelsey's residence. Turns out Krystal Lee and Patrick Frazee had a long history. Clint Cline has known Frazee for seven years. Going to jump in the shower. Nikki Battiste[on horseback]: Is this Krystal's world? In her motion for dismissal, DA Stanley told the judge that officials believe they are close to discovering the location of Suzanne Morphew's body. That text pinged off a cell phone tower 800 miles away. "We are going to find Gannon, and that's the main goal that we all have. "A kid doesn't just disappear and no one sees him. If you are looking for statistics on missing persons in Colorado, our library can help. I guess that's what people think I should have done. He told agents he was merely being cheap, not criminal. Ashley Franco: There was a point in time when Patrick Frazee had told Krystal Lee, when you go to clean up her townhome, there is possibly a tooth somewhere. It was updated on August 1, 2020.]. Nothing is what it seems.". Defense attorney Eytan denies Barry has any involvement in his wife's disappearance. So, it wasn't a surprise when a Colorado cowboy named Patrick Frazee caught Kelsey's eye on a dating website in 2016. Ben LeMere is an expert in the new field of vehicle forensics. Prosecutor Beth Reed: He actually had started calling our office while we were in the middle of trial. Tools including a shovel. Gannon's disappearance is now classified as a missing/endangered persons case. Family members previously said Barry Morphew was out of town in Denver when his wife disappeared, CBS affiliate KCNC reported. DA Dan May: A heck of a lot more time than three years. Aya Gruber: It's just hard to believe these stories. Patrick Frazee entered a plea of not guilty, but from the beginning, investigators had questions about Patrick Frazee's story starting with his initial claim that the day before Thanksgiving, Kelsey told him she wanted to break up and "go their separate ways.". Peter Van Sant: Was there clothing found down here? Prosecutor Beth Reed: We didn't know about him. ", 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. Kelsey's mother Cheryl alerted investigators who returned to the house. What Lee revealed to investigators would become the center of the prosecution's case against Patrick Frazee. She pointed out where she claims she intentionally left blood for them to find. Authorities believe Barry killed Suzanne that afternoon. Get the Android Weather app from Google Play, Fed is set to raise rates yet again. They steadfastly support their father, attending most of his court hearings like this one in December 2021. At that time in early December Woodland Park Police had not publicly named a suspect. ANDREW MOORMAN [to CBS Denver]: I hope to find her alive and at some point, you have to realize when somebody's been missing after so long, that the chances of that diminish dramatically. Suzanne Morphew is seen in this undated photo released by Chaffee County Sheriffs Office via Facebook on May 11, 2020, when she went missing. Ashley Franco: The prosecution's case is that Barry snapped at one point the day before Mother's Day. KRYSTAL LEE: One of them was her, I would imagine it was her Bible. No cameras in the courtroom. And she said, "Yeah he asked me if I would kill the mother of his baby.". Get the Android Weather app from Google Play, Fed is set to raise rates yet again. Barry was not home, as the lovers' texts heat up: At 2:05 p.m., Suzanne writes: "I'm just in love with you. The Chaffee County Sheriff's Office says that Barry Morphew was arrested this morning. When Krystal Lee finally started talking, she didn't stop for four-and-a-half hours. It was updated on April 30.]. Ashley Franco: They want to find Kelsey, they want to know what happened to her, so they're staying in Kelsey's townhome and things kind of get a little odd there was a mat like a rug of some sort in the bathroom. "We just know our dad better than anyone else, and we know he was not involved in our moms disappearance.". Suzanne Morphew, the mother of two daughters, disappeared on May 10, 2020, Mothers' Day, in the Salida area of Colorado. Eytan said there was "not a single ounce" of physical evidence linking Barry Morphew to the case and noted that prosecutors have never before said they needed to find Suzanne Morphew's body in order to prosecute. Phone records show Frazee called Lee in Idaho around 4:30 on Thanksgiving Day. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. She says Lee called and confided in her about a disturbing conversation she and Frazee had a month before Kelsey disappeared. Suzanne's spy pen had surfaced with that intimate conversation. Ben Lemere: Well, it gets overwritten. Dan Ridenour: Barry and Suzanne Morphew were not known well in Salida, Colorado They had only been here for a couple of years. "Its been an emotional rollercoaster, but we feel like we can finally take our first steps in healing, which is a blessing," Macy added. Perhaps the most shocking testimony came from a surprise prosecution witness. Nikki Battiste:None of you received any responses? but he wanted Krystal Lee to pin it on. He's got a lot to lose if revelations of this affair come out. It was very revealing. Park rangers found his car parked at the Glacier Gorge Trailhead on Thursday and are asking for the publics assistance with any information about his disappearance. Ashley Franco: She buys ingredients for a sweet potato casserole. Aya Gruber: This case is incredibly unique. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Aya Gruber: This is a case without a body. Horses, open spaces? But her cell phone was missing. Girlfriend of convicted killer shows cops where she cleaned up victims blood. "Wait, what?" Nobody says that. So, people had thought maybe they heard from Kelsey. It's helped get people not convicted. ABC News was unable to reach Morphew's attorney. She was raised on a hay farm and very much a tomboy. But I don't think she would get very far. He entered the courthouse through a white tent -- out of sight from the media. Lee claims Frazee invited his fiance to play a guessing game with candles. Produced by Paul La Rosa. The whole plan was stupid. It's impossible to get it to do anything else. Dan Ridenour: Which would be to our left. "No questions asked, however much they want, I will do whatever it takes to get you back," he said. It took FBI agents six months before they uncovered the identity of Suzanne's secret lover: Jeff Libler, a man Suzanne and Barry knew from their Alexandria, Indiana, high school. Legal Statement. I'd wanna know everything about what he was doing, what he was thinking. Dan Ridenour: I came home every day and my wife asked me, "had they found her yet?". Suzanne and Barry Morphew with their daughters Macy, left, and Mallory, right. Phone records show while Frazee's cell stayed near his ranch, Kelsey's phone was on the move heading west out of Colorado. And she was flying planes. She described to them how he said he lured Kelsey to her death. Patrick Frazee sits in a grim Cripple Creek, Colorado, jail put there by his former girlfriend Krystal Lee for the murder of his fiance Kelsey Berreth. So, they can't give sort of a full chronological picture. Copyright 2020 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. Peter Van Sant: She would have been injured, yeah? On December 21, 2018, Frazee was arrested at his ranch andcharged with Kelsey Berreth's murder. Ashley Cogburn: You know, he was, like, a country boy and that's what she was used to. COLORADO There are more than 524 people currently missing for more than a year in Colorado. Details on what led to the discovery were not released, but the El Paso County Sheriff's Office asked for anyone who had seen Letecia Stauch in Florida from March 3 to 5 to come forward. Peter Van Sant: And what kinda boss was he? Meanwhile, Jeff Libler was cleared. They bolstered their case with surveillance videos and photos, including one of the black tote in the back of Frazee's truck that Lee says he would use to dispose of her body. Laura Stutzman | Krystal Lee's friend: The Krystal I knew could do no wrong but the Krystal that has done the things that came out of her mouth is somebody I don't know. AGENT: I believe yesterday you said that you also collected wood and put it into the burn pit? Ashley Franco: I think at that point she kind of knows, "I have to come clean.". Clint Cline: I think a lot of people that knew Patrick they don't think that the candle story adds up. Aya Gruber: The critical question is what happened in between around 1:30, 1:45 and 3:30 when they get that picture of him. Investigators found this clear plastic needle cap in the Morphew family's dryer. DA Dan May: Justice in this case? "When something like this happens when somebody goes missing you want answers," Aya Gruber, a law professor at the University of Colorado and a former defense attorney, tells "48 Hours" correspondent Peter Van Sant. The law enforcement teams looked into more than 1,400 tips. Prosecutor Jennifer Viehman | Teller County DA's Office: I don't think we would have known what happened to Kelsey without Krystal Lee. April 30 is Suzanne Morphew's birthday. Gannon's biological mother and father make a gut-wrenching plea together for anyone with information to come forward. It was a tough time, says her sister Melinda Moorman. Jul 20, 2020; JeffCo Deputies Find Missing Girl The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office is . Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. Those involved in the search include the FBI Child Abduction Rapid Deployment, National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and Colorado Springs Police Department. Colorado Bureau of Investigation Phone . . Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Ashley Cogburn, Amanda Smith and Nicole Haywood had an unbreakable bond with Kelsey. Gannon Stauch, 11, has been missing from his Colorado Springs, Colo., home since Jan. 27, 2020. She told them that she and Patrick went to the ranch together, and that she watched him burn that tote along with other evidence. For two days, prosecutor Jennifer Viehman asked Lee to describe Frazee's plan to kill Kelsey Berreth. Suzanne competed for homecoming queen. This is completely out of character. Dylan Redwine La Plata County Sheriff. And I was like, "Oh my gosh. Ashley Franco: "Howdy Stranger." Gannon is reported missing by his stepmother, Letecia Stauch. I don't know if it's 'cause she knew she lived far away. Michelle Stein: And she said that he had told her it was because she wanted to take him back to court to get custody of the baby and he was in fear that she was going to harm the baby. Clint Cline: Patrick is the farrier for the donkeys people call 'em horseshoers and all that, but our donkeys don't have shoes.