Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - Young woman's body stuffed in suitcase, dumped in Connecticut neighborhood; Patrick Frazee's nurse friend to plead guilty in Kelsey Berreth probe

Episode Date: February 6, 2019

The corpse of an unidentified young woman was packed in a suitcase and dumped near a highway in an affluent Connecticut community Tuesday morning. A coroner is working to identify the dead woman, who is believed to be between 18 and 30 years old. Investigators want to know how she died and who bound her hands and feet before stuffing her in the luggage and dumping it. Nancy Grace looks at the mystery with a panel of experts including California defense lawyer Daniel Horowitz, psychologist & lawyer Dr. Brian Russell, private investigator Vincent Hill, and reporter John Lemley. Grace also updates the investigation into the murder of Colorado mother Kelsey Berreth, whose remains have not been found. Krystal Lee Kenney, the Idaho nurse who allegedly had a relationship with accused killer Patrick Frazee, is set to plead guilty to an undisclosed charge Friday as part of a deal with prosecutors. Nancy's panel includes forensics expert Karen Smith, family & divorce lawyer Kathleen Murphy, psychologist Caryn Stark, & reporter Ellen Killoran. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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This is Crime Stories. I'm Nancy Grace. Breaking news in the kidnap case of Jamie Kloss and the murder of both of her parents. Listen. Michelle Saffert is friends with the Kloss family. She says since coming home, Jamie has spent time with loved ones and in therapy. Every single person I talk to just wants Jamie to heal and be able to move forward with her life. Do you feel like that's happening? I do. I don't think any of us can really know what she's going through, but I think that if she has to be with a group of people that will love her

and support her for the rest of her life, she's in the perfect family to do that. This week, the Kloss family released this picture of the 13-year-old enjoying a steak dinner with her grandfather. Today, Jamie's alleged kidnapper, 21-year-old enjoying a steak dinner with her grandfather. Today, Jamie's alleged kidnapper, 21-year-old Jake Patterson, will face a judge in person for the first time. We've never talked about him or any of that kind of stuff and I hope we never have to. Investigators revealed last week they had obtained call logs, photos and videos from Patterson's cell phone, which was in the front seat of his car when he was arrested. According to the criminal complaint, Patterson's cell phone, which was in the front seat of his car when he was arrested.

According to the criminal complaint, Patterson shot and killed Jamie's parents in October as they tried to protect her. He allegedly confessed to targeting the teenager after seeing her getting on a school bus. He's accused of holding her captive in his house until she broke free nearly three months later. Charlie Glynn and Richard Jones are Patterson's public defenders. When you have a confession like this, how much harder is your case? Well, these cases by their nature are very, very difficult cases. We have a responsibility to review everything. We have to conduct our own investigation.

Safford says no matter what happens with the suspect, Jamie will be okay. I have no doubt that she's going to make it. I have no doubt in my mind at all. Strong little fighter she is. That's CBS reporter Jamie Yucca's talking to a friend of Jamie Closs. This as her alleged kidnapper and the murderer of both of her parents due in court. Straight out to Dave Mack, syndicated talk show host, joining us. Dave Mack, why is this guy, Jake Patterson, due in court?

What's the purpose of his court hearing? Today it's a preliminary hearing, Nancy. They'll actually present evidence from both sides. But again, he has already confessed. He's already given a complete statement to the police. That's how we know all the information we already know. Man, I'm telling you, Dan Horowitz, California defense attorney, if I were the defense attorney, I would waive that hearing yesterday

because a grand jury can indict him without a preliminary hearing. All this is going to do is make public more incendiary evidence against the perp, the alleged perp, and all they have to do is waive it and take the grand jury indictment. His big problem is getting killed in prison. I mean, this guy is the number one target of every prisoner in the system. He's going to have to be settled alone, kept in isolation. The good thing about this guy is he'll be tortured by loneliness all the time that he languishes in prison.

They'll give him the death penalty maybe in 30 years, which doesn't mean anything, but he's going to have a very hard time on the inside. A, they don't have the death penalty there, and B, he was already lonely because he was living up in a cabin all by himself in a lumber town. You know, even in his high school photos, it shows the whole group of the class, and then he's doing a crazy photo, and then he's off in the corner looking up from a book. So long story short, to Dr. Brian Russell,

not only psychologist but lawyer as well, host of ID's Fatal Vows, Dr. Brian, one thing they will get, the defense will get out of a preliminary hearing, is they'll see the state's blueprint to their case. And they'll get to cross-examine some of the state's witnesses, get the first swing at the ball for the defense. They will, but I agree with you. If I were representing this guy, I think I'd be waving this because I think that benefit is not really going to be that enlightening for them. I think even we here on the show pretty well know what the state's blueprint for prosecuting the

case is going to be. Vincent Hill, private investigator, former cop, author of Playbook to a Murderer. I still say that the defense, for their reasons, and the state, for their reasons, need to weigh the preliminary hearing. Apparently, they're not going to, because this gives the defense, you've been on the stand for the state and then cross-examined, this gives the defense a perfect opportunity to go fishing, to find anything wrong, inconsistent, any problem, a potential way to get those confessions suppressed. They're going to have the state's witnesses on the stand on cross-examination under oath. Yeah, Nancy, I think we all agree. I would wave it. Not only can the defense look for holes, I mean, they can start pointing fingers and say

the police botched the investigation i mean the police were responding he's leaving the scene in a car they don't go after the car so there's so much that they can come out with in this preliminary hearing i would wave it if i was his attorney as well so dave mack with me syndicated talk show host bottom line Patterson Jake Patterson Jamie Claus is alleged kidnapper the murderer offered two parents in court. What will happen after that Dave Mack? This basic hearing today is his first time in front of a judge they'll then bind it over and they'll set a court date. What they'll do today is probably talk about not only the confession but also forensic evidence they obtained at the scene in

that remote logging cabin. And that really gives a preview to the defense as to what they're going to do at trial. Okay, all eyes on that courtroom. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. The victim was found bound at the hands and at the feet, and the victim was found in a suitcase. The body of the woman, believed to be between 18 and 30 years old, was discovered along Glenville Road in Greenwich by a highway worker. While they believe this is a homicide, they do not know the cause of death. We have received some leads on some, I would say, possible identifications of the victim. But at this point, nothing is confirmed, so I have no information to release actually identifying the victim. But we are following up some leads.

The gruesome discovery is both unusual and upsetting here in the picturesque Glenville section of this affluent community. It was very upsetting when we originally heard about it. The road in a quiet area is somewhat isolated, according to local residents who use it for running and walking. Joe Allegro lives nearby. I'm still trying to take this in because I just heard about it a few minutes ago. I mean, I've got kids here and I didn't know if it was an adult or a child. An extensive crime scene was established. Police do not believe the death occurred at the site. As they try to positively identify the victim, they do reveal she had been constrained. They are also looking for useful video. This gas station is just up the road. We'll check it out in a couple days. We'll probably send special people here to check the surveillance.

Hopefully they'll get to the bottom of it and we'll figure out what the explanation is. And unfortunate that it should happen anywhere. You're hearing our friends at WABC. That is Tim Fleischer reporting, speaking to a guy who owns a gas station right up the street, Anthony Zacchino. A young woman's body has been found in a suitcase in an upscale area. I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories. Thank you for being with us. As you were hearing that recent presser, we now know it is a female body. Greenwich, Connecticut is one of the wealthiest areas in the entire United States. It's in the top 20 list of the wealthiest zip codes, and that's according to Bloomberg News.

The average adjusted gross, that's after taxes, after deductions, is nearly a million dollars. That's the average. It's around $650,000 to $700,000. Now, what rich person killed a woman, dismembered her, and stuck her in a suitcase? Or, as you heard, cops don't think this is the primary crime scene. This is at least the secondary crime scene if not the tertiary and what i mean by that is killed somewhere put in a suitcase somewhere disposed

of somewhere maybe abducted from a vehicle there's so many possibilities the breaking news right now a woman's a young woman's body has been found in a suitcase on the side of a Connecticut road. You can tell it is a young woman's body by an examination of the hips and, believe it or not, of the teeth. Straight out to John Lindley, CrimeOnline.com investigative reporter. Also with me, renowned California defense attorney daniel horowitz psychologist lawyer host of investigation discoveries hit series fatal vows dr brian russell and cop turned private investigator author of playbook to a murder on amazon vincent hill john limley fill me in a woman's body stuffed in a suitcase by the side of the road?

That's pretty bold. Exactly, and not what a road crew was expecting when they were working Tuesday morning along Glenville Road in Greenwich, Connecticut. This is a beautiful area. This stretch of road, especially wooded, running through an affluent community. It's one of those places where people every fall come from around the country to snap pictures of the autumn leaves. Now, this was around 815 Tuesday morning. One of the highway crew members saw something large and dark just off the road, about to 15 feet off glenville road when he got closer he realized it was a really big suitcase he and a couple of his crew member colleagues opened

the suitcase and what they found inside was horrific as we we've mentioned, it was a young woman and her hands and feet had been bound and she was stuffed into that suitcase. Guys, joining me, John Lindley, CrimeOnline.com investigative reporter. We're learning a lot. If you have information, 203-622-3333 repeat the Greenwich police 203-622-3333 in addition to what John Lindley is telling us to Vincent Hill cop turned PI I know this she was fully clothed that may rule out sex assault or she may have been reclothed. It was a red suitcase, which makes a difference. It's more distinctive. Even we know when you're at the airport and the baggage, what do you call it, Jackie?

Baggage claim. They all are the same. A black Tumi, a black Samsonite, a black rollerboard. This is a red suitcase. We also know this woman is 18 to 30 years old. Now, that may sound like a big span, that's 12 years,

but actually, it's very significant. Okay? You're ruling out everybody 30 and above, 17 and under. Vincent Hill, private investigator, former cop, weigh in. Well, Nancy, here's the great thing in this tragedy. Maybe that suitcase will lead to who the owner was. If it's a designer suitcase or something that is not too common, you can find that. You can track down who purchased it, where they purchased it from. And also, Nancy, even though this was Connecticut, it's supposedly wintertime.

If you look at the still footage, there's not a lot of snow. It doesn't appear to be wet. So that's going to preserve any DNA left behind. And let's not forget DNA that could be on her clothes as touch DNA, trace DNA, things of that nature. So I think investigators have a lot to work with here, Nancy. Even though the murder did not occur there, we know that you can trace back based on DNA. And maybe there's some surveillance footage in the area. You know what? I can tell you're a cop turned PI, Vincent Hill, because the police additionally said it's very difficult to tell how long she has been dead because of environmental issues, fluctuating temperatures in that area when the victim was found.

This horrific discovery has shocked local residents. They say, I open up at 6 o'clock in the morning. By 8 o'clock, I see cop cars. Customers come down and say, somebody found a body in the suitcase. That's what the gas station owner is saying to Daniel Horowitz. I know you're dancing up and down the halls of your defense lawyer office, doing a little jig because they can't tell much from the body because of fluctuating temperatures. Her body is now decomposing. That may get rid of DNA, Daniel Horowitz.

Once again, I'm dealing with a room full of prosecutors who are suspicious and think this is a murder. Why do you think this is a murder? Wait, wait, wait, wait. Please stop. Please stop. Jackie, please get off the ground. Okay, that's dangerous when you just fall over like that, like you're fainting every time Daniel Horowitz says something. Suspicious? What do you think? She killed herself, then folded herself into a suitcase? Nancy, did you ever think that maybe she's at a house, she dies of a drug overdose, they are afraid of getting in trouble, they put her in a crazy suitcase like that,

dump her where she's going to be found. They're not covering up any evidence. It is not what you do if you kill somebody, but you're jumping to conclusions like you always do, like your guests always do. It could be something very explainable and not a murder. That's the truth, and you know it. I don't know any such of a thing. Dr. Brian Russell, I think right now I do need to shrink, even though, yes, as you've told me many times, you're also a lawyer and the host of a famous TV show, Investigation Discovery's Fatal Vows.

I know that. But, Dr. Brian Russell, dummy down for me and explain why Daniel Horowitz is oh so wrong yet again. So we have a young woman's body found bound in a suitcase on the side of a road. I'm going to go out on a limb here. Bound in a suitcase, Horowitz. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that this was not a young woman who passed away of natural causes at the age of 18 to 30. The victim was found bound at the hands and at the feet and the victim was found in a

suitcase. The victim has now since been removed from the scene. We have received numerous public tips which is very appreciative. We are following up on each and every one of scene. We have received numerous public tips, which is very appreciative. We are following up on each and every one of them. We do want to encourage the public to continue to call on those tips. The Greenwich Police does have a tip line. That's area code 203-622-3333. Jackie, please get out of the presser. I mean, I just want to make sure that Daniel Horowitz heard what Dr. Brian Russell was just saying.

Daniel Horowitz, renowned California defense attorney, and now you understand why. Because if he can get just one person on a jury to buy into these zany theories, he's got it made. He cashes another cha-ching, big fat check from a criminal. Dr. Brian Russell, you were right in the middle of pointing out what the chief of police was just saying, and that is accidental, natural causes. She was bound. Back to Dr. Brian Russell, psychologist, lawyer, host of I.D.'s Fatal Vows.

Dr. Brian, why is this no accident or natural causes, like she had a stroke and just fell into a suitcase? We've got a young woman found bound inside of a suitcase on the side of the road. And I went out on a limb and said, I'm going to go out on a limb and say this is not somebody who died of natural causes at age 18 to 30. Now, I will agree with one thing that Daniel said, which is that there was not a great effort made here to conceal this body. We're talking about a body in a red suitcase on the side of the road. And that makes me wonder whether or not this body was meant to be found and whether or not there's a tie to this community and others, perhaps family members, somebody to whom this young woman was tied,

is supposed to be getting a message here or is supposed to be finding her deceased body. Well, here's another question to John Limley. Hasn't anyone commented or noticed somebody is missing? Because no one seems to have commented. Missing persons reports is one thing that police are going through right now. So far, nothing has come up. They've been interviewing local residents, seeking even video footage from security systems for clues.

Of course, the problem here is that this particular stretch of road is not within sight of nearby residences. Most of the residences there are what we would probably call mansions and do have great security systems, but if it's out of sight, you can't see it. This is a small depression on the east side of Glenville Road. Interestingly, it's near a small area adjoining the road where a car could park and possibly not be seen. Hey, Nancy, I would say expand the search, the radius of the missing person. Let's not forget how close Connecticut is to New York. So we're assuming this person is local. I would expand that search at least 50 to 100 mile radius of any reported missing persons that match that description. Take a listen to our

friends at NBC. The gruesome discovery shut down this busy road in one of the wealthiest communities in the nation. Highway workers finding the body of a young woman, fully clothed, stuffed in a suitcase, her hands and feet bound. Our focus right now is obtaining that identification of the victim so that a proper notification can be done to the next of kin. Police believe the victim is between 18 and 30 years old. We have received some leads on some, I would say, possible identifications of the victim, but at this point, nothing is confirmed. Greenwich is home to many rich and famous residents, a beautiful area of Connecticut dubbed the Gold Coast. For some, news of a young woman found dead trigger memories of another high-profile crime more than 40 years ago. Martha Moxley was killed in 1975, bludgeoned and stabbed with a golf club.

She was last seen with Robert F. Kennedy's nephew, Michael Skakel, who was 15 at the time. Skakel would eventually be convicted of the crime nearly three decades later. He always maintained his innocence, and the Connecticut Supreme Court eventually vacated that conviction, leaving the case unresolved. Now residents are faced with another murder and so far very little to go on. Police say they don't know how this young woman died or where they do not believe she was killed on the side of the road. This is gonna be a long methodical process. We want to make sure we do things correctly, um, and have verifiable information before we put anything out. You're hearing our friends at NBC News on the Greenwich murder mystery.

The search for a killer after a young woman's body is found. That leads me to a host of questions regarding evidence to Daniel Horowitz, California defense attorney. You have defended many murder cases. I have prosecuted many. Outside the body, the first thing you look at is the suitcase. You determine the type, where it's sold, if it has any identification on it or around it, in it, anything that would identify her or where it came from. Then you look at her clothing. What is she wearing? Where did it come from? What does she still have on shoes? What is the condition of the bottom of her feet? So many issues here. And regarding her decomposing body, her fingernails, of course, would not be decomposing.

I'd be interested to find out if there's any DNA under her fingernails. That's something that we may be able to, let me say, scavenge. That may be evidence that is there for us to obtain. Daniel Horowitz. Well, I'm glad you agree with me, Nancy. Since being bound. I don't agree with you. Your great theory of murder was Nancy. Since being bound. I don't agree with you. Your

great theory of murder was that her hands were bound. Now you figure her fingernails have something under them because she's scratched. So you're contradicting yourself because you don't know who she is. You know that they deliberately dumped her somewhere where she could be found. Can I ask you the contradiction? The fact that she is bound at her hands and her feet does not preclude the fact that she may have scratched her attacker before she was killed it's totally consistent a big fuss about how rich the community is you're making a big fuss that when she's found dead and then you change your mind and then you change your mind and That was NBC. And then you change your mind and say, well, maybe her hands weren't tied. She scratched.

And they tied her up after she died. You don't know what happened. So stop guessing and making something out of this that it's not. It's great. If you find somebody involved with this, you'll be all over them saying they're murderers. You don't know what happened. So don't jump to conclusions now based on a shred of evidence that you contradicted yourself. Somebody has been in the hooch this morning.

Correct, Daniel Horowitz. Dr. Brian Russell, at any point, did I say any of the things Daniel Horowitz just suggested? Or have I lost my mind yet again? You haven't lost your mind. I think that Daniel is doing the best contortion I can imagine anybody doing to try to make this be anything but a really horrific homicide. homicide and I it actually it smacks to me of the stuff of mafia movies where you know of course this is total speculation but you know wife catches husband cheating with young woman and wife's wife's brother is in the mob and you know the the young woman ends up close to husband and wife's house in a suitcase as a message that the husband better

quit messing around on the wife or else he'll be in the next suitcase, something like that. Now somebody's been watching a little too much HBO and Netflix. I don't know anything about the mafia being part of this, although that is a possible theory. That's a possible theory. But John Limley, right now, wrap it up for me. What do we know? Right now, they are working on some leads. Now, this is not a missing persons reports. This is from the community.

People have tips that they were 48 hours ago. The tip line to Greenwich Police, 203-622-3333. Hi, Nancy Grace here. Have you ever Googled yourself, your neighbors, somebody at work, a crush? 57% of Americans admit to keeping an eye on their own online reputation. 46% admit to using the Internet to look up somebody from their past. But Google and Facebook, the tip of the iceberg when it comes to finding personal information. There's an innovative new website called Truthfinder.

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Truthfinder.com forward slash Nancy. Find the truth. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. I still know somebody knows where she's at. Somebody has seen her. There's more information out there. Somebody just needs to realize, to recognize, and to say something. Has she ever disappeared before?

No. No. I can't think of anywhere she's ever gone that she hasn't told me. It's just not in her character to just take off and be gone. Thanksgiving is the last known time Kelsey Barrett was seen in public. It was at this Safeway store where she was captured by the store's security cameras. Cheryl Barrett says she spoke with Kelsey by phone that day twice. What did you talk about that day? It was just small things and initially she needed a recipe. Based on that conversation, there was nothing to make you believe there was anything wrong. Exactly. Yeah, her voice was fine. She was, yeah, she was, it was a normal day for her. I've looked at that video over and over and over trying to get any kind of clue about where is missing Colorado mom Kelsey

Barrett leaving behind her taught girl, Kelly. She would never have done that. And she is no prom queen hiding behind her tiara and her lipstick. She's a flight instructor, just bought her own townhome all on her own, taking care of her little girl and seeing her fiance now called the killer fiance, Patrick Frazee. Where is she? The only clue we have is her cell phone pinging about 800 miles away in Gooding, Idaho, near Twin Falls. And then enter the scene. A rodeo-loving mom of two, divorcee, who apparently met Kelsey's fiancé on the rodeo circuit. She's heading to court. That's right.

The rodeo mom of two is heading to court. But why? I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories. Thank you for being with us. Listen to our friend, Fox 31. The connection between Barrett and Lee is Patrick Frazee. He was the now-deceased Barrett's boyfriend and father to their one-year-old child,

and according to acquaintances, also dating Lee. THE FAMILY'S FRIEND. THE FAMILY'S FRIEND WAS TURNED ON AFTER THEIR FRIEND AND FATHER TO THEIR ONE-YEAR- OLD CHILD AND ACCORDING TO ACQUAINTANCES, ALSO DATING LEE. POLICE BELIEVE FRAZI KILLED BARRETH THEN HIT HER BODY ON THANKSGIVING DAY. BARRETH'S CELL PHONE WAS TURNED

ON AFTER SHE DIED PINGING A CELL TOWER NEAR TWIN FALLS WHERE LEE LIVES. LEE IS NOT IN CUSTODY AND FOX 31 CAN'T FIND ANY CRIMINAL CHARGES PENDING ON PUBLIC COURT not in custody, and Fox 31 can't find any criminal charges pending on public court documents. Yet, her scheduled appearance in Teller County indicates she's cut a plea deal. A plea deal to what? Dating a killer? We don't know where Kelsey Bear's body is. We know nothing about where her remains may be hidden. We do know that her family has brought a lawsuit for wrongful death against the killer fiancé.

And in one moment, I'm going to Alan Duke on that. There's movement there. But Ellen Killorn with me, CrimeOnline.com, investigative reporter. You can find Ellen's work and all other breaking crime and justice news at CrimeOnline.com. We've been on this since the get-go when Kelsey Beareth first went missing. E.K., why is, as I like to say, the rodeo-loving divorcee mom of two showing up in court pleading guilty to what? On Friday, Crystal Lee Kenney is due in court.

She is expected to enter into a plea deal. KOA reported overnight that she is expected to face one count of tampering with physical evidence. We don't know exactly what that count is related to specifically, but there are certainly indications that investigators believe Kenney may have disposed of Barrett's cell phone two days after Barrett went missing on Thanksgiving Day. This is what we know. This nurse apparently met the fiancé, Patrick Frazee. Some call him the killer fiancé, on the rodeo circuit. He is a rancher, so that's not unusual.

They struck up a love relationship. I don't know why he didn't just break up with kelsey barrett but i can guarantee you this kathleen murphy north carolina family and divorce lawyer boy they sure could have used you kathleen she's not pleading for nothing all right she's gonna have to be cutting a deal or she's facing hard jail time on this thing. She is. And I'm very happy that they've got her over a barrel, so to speak, because Patrick, Patrick Frazee, he's not giving up, whatever his name is, is not giving up anything. He's not talking. She has a lot of information. And with the information that we get from her, we still don't have the body. And that's tragic. I know her little girl is going to grow up not knowing what happened to mommy karen start you're the psychologist karen stark at karen

stark.com joining us from manhattan today karen to grow up not knowing anything about your mom knowing nothing like karen you remember uh when the twins when i was covering the top mom casey anthony trial and we had to all move yeah who could forget that we all had to move to Orlando for the duration of the trial before it and after it and at that time we would take the twins to Disneyland is it land or world in Florida well Disney it went to Disney every other day. Okay. And they remember practically nothing of that. They have vague recollections of pulling Eeyore's tail and things like that or chasing piglet around. But they remember very little of that. And I'm just thinking about this little girl.

She's going to grow up. She's never going to remember her mother, Kelsey, who is awesome. She's beautiful. She's a flight instructor. She bought her own home. She does it all. There were cinnamon rolls warming on the counter when her brother showed up that day looking for her. She took care of her daughter. I mean, everything. She was superwoman. And this child, Keely, will never know her because of this jackass. Patrick Frazee, according to police. Karen, I mean, how's that going to affect her? Well, in addition to Rich Fancy, I mean, she will not remember him. You're absolutely right.

And who is her father? You know, there's nobody for this little girl but she will be okay as long as the memory of her mother is kept alive that the people that can still be there with her will constantly talk about her and show her pictures and videos whatever they can do to keep the memory alive for her because she will want to know and remember as much as possible. Mm-mm-mm-mm. This is what I know about Ms. Crystal Lee, age 32 years old. She, as Ellen Killorn is reporting, is scheduled to appear in a Colorado courtroom

Friday morning, 8.30 a.m. She's going to enter a plea deal with prosecutors. According to two of her relatives who spoke anonymously, the deal has not been made public. They say she's been cooperating with investigators. And investigators are looking into claims she disposed of evidence, specifically Kelsey Barrett's cell phone. Hello, it pinged right where she lives at Twin Falls, Idaho. Long story short, this woman facing one count of tampering with physical evidence.

It's a class six felony punishable by 18 months behind bars. Unless she wants to do that and maybe a whole lot more, she better cooperate. So what do you expect her to offer in exchange for a sweet deal, Kathleen Murphy? You're the lawyer. I think that she's going to make a plea deal for no jail time because she has a new child herself. And if she goes into this without jail time, then she's going to be able to leave it all behind. But I would be very disappointed if she got no job. He's employed as a nurse at St. Luke's Magic Valley Medical Center there in Twin Falls, Idaho. But the hospital spokesperson says an individual by that name no longer works at the hospital.

That's what we know. What is going to happen in court Friday morning? As of right now, Kelsey Barrett or her remains have not been discovered. Now we know in another development, we know that Crystal Lee, who is reportedly having an affair with the killer fiance, is going to be in court Friday morning to plead guilty. But to what and why? Listen to our friends at Inside Edition. Did this nurse help murder suspect Patrick Frazee dispose of the cell phone belonging to his fiance? Her name is Crystal Lee,

and she is a registered nurse in Twin Falls, Idaho. Published reports say the FBI is investigating her in connection with Kelsey Barrett's disappearance. Lee lives about 35 miles from where the missing mom's cell phone last pinged, three days after she was seen at a supermarket on Thanksgiving Day. Here's what we know about Lee. She is 32 years old and a divorced mother of two. She is active in rodeo and was once crowned Miss Magic Valley Stampede Queen.

She and Frazee reportedly met at a rodeo. He's a blacksmith. The nature of Crystal Lee's relationship with Patrick Frazee is unclear, and authorities have not confirmed that they are investigating Lee. Victoria Racogno is in Twin Falls. According to one report, they've known each other for years and were romantically involved.

Crystal Lee works at St. Luke's Medical Center as a pre-op nurse. A spokeswoman confirms she is now on a leave of absence. Kelsey Barrett's parents have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Frazee for his actions to murder and or collaboration to murder their daughter. This woman, Crystal Lee, the Miss Magic Valley Stampede Queen, is going to be in court on Friday morning at 0830. To Alan Duke, we heard that the parents, Kelsey's parents, have filed a wrongful death action against killer fiancé Patrick Frazee. What do you know about that? Well, a source close to the legal team assures me that

the lawsuit will go on, but expect them to withdraw it soon from federal court because they don't want to impede the criminal investigation. If they were to proceed with more hearings and discovery, it would reveal some information that they believe police do not want revealed yet. So they are going to pull it and then refile it later. Take a listen. This is how Crystal Lee, the former Miss Magic Valley Stampede Queen, was found out. Joe and Patty Roxall say they called the FBI after learning disturbing details

about the disappearance of Kelsey Barrett. They claim they learned the information from a close friend of Crystal Lee. Lee allegedly had a relationship with Barrett's fiance, Patrick Frazee. Frazee is now charged in Barrett's murder, even though her body hasn't been found. Nikki Batiste is here with the expanding, twisting, and turning investigation. Nikki, good morning. Good morning, good morning, everyone. A source tells CBS News the FBI questioned Crystal Lee

regarding her possible role in Kelsey Barrett's disappearance and that she is cooperating with authorities. Her alleged connection to Patrick Frazee is offering new insight into what may have happened. She was in love with him from a very young age. Patty and Joe Rockstall say one of their employees, who was Crystal Lee's best friend, told them that Lee and Patrick Frazee had a relationship that began just after high school. She was very vulnerable, and I think she cared for him and he took advantage

of that. He was her first love, I understand, and he had a hold on her. The Rockstalls say they were told Lee, a nurse from Idaho and mother, visited Frazee as recently as November, the month his fiancee Kelsey Barrett vanished. They claim their employee says Frazee threatened Lee and she may have helped him dispose of evidence. Do you know what the threats were? Patrick told Crystal that little girls go missing off the playground all the time. Crystal was so scared. He was so angry that he said things that made Crystal think he had killed before. So of course she's gonna be terrifying. The Rockstalls say they were told Frazee asked Lee three times as early as October to help kill Berreth.

But Lee refused. From what Crystal said, what was Patrick Frazee's motive? That he felt that Kelsey was going to harm the child, that she was crazy. Is Crystal Lee a murderer? I don't believe so. I don't. Barrett was last seen on this surveillance video at a grocery store in Colorado on Thanksgiving Day with her and Frazee's one-year-old daughter. Three days later, police say Barrett's cell phone

pinged nearly 600 miles away in Gooding, Idaho. Several texts were sent from the phone, including one to her employer saying she would be away for a week and another to Frazee. Do you think Crystal Lee sent those texts? I do. She had the phone. She was probably instructed to send those texts by Patrick, but there's nobody else that could have sent those texts, to my knowledge. Why would Crystal Lee, a nurse with children, help Patrick Frazee cover up the murder of his fiancee? I think she was afraid and I think she got in over her head. She was in love with Patrick and we've all heard the stories of what people will do for love.

You are hearing our friends at CBS as they are reporting and speaking with Patty and Joe Rockstall there in Idaho. And they're telling the story. The Rockstalls are telling the story of this nurse, Crystal Lee, who had been in love with Patrick Frazee, the so-called killer fiancé, for so long and at first refused to help. You know, Karen Stark's psychologist. You can find her at karenstark. You know, Karen Stark's psychologist, you can find her at karenstark.com. What people do for love. I mean, she had to know that Patrick Frazee meant to kill Kelsey Barrett. And if he thought that Kelsey was harming their daughter in any way, he could have reported it and gotten the child himself. He didn do that he wanted her dead i think there was a money motive there may have been a motive but in cases like this you're

talking about a person the personality where it's just very convenient for him to kill somebody actually he might even get off in fact that he gets to kill her and unfortunately we see that in a lot of cases people do really really insane things when they're in love. You know, they say that love can make you crazy. Well, this is an instance of that where she's so devoted to the man that she'll do anything. I want to go back to Ellen Kaloran joining us. Oh, hold on. I'm just being joined right now by forensics expert out of Florida, Karen Smith.

Karen, how do you think they put it all together? And what do you expect to learn from the texts and the ping data? I think that that cell phone ping, Nancy, was the key to this case. You know, it pinged 25 miles from Crystal Lee's house in Twin Falls, Idaho. They linked Crystal Lee back to Patrick Frazee. Probably, you know, she's going to be the weak link in the chain here, which is why she's getting this plea deal for apparently tampering with physical evidence. So what they're going to do is question her. What did you do with her cell phone? Did you throw it in a dumpster? Did you throw it in a river? What did

you do with it? When did you have it? What did you know? And when? They're going to go back and question her about Patrick Frazee. What is he like? When's the last time that you saw Kelsey Barrett? When's the last time you saw Patrick Frazee? All of these questions, not only those small details, but basically, did Patrick Frazee confide in her? You know, she was a trusted confidant. Not only that, but according to reports, he was threatening her and her daughter to keep her over a barrel. It's a very complex case, and law enforcement has their work cut out. I'm just hoping that at some point, somebody, maybe Crystal Lee, if she knows, will come forth with where Kelsey Barrett's body is so that she can be put to rest

well another thing they need her kathleen murphy north carolina family and divorce lawyer because he patrick frazee is charged with murder and solicitation she's obviously the one he solicited they need her they need her and that goes back to my earlier comment she's probably shooting for no jail time because of her children. But I think the police department and the detectives hold all the cards. You can get 30 years or you can get 15 years, but she's got to get something. She's got to get something, but not at the expense of Kelsey's family. We wait as justice unfolds on Friday morning, 0830. Nancy Grace, Crime Story, signing off.

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