Nurse admits taking phone, pleads guilty to tampering
CRIPPLE CREEK» A nurse from Twin Falls, Idaho, pleaded guilty to felony tampering Friday in a Colorado courtroom after acknowledging she took Kelsey Berreth’s cellphone to Idaho to disrupt the investigation into the missing Woodland Park woman’s disappearance and murder.
Krystal Jean Lee Kenney, 32, entered the plea before Teller County District Judge Scott Sells. She could face prison time as her deal with prosecutors did not carry a stipulated sentence.
Kenney acknowledged in court that at the time she took Berreth’s cellphone — a crucial piece of evidence in the 29-yearold’s disappearance — she already knew that Patrick Frazee had murdered Berreth on Thanksgiving Day.
Reading from a plea statement, Kenney said she took the phone back to Idaho knowing that it would impair the investigation and Berreth’s right to justice.
“I learned that Patrick Frazee had committed murder on Nov. 22,” Kenney said in a subdued voice. “I had no right or authority to remove the cellphone.”
She did not clarify how she learned that Frazee had killed Berreth. Court documents describing the sequence of events have been sealed.
On Nov. 25, Berreth’s phone pinged at a cellphone tower in Gooding, Idaho, and Berreth’s employer received text messages from her phone saying she wouldn’t be at work the following week.
The discovery of the phone in Idaho, where Berreth has family members, became an investigative diversion to authorities. But ultimately, the phone led to a potential key witness: Kenney.
Kenney will not be sentenced until after Frazee’s trial or the trials of any additional suspects in the case. District Attorney Dan May said that as a condition of her plea agreement, she must testify against Frazee or any other possible suspects.
Judge Sells said it could take between six months and two years to get to that point. Sells barred Kenney from speaking with the media about the case. By entering a guilty plea Friday, Kenney said she understands that she waived her right to appeal.
Kenney faces up to 18 months in prison unless a judge finds aggravating circumstances, which could increase her sentence to three years in prison. She also could be sentenced to probation, May said. If she goes to prison, she will be required to serve a parole term of one year and pay restitution.
Felony charges were filed against Kenney on Monday, according to court records.
Frazee, 32, is charged with two counts of first-degree murder and three counts of solicitation to commit murder in connection to Berreth’s death. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for Feb. 19 in the same courthouse.
Berreth’s body has not yet been discovered. She was last seen on Thanksgiving Day with her 1-year-old daughter Kaylee. Later that afternoon, she and Frazee met to exchange their daughter. The two were engaged but did not live together, police have said.
Kenney was released on her own recognizance.