In my first assessment of the Frazee case, I noted the strange circumstances surrounding Thanksgiving. Why would a couple who were engaged not be spending Thanksgiving together? Why was Patrick Frazee coming to pick up his daughter, and not his wife as well? Also, why had no family member come forward to confirm there was an estrangement of the couple, or some fracturing of their relationship, assuming this was the case?

Now we know that it was:

Kelsey Berreth and Patrick Frazee were supposed to be in court for a custody hearing – 9News

That temporary custody hearing was scheduled for Thursday, December 27th. Just as in the Watts case, this murder took place within sight of a major court appearance, which may have had a countdown effect in precipitating the crime. We don’t know who applied for the hearing, but since Kelsey was killed, it seems to suggest her killer didn’t wish to fight for custody. That’s pure speculation of course.

Irrespective of who applied for the hearing, custody of one-year-old Kaylee was a probable bone of contention, and it probably didn’t help Kelsey that she appeared to be estranged [or not close] with her mother Cheryl at the time of her disappearance. We see the same patterns of not just cracks in the core relationship, but also in the relationships with at least one parent here as we do in the Watts case.

Since Kelsey was a strong Christian, we can also see why there may have been resistance, or even denial, in terms of her accepting her relationship was over, or ending. Possibly she dug in her heels at the prospect of admitting publicly that her engagement was over, and effectively, that Kaylee was about to lose regular contact with her father. On the other hand, Kelsey may have felt strongly about applying for the sole custody to raise her daughter as she saw fit.

Again, if an affair on the sidelines was part of this equation, we can see why a custody battle would be all the more fraught, and also why Kelsey may have felt justified in not giving an inch to fiance.

At the time of writing, the custody of the little girl has been transferred from the Frazee family to the Kelsey’s extended family. Frazee himself is currently represented by a public defender.

Now let’s move on to the “possible” evidence law enforcement have recently cited – somewhat cryptically – to the media.

According to koaaa.com:

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Those “items of evidence” could be anything from fingerprints to fibers, touch DNA to hairs. They could even foot prints or tyre tracks. But because of the word “processing”, and because it was the Twin Falls police issuing a statement, and finally because that was the location of the cell phone, and the pings, I suspect that the cops are going through Kelsey’s phone, checking on her browser history and checking her emails. That fact and the news of a custody hearing that has come out at the same time as “possible evidence” breakthrough, suggests that the cops have accessed Kelsey’s digital diary and other artefacts [via her phone], rather than someone coming forward. Again, this is purely speculation.

Angry and otherwise emotionally charged online interactions between the couple in the lead-up to the murder may have been found on her computer as well as her phone. Even if records were wiped [from her phone and/or computer], some “residue” of the original data may have been salvageable [as we found in the Watts case, and as happened with the camera metadata in the Jodi Arias case].

Patrick Frazee mugshot

Back to koaaa.com:

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It’s difficult to be certain why the cops firmly believe Kelsey is dead. In the Watts case we saw that even though there was almost no evidence of a fight, no physical evidence of blood etc, it was nevertheless clear due to all Shan’ann’s important possessions still being at home, and her missing a doctor’s appointment, that something was likely very wrong. And it was.

Cadaver dogs may have alerted in Kelsey’s home. We know the police believe she died there, and one obvious reason for this is the last time Kelsey was seen alive was also close to the time Patrick Frazee was seen at her home. Small, even microscopic blood traces would clearly raise red flags, and if Frazee’s blood was also found on scene at Kelsey’s home, then even more so.

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If Kelsey’s body is buried on Frazee’s ranch, then there may be traces of her, her clothing or packaging at the ranch, in the car and at the crime scene. Watch this space for more details on this case.