How does Chris Watt’s mistress compare to Patrick Frazee’s? As you’re about to find out, they’re like chalk and cheese. One is way worse than other.
After watching this video, has your impression of Nichol Kessinger changed at all?
True Crime Analysis, Breakthroughs, Insights & Discussions Hosted by Bestselling Author Nick van der Leek
Tag: Patrick Frazee
February 28th, 2019
1. Weld County to release “2nd Chris Watts Confession” on March 7th – Greeley Tribune
On Feb. 18, an interview took place between Watts and investigators with CBI, FBI, and the Frederick Police Department. Thursday’s release does not say where the interview took place, nor does it provide specific details about the interview.
The Colorado Bureau of Investigation possesses documentation, including a written report and audio file from its interview with Watts. The information will be released to the public March 7. Although he pleaded guilty, Watts never disclosed how or why he carried out the murders. Sources close to the investigation say Watts has finally confessed those details.
Chris Watts tells investigators more details about the murders of his wife, two daughters – Denver Channel
Chris Watts provides new details on murders: Officials – ABC
Chris Watts’ father, Ronnie Watts, said his son did not tell him the details about the conversation, but Ronnie Watts told ABC News Thursday, “In my heart I know he didn’t kill those girls.”
Ronnie Watts said his son calls him every night and “knows the Bible inside and out.” “It’s over and done with,” Ronnie Watts said of the case. “I am confused why they [the investigators] went out there in the first place.”
2. What happened when Otto Warmbier was detained in North Korea?
3. HBO’s new documentary, which focuses on the accounts of two men who say Michael Jackson molested them when they were children, is a gutting film that tells the worst tale imaginable – The Ringer
4. Andrew Wheeler, former coal energy lobbyist, confirmed as nation’s top environmental official – Washington Post
February 27th, 2019
1.Chris Watts coverage starts at 2:14 in the clip below. Worth watching.
https://youtu.be/2AWmgbaf97I
2. N.J. mansion fire: Man accused of killing brother’s family was allegedly losing his salary – NBC
Investigators have also found that a neighbor’s surveillance camera captured someone leaving Paul Caneiro’s home at about 2 a.m. on Nov. 20 and returning about two hours later, according to the affidavit. In that time, neighbors of Keith and Jennifer reported hearing gunshots.
Paul Caneiro had disconnected his own surveillance cameras at about 1:30 a.m. on Nov. 20, according to the affidavit. He told police that he may have disconnected the cameras because he thought they were causing the WiFi to run slowly, but investigators discovered that the cameras were hardwired, and did not run on WiFi.
Paul Caneiro About to Be Cut Off When He Killed Brother’s Family: Indictment – Daily Beast
3. Geologists have finally found exactly where some Stonehenge rocks came from, debunking old research – CNN
“It remains one of the most remarkable instances of long-distance movement of megaliths in the ancient world, yet was curiously under-studied,” Pollard said. “I’m sure we’ll be back.”
4. Meet the Woman Living in Boulder’s Notorious JonBenét Ramsey House – Westword
“This is all speculative, but based on the feelings we got from being there, we never felt the Ramseys were involved” in JonBenét’s death. “My husband is a marriage-and-family therapist, so we understand a little about dysfunctional families. And if that stuff had been going on behind the scenes, I don’t think we would have felt that way in the home.”
5. In bad taste? Amanda Knox jokes about acquittal in murder mystery night post – iol
Bad taste is Knox’s defining trait, and is the reason why she clashed repeatedly with her British housemate. Years later, she’s still luxuriating in it.
Read the TCRS take on the Amanda Knox case here.
6. Jason Rohde ‘sought to tarnish Susan’s legacy by simulating her death’ – Citizen
7. Making a Murderer: Steven Avery wins right to appeal – BBC
On Twitter, Ms Zellner said: “We are going to have an extraordinary number of constitutional violations when we are done. The [court of appeals] is letting us create an avalanche of evidence in this record. Higher courts rule.” Making a Murderer cast doubt on the legal process used in the investigation and subsequent court cases.
Avery previously served 18 years for another crime he did not commit.
The Halbach Murder Mystery series is available at this link.
8. The 28 most consequential lines from Michael Cohen’s testimony – CNN
February 26th, 2019
1. When a body is burned, cadaver dogs can no longer be used. So how does one find charred remains in a landfill? The same way dinosaur hunters and archaeologists look for fossils and buried treasures – by meticulous, systematic searching.
How investigators will search a landfill for Kelsey Berreth’s remains – CNN
It may sound like an impossible task: searching a quarter-acre of a landfill for charred, decomposed human remains three months after a person was last seen alive. But searchers are hopeful that they will find the remains of Kelsey Berreth and any other evidence that could shed light on her death.
Berreth vanished on November 22 from where she lived near Woodland Park, Colorado. Patrick Frazee, her fiancé and the father of their daughter, is accused of murdering her and tampering with her body.
A woman cooperating with law enforcement shared information that helped lead investigators to the Midway Landfill in Fountain, Colorado. Searchers will begin sifting through landfill detritus there on Tuesday and continue for at least 35 days until they make it through the area.
Beginning Tuesday, Woodland Park detectives and other law enforcement officials will search through an area of 686,805 cubic yards, the department said in a statement. Ten searchers are expected to work eight hours a day for 35 days to make it through the primary target area, which measures 135′ by 32′ and nine inches deep. The entire search area is 250′ by 125′ and 25 feet deep.
The estimated time frame could change based on their progress, Woodland Park Police Commander Chris Adams said.
An excavator will remove the trash to another location and lay it out in lines so that searchers can sift through the material, Adams said. “It’s a slow, methodical search. We don’t want to miss anything. I think we owe it to Kelsey and her family to — to be as thorough as we can,” Adams said. The process resembles the procedure that forensic anthropologists use to search areas.
Authorities begin landfill search for Kelsey Berreth’s remains – kktv.com
2. The video below talks about Chris Watts’ parents offering their son clemency in court. I believe it’s one of the reasons Watts committed the crimes and believed he’d get away with it, because he knew his parents would love him [and forgive, but most important, believe him] no matter what. On the night of August 16th, at around 20:00, Ronnie was telling his son he loved him, rubbing his back and embracing him, while the police were still searching for the the three bodies Watts had gotten rid of. If this doesn’t make a father angry, or doubtful, or hesitant in his love for his son, what would?
In the Oscar Pistorius trial the parents of murdered Reeva Steenkamp also forgave Oscar almost immediately. This is different because it’s the parents of the victim forgiving the killer. They said they didn’t wish to hold a grudge and were doing it out of their devotion to God. The problem with these public declarations is the public and the court is watching as well. If the family of the murder victim is so forgiving, who is the court to disagree [or so the thinking goes]. Oscar initially got off with a very light sentence.
In the Van Breda axe murder trial, many of his family members came forward to say they don’t believe he did this, and if they did they forgive him etc. There is something very distasteful about this. Would the murder victims be so forgiving? Should the court be so forgiving?
One aspect I don’t agree 100% with in the clip below is the selective way of blaming Cindy Watts for what she did or didn’t do [Shan’ann’s behavior towards her is regarded as completely irrelevant].
When Shan’ann went on Facebook and slandered her mother-in-law, a lot of what she was pissed off at wasn’t the nut stuff, it was Cindy saying “she needs to be tough, and to learn a lesson from that [not being given nuts]”. This was what infuriated Shan’ann the most – being undermined and overruled. And yet a lot of that is what was happening behind closed doors between Shan’ann and her husband.
For any marriage to work, it requires two people making an effort and acting right, not just one. True crime isn’t about one aggrieved party, it’s about the dynamics in the marriage that led to the divorce [the crime]. To argue that a breakdown came only from one side isn’t an accurate picture of how the world, or society works.
3. Yesterday one of my books got “Review Bombed” by a toxic fan from this site. This is part of the advent of social media – organized dissent. As a result, I won’t be posting any further content on CrimeRocket today, and I’m currently re-evaluating continuing with the Watts coverage beyond the end of this month [February].
Star Wars 9 Is Already Getting Review Bombed On Rotten Tomatoes – ScreenRant
Star Wars 9 doesn’t come out for ten more months, but commenters are already review bombing the movie on Rotten Tomatoes. With Star Wars 9 still months away from hitting theaters, toxic fans are already at it again on the movie’s Rotten Tomatoes page, attempting to torpedo the film’s “want to see” rating by posting negative comments. Of course, none of the commenters in question have seen the movie, and Rotten Tomatoes has not as yet calculated an actual audience score. Many of the comments actually focus on lingering negativity over The Last Jedi, which was itself subjected to an organized campaign of Rotten Tomatoes trolling in an effort to hurt its score. Despite the campaign, The Last Jedi still went on to gross $1.3 billion at the global box office.
Captain Marvel ‘review bombed’: Rotten Tomatoes just took MAJOR action against trolls – The Express
A group of so-called ‘Marvel fans’, all white male, had taken to the site’s audience reviews section to blast the movie; taking offence to Brie Larson’s observation that almost all journalists she was encountering at film junkets were white males. When she said she wanted to help women and writers of color to get into those junkets, the trolls came out in force – claiming she was “anti white men” and that she “clearly doesn’t want me to see the movie”.
It was, of course, all completely over-the-top – and Captain Marvel isn’t the first movie to suffer a “review-bombing” on Rotten Tomatoes. Last year’s Black Panther and 2017’s Star Wars: The Last Jedi – also perceived to be relatively progressive movies – suffered similarly. Captain Marvel’s audience anticipation score had plummeted down to a little over 20% at one point, but Rotten Tomatoes have now taken action.
February 25th, 2019
1. Chris Watts playing with Bella and Ceecee.
2.Why Do Women Fall In Love With Serial Killers? – Forbes
3. “David Payne is the biggest enigma of #McCann story…”
February 23rd, 2019
1. Inside the mind of a killer: Psychology experts discuss Chris Watts’ behavior following family’s murder – Denver Channel
2. Investigators to search Fountain landfill for Kelsey Berreth’s body starting Tuesday – kdvr
Authorities to return to Midway landfill to search for Kelsey Berreth’s remains, ABC reports – The Gazette
Colorado police to search landfill in Kelsey Berreth investigation, source says – CNN
Police Say Kelsey Berreth’s Fiancé Murdered Her In Front Of One-Year-Old Daughter – Refinery29
Kenney further testified that Frazee told her that Berreth’s one-year-old daughter had been present during the murder in a “playpen in a back bedroom of the residence.”
Despite an extensive search, investigators have not yet found Berreth’s body. They believe Frazee set her remains on fire and discarded of them in either a river or a dump.
3. Dianne Feinstein’s climate change discussion with schoolchildren gets heated – CNN
February 22nd, 2019
1. Video Shows Pregnant Shanann Watts Entering Home Before Husband Murdered Her – People
In the early morning hours of Aug. 13, 2018, Shanann Watts was dropped off at her home in Frederick, Colorado. Wearing jeans and a black cardigan, she rolls her suitcase to the front door of the family’s house.
It is believed to be the last footage of the 34-year-old who was 15 weeks pregnant with her son, Niko. Hours later, she was strangled by her husband.
Hours later? Really?
https://youtu.be/mD4gaXYbhQk
2. Jussie Smollett got lots of oxygen from CNN, other news outlets – No wonder people don’t trust the press – Fox News
3. Caster Semenya posts ‘fearless’ message, wishes wife Violet Raseboya happy birthday – iol
4. Willem Dafoe enjoying 4th Oscar nomination for van Gogh film – abc11
Van Gogh film, ‘At Eternity’s Gate,’ unknowingly displays Christian themes – Christian Post
February 21st, 2019
1. Video shows Shan’ann Watts shortly before death – CNN
Within hours — possibly even minutes — Shan’ann was slain, authorities have said.
Watts was sentenced to life in prison in November. Weld County District Attorney Michael Rourke says his office continues to receive daily phone calls, emails and letters containing everything from conspiracy theories to suggestions on follow-up investigations. “This has certainly permeated the conscience of a big section of the public and we continue to get correspondence on a daily basis,” Rourke says.
Chris Watts: New footage shows pregnant wife shortly before husband killed her – The Mirror
The new footage was obtained by HLN through an open records request to the Weld County District Attorney’s Office.
The video had not been previously released by prosecutors.
2. Justice Department preparing for Mueller report as early as next week – CNN
February 20th, 2019
1. BREAKING: Last Photo/Footage of Shan’ann Watts Alive [August 13, 2018/01:48] – CrimeRocket
What Is Chris Watts’ Life in Prison Like? – A&E
Chris Watts to Not Fight Wrongful Death Suit Filed by Wife Shan’ann’s Family – CNN
2. BREAKING: Patrick Frazee 10-Page Arrest Affidavit – CrimeRocket
Patrick Frazee will face trial in connection with Kelsey Berreth’s death; new case details unveiled – Denver Channel
On Nov. 22 around 4:30 p.m., Frazee called Kenney and told her, “You need to get here now. You’ve got a mess to clean up,” Slater said.
“We lived such separate lives for so long,” Frazee told police during the recorded call.
He never called police to report her missing for the 10 days between Thanksgiving and when he talked with police, Adams said after the recording ended.
Tests confirmed that Berreth’s blood was found on the toilet, bathtub, trash can, parts of the floor and wall, vanity area, bathroom door hinges and electrical outlet. Slater said this evidence lead them to conclude she may have been killed in the bathroom. A bath mat was missing from the room.
In addition, a cadaver dog at the home alerted authorities to the back of Berreth’s car at her apartment complex.
An arraignment was set for April 8 at 8:30 a.m., with the judge giving Frazee’s defense attorneys time to go through what they said were more than 3,300 pages of discovery evidence in the case. The judge also ruled that the arrest affidavit for Frazee would be unsealed following Tuesday’s hearing — likely on Wednesday morning.
Grisly account of murder of Kelsey Berreth provided by Idaho nurse -out there Colorado
When Kenney entered Berreth’s townhome in late November, blood was splattered on the walls, floor and children’s toys, said Agent Greg Slater.
Kenney spent three to four hours cleaning, bleaching the walls and floors, removing the curtains and couch pillows and hunting for a tooth in the air duct vent that Berreth’s fiance and alleged killer told her to find, Slater said.
Frazee allegedly took matters into his own hands, blindfolding Berreth with a sweater and bludgeoning her with a baseball bat. During the two months before the murder, suspected killer Patrick Frazee allegedly had urged Kenney three times to kill Berreth — once by drugging her macchiato as a way to “get rid of her” and two other times with an aluminum bat and a metal rod, Slater said.
Cellphone records from the day of Berreth’s disappearance showed that Frazee called his mother, Sheila, about 4:24 p.m, Slater said. His phone connected to the tower that services Berreth’s house.
At 4:37 p.m., Frazee called an Idaho number belonging to Kenney — also in the vicinity of Berreth’s home — and received a return call from that number a few minutes later.
Cmdr. Chris Adams told the court that the day after Berreth went missing, her phone and Frazee’s phone were “hitting off” the tower that services Frazee’s Florissant home.Kenney said she believed the couple’s daughter was in danger under Kelsey Berreth’s care and that she “couldn’t live with herself if something happened” to the child.
3. Lock up this ruthless killer for a long time, Jason Rohde prosecutor tells judge – TimesLive
4. Proposed testosterone limit ’flawed’ and ‘hurtful’, say Caster Semenya’s lawyers – Guardian
Caster Semenya’s lawyers have hit back at the IAAF on day two of their hearing at the court of arbitration for sport, claiming the world governing body’s proposed testosterone limit for women is “flawed” and “hurtful”.
The two-time Olympic 800 metres champion is challenging the IAAF’s revised eligibility rules for female athletes at the Lausanne-based tribunal in a landmark case for intersex and transgender women in all sports.
February 19th, 2019
1. Trauma/Cadaver dog alerts in basement
2.Preliminary hearing for Patrick Frazee set for Tuesday morning in Kelsey Berreth murder case – Denver Channel
LIVE UPDATES: Patrick Frazee allegedly told Idaho nurse to drug missing woman’s coffee – Gazette
Kenney went so far as to buy a caramel macchiato at the Starbucks inside the Woodland Park Walmart Sept. 23 and pose as a neighbor thanking Berreth for corralling her dogs that had gotten loose.
Berreth told Kenney, who used a bogus name, that she had not helped with the dogs but accepted the unlaced drink anyway. Slater said Frazee was angry when he learned the coffee hadn’t been tainted.
Kenney also told Slater that Frazee claimed Berreth was a “terrible mother” who was physically abusive toward their daughter and used drugs and alcohol. Frazee also allegedly told his mother to lie about Berreth in a campaign to paint her as a bad mother, said 4th Judicial District Attorney Dan May. May also said Shiela witnessed the burning of evidence in the killing.
The testimony framed Kenney as a key figure in the investigation. She had previously accepted a plea deal in exchange for her testimony against Frazee.
Cellphone records from the day of Berreth’s disappearance detailed by Slater showed that Frazee called his mother, Shiela, about 4:24 p.m. His phone connected to the tower that service’s Berreth’s house.
At 4:37 p.m., Frazee called an Idaho number belonging to Kenney — also in the vicinity of Berreth’s home — and received a return call from that number a few minutes later.
Cmdr. Chris Adams, the prosecution’s first witness, told the court that the day after Berreth went missing, her and Frazee’s phones were “hitting off” the tower that services Frazee’s Florissant home.
Kenney was seen on surveillance video Nov. 24 at a Conoco in Florissant. Also captured in the video at the same time was Frazee filling up a 5-gallon jug of gasoline.
On Nov. 25, Kenney, 32, and Berreth’s phones simultaneously pinged in Grand Junction.
That same day, Berreth’s supervisor got a text from her saying she wouldn’t be at work and was going to visit her grandmother, Slater said. Kelsey’s mother, Cheryl, told Colorado Bureau of Investigations Agent Gregg Slater that Kelsey never mentioned the trip.
Cheryl also told Slater, the prosecution’s second witness Tuesday, that she got a text from Berreth’s phone Nov. 24 saying she’d call the next day. That call never came, said Slater.Sean Frazee, Patrick’s brother and a Colorado Springs police officer, dropped by Patrick’s house at 2:30 p.m. Nov. 22, Adams said. Patrick was not home at the time, but when Sean arrived “a little later,” Patrick was there with his and Berreth’s 1-year-old daughter. Nothing was out of the ordinary, said Adams.Adams added that Patrick and Sean are estranged.
Berreth’s body has not been located. During Tuesday’s cross examination, Adams said on Dec. 4 a cadaver dog hit on a location on the ground next to a car parked in front of Berreth’s house. It is the only location on which a dog has indicated.
Family members reported finding blood when they went to Berreth’s house Dec. 6, Adams said. Adams also described a Dec. 2 recorded call between Frazee and an officer to the court. Frazee said to the officer that Berreth told him she wanted to end their relationship. She wanted “space,” he told police. “We’d figure out custody arrangements from there.”
In 2017, Frazee took Berreth’s gun, said Slater. The couple was arguing about finances when Berreth said, “Maybe I would be better off dead” and pointed the gun at her head.
Frazee’s mother was called by prosecutors to the stand Tuesday prior to Adams and Slater’s testimony. A judge ruled in favor of her attorney’s representation that she would invoke the 5th Amendment at the start of the hearing. He will rule again after a lunch break. Before Tuesday, the only possible motive for the presumed killing was found in an amended complaint filed Friday in U.S. District Court in the wrongful-death lawsuit brought by Berreth’s family against Frazee. In it, they claim Frazee, who had the keys to Berreth’s townhome, demanded full custody of their daughter and killed her when she refused.
The case, which has attracted a national spotlight, has also led to a custody battle over the couple’s daughter pitting Berreth’s parents against Frazee’s mother. A judge has granted temporary custody to Berreth’s parents.
Details revealed during hearing for Kelsey Berreth’s alleged killer – KRDO
Alleged poison plot, blood in bathroom: Gruesome details revealed in case against fiancé accused of killing Kelsey Berreth – ABC
3. MADDIE HOPE Madeleine McCann disappearance taken on by forensic scientist who cracked Stephen Lawrence and Damilola Taylor cases – The Sun
The forensic biologist, 69, now wants to solve the disappearance of Madeleine, who was three when she vanished from her parents’ holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal in 2007. She told the Sunday Times Magazine: “It would be extraordinarily difficult because it’s in a different country and you don’t know what’s happened to the exhibits.
“I’ve been involved in cases where it looks hopeless, so I’m not too daunted by anything these days. Every contact leaves a trace, it’s just finding it.”
British forensic scientist who ‘helped solve murders of Stephen Lawrence and Damilola Taylor’ vows to try and crack the ‘extraordinarily difficult’ Madeleine McCann case – Daily Mail
4. A mother’s love: Rohde’s mom pleads for him – TimesLive
Be lenient for the children’s sake, Rohde’s mom begs judge – iol
Brenda – a shareholder in Lew Geffen Sotheby’s – and two of Jason’s friends gave witness to his character before his sentencing. Rohde, a former Lew Geffen Sotheby’s International chief executive, was found guilty of murdering his wife, Susan Rohde, and obstructing the ends of justice by staging her suicide.
Susan’s body was found in a locked bathroom off a room she shared with Rohde at the Spier Wine Estate Hotel, in Stellenbosch, on July 24, 2016. State advocate Louis van Niekerk put it to Brenda that testifying about her son’s character put her “in a terrible position as a mother”. He also suggested that there was an element of bias, to which Brenda replied: “I have just stated the facts. I am here to tell the truth and support my son.”
5. Caster Semenya: South African runner’s appeal against IAAF rule begins – BBC
6. BTK daughter Kerri Rawson writes tell-all book
February 18th, 2019
1. Additional Information on Bella Watts’ Autopsy – CrimeRocket
https://youtu.be/xPyU9lt3LJY
2. Kelsey Berreth’s Parents: Custody Dispute With Fiancé May Have Turned Deadly – Daily Beast
Parents of Kelsey Berreth believe she was killed in a custody dispute – CNN
3. Jason Rohde cares about the needs of others, court hears – iol
He further told the court that Rohde was very intelligent and a very successful businessman and he (Livingstone) had never observed any signs of violence in Rohde in the years he had known him as a friend.
State advocate Louis van Niekerk told the court that the picture that the defense witness was projecting was completely different compared to what the court had found in Rohde’s character.
“The court made some very harsh findings on his actions and also pertaining to his character related to the facts before the court. You haven’t read the judgment but I’m not going to take you back there. But it completely differs from the picture that you project here for us today compared to what the court said,” said Van Niekerk.
COURT HEARS LONG PRISON TERM WILL BE HARMFUL TO JASON ROHDE’S CHILDREN – EWN
The defense witness says the three girls adore their father [found guilty of murdering their mother] and she’s pleaded with the court to be lenient, for their sake.
4. Caster arrives at Swiss sports tribunal – Sport24
IAAF president Sebastian Coe, arriving at the court, said: “Today is a very, very important day. “The regulations that we are introducing are there to protect the sanctity of fair and open competition.” The chief advocate for Athletics South Africa, Norman Arendse, said Semenya would give evidence.
“The whole week is going to be important. Obviously the evidence will be evaluated and assessed at the end of the process this week. So today this is the start,” he told reporters.
The issue is highly emotive. When British newspaper The Times reported last week that the IAAF would argue that Semenya should be classified as a biological male – a claim later denied by the IAAF – she hit back, saying she was “unquestionably a woman”.
In response to the report, the IAAF – stressing it was referring in general terms, not to Semenya in particular – denied it intended to classify any DSD athlete as male.
But in a statement, it added: “If a DSD athlete has testes and male levels of testosterone, they get the same increases in bone and muscle size and strength and increases in haemoglobin that a male gets when they go through puberty, which is what gives men such a performance advantage over women. “Therefore, to preserve fair competition in the female category, it is necessary to require DSD athletes to reduce their testosterone down to female levels before they compete at international level.”
Semenya is not the only athlete potentially affected – the silver and bronze medallists in the Rio Olympics 800m, Francine Niyonsaba of Burundi and Kenya’s Margaret Wambui, have also faced questions about their testosterone levels. But it is Semenya, who also won Olympic gold in 2012 and has three world titles to her name, who has led opposition to the proposed rules.
Matthieu Reeb, CAS Secretary General, said the case was highly unusual. “It is unusual and unprecedented because we never had a such a case at CAS,” he said. “What is going to happen I am not able to say, but it is going to be important for sure.”
South Africa’s sports minister Tokozile Xasa argues that the rules are “discriminatory”.
5. UK lawmakers: Facebook ‘intentionally and knowingly’ violated data privacy laws -CNN
February 17th, 2019
1. Armchair Detective is at it again.
This time a post-it is being conflated as metadata “proving” Watts was “secretly” filing for divorce on August 24th in Weld County family court. Does Armchair Detective identify where he found the scrap of paper in the Discovery Documents [it’s on page 169].
This conspiracy theory is specific and thus easy to disprove.
August 24th was the date of their court appearance because they were being sued by the Wyndham Hill Homeowner’s Association. The original civil claim was filed on July 12th against the couple to be heard in the Weld County District Court.
There’s also this from the Coloradoan:
The local court’s own procedures describe a protocol of 30 calendar days allowed to pay fines, and after 45 days of non-payment a delinquency notice is issued.
So an appearance roughly six weeks after the docket was opened fits with the protocols for delinquent payments on fines.
The delinquency aspect with Wyndham Hill makes sense given they were also behind on their previous three mortgage payments. They’d also received a letter from Chase Bank alerting them to their delinquent home loan. The monthly mortgage payment was $2700. At the time of the murders Watts had $2000 in his Chase check account, and $1500 in his USAA checking account. All credit cards were maxed out.
In other words, there is far more documented, timeline and procedural evidence proving the civil claim than a divorce. That’s not to say the couple hadn’t spoken about divorce, just that there is no evidence either of them had instituted any kind of formal process against one another. That this was in the offing over that final weekend, naturally, there can be no doubt.
So the overall premise of the Secret Divorce Conspiracy is catchy – that Watts secretly filed for divorce. But it misses the point. If Shan’ann didn’t know about it until the day of her death then he hadn’t actually filed for divorce. And the murders occurred not because he did file for divorce, but because he didn’t, told Kessinger he had but somehow felt he couldn’t.
Even in his interrogation/confession with the FBI, Watts said he told Shan’ann he wanted to separate, not that he wanted a divorce.
Moreover the backwards slanting print-style handwriting on the post-it [similar to the writing on the other two yellow post-its] appears to be from Frederick PD Officer Patricia Cochran’s notes, not a note or diary entry made by Watts himself.
The format of the Discovery Documents with regard to the Supplemental Reports, is that the cover sheet provides a date, time, location and typed narrative, signed off by the officer assigned to a particular task, along with attachments of all of their written notes and other digital data [bodycam footage, audio recordings] where applicable.
2. Possible motive for missing Colorado mom’s murder surfaces for the 1st time in wrongful death lawsuit – ABC
February 16th, 2019
1. Chris Watts and Steven Avery Interviews Compared
2. Mommy’s little girl: Kelsey Berreth’s daughter Kaylee poses on a plane in first photo since the death of her mother while her father Patrick Frazee awaits trial on murder charges – Daily Mail
New Court Documents Reveal Possible Motive In Kelsey Berreth Death – CBS Denver
“Upon information and belief, Frazee had the motive to kill Kelsey in that he wanted full custody of [Kaylee Berreth] and/or Kelsey to leave [Kaylee Berreth] with him and Kelsey would not agree,” the amended civil complaint reads.
WATCH: Wrongful death lawsuit against Patrick Frazee reveals possible motive – kktv
February 15th, 2019
1. Nichol Kessinger’s messages with CBI Agent Kevin Koback
2. ‘We don’t know how involved she was’: Friend of Kelsey Berreth says Idaho nurse Krystal Lee Kenney may have gotten too good of a deal – CrimeOnline
The tampering with evidence charge carries a possible sentence of 18 months in prison; three years if it determined to be aggravated, KOAA notes.
“A maximum of three years seems extremely light,” Haywood told the news station.
3. 6th anniversary of Reeva’s Steenkamp’s death – Pretoria Rekord
Oscar Pistorius bail hearing: Conflicting accounts – BBC
4. Trump will sign funding bill, declare a national emergency, McConnell says – CNN
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she was considering a legal challenge.
“I may,” Pelosi said when asked about the prospect of challenging Trump in court. “That’s an option and we will review our options.”
“The President is doing an end run around Congress,” the California Democrat added.
February 14th, 2019
1. Below is a decent potpourri of quotes from a variety of folks about Shan’ann’s still unknown financial statements.
https://youtu.be/Bq7mKCOOg5c
Lawyers: Shanann Watts’ Parents Lawsuit To Go Uncontested By Chris Watts – CBS
2. Berreth’s friend: Plea deal brings mixed emotions – KOAA
3. Cameron Kasky: How being a student gun control activist took its toll – BBC
https://youtu.be/EYLm6baQ89A
4. A petition has been launched on Change.org to investigate Madeleine McCann’s parents.
5. Bill Cosby says he won’t feel remorse because he’s a ‘political prisoner’ – CNN
6. Jeff Bezos: identity of tabloid leaker is confirmed – CNN
7. Valentine’s Day is the six year anniversary of the murder of Reeva Steenkamp by Oscar Pistorius.
8. The Devil’s Advocate?
The lawyer most famous for defending Oscar Pistorius is back in the limelight with two high-profile cases – Citizen
9. From the archives…
February 13th, 2019
1. Christopher Watts not fighting wrongful death lawsuit filed by Shanann Watts’s family after murder convictions – Daily Camera
Watts has not hired an attorney in the case and has not filed a single document in the suit since it was filed, court records show. The Rzuceks filed a motion for default judgment on Monday, court records show. A default judgment can be awarded if the defendant doesn’t respond to a suit, triggering an automatic win for the plaintiffs.
“He has failed to answer the case against him,” according to Steven Lambert, an attorney with Greeley’s Grant & Hoffman Law Firm, who is representing Shanann’s parents. Lambert said he expects the judge to make a decision on the motion in the next week or two.
If the judge finds that Watts is in default, the court will next have a hearing in which a jury decides how much money the Rzuceks should be awarded in damages.Watts likely will appear by telephone for that hearing, Lambert said.
2. Nurse Who Hid Evidence for Accused Killer in Colo. Mom’s Murder Was ‘Very, Very Scared’ He’d Kill Her, Too – People
A frightened Kenney had confided to her friend Michelle Stein that she had a role in the coverup, Stein told CBS News. “I will just tell you Krystal was very, very scared,” said Stein. “Krystal’s a very level-headed, kind, fun-loving, happy-go-lucky person. She’s a tough cowgirl. But she was absolutely scared and extremely upset.”
Is that a good reason to help someone cover up a murder?
3. Parents still grieving one year after Parkland school shooting – wptv
12 months, since Parkland Feb. 8, 2019 1,149 young lives lost – Miami Herald
The 12-month period starting Feb. 14, 2018, saw nearly 1,200 lives snuffed out. That’s a Parkland every five days, enough victims to fill three ultra-wide Boeing 777s. The true number is certainly higher because no government agency keeps a real-time tally and funding for research is restricted by law…
4. Willem Dafoe Talks Offering a “Whole Different Take” on Vincent van Gogh in ‘At Eternity’s Gate’ – Hollywood Reporter
Have you gotten any surprising audience reactions to the movie?
Just how it deeply affects people. People think they know about van Gogh, but this gives a whole different take on him. Julian somehow was able to get around this kind of cartoon of van Gogh as the tortured loser artist who didn’t sell a painting. He was able to tap into the joyous aspect of making the paintings, without going against the information we have. He was really able to tap into the joy this man must have felt in his prolific — troubled but prolific — years of almost a painting a day toward the end of his life.
William Dafoe as Vincent Van Gogh – The West Australian
5. 20 Documentaries True Crime Lovers Will Want to Stream on Netflix – CafeMom
February 12th, 2019
1. I don’t agree with the tone and many of the sentiments in this video, but some of the ideas are worth considering. The video also contains yet another instance of ordinary people labeling other ordinary people implicated or associated with a crime as a “psychopath”. Psychopath and narcissist seem to be the go-to terms these days for anyone you don’t understand or agree with. Probably when today’s teenagers argue, picking up a cue from their parents, that’s what they call each other. It’s juvenile and doesn’t belong in true crime.
https://youtu.be/cemEdTERM9s
2. Making A Murderer: Key Pieces Of Evidence The Show Leaves Out – ScreenRant
It’s instructive that this analysis doesn’t come from the mostly braindead mainstream media, but from a news site dedicated to reviewing movies and tv. It shows just how lazy and uncritical much of the MSM is these days.
A few highlights:
Dassey’s Confession
Brendan Dassey’s supposed “forced” confession is shown in short clips on Making A Murderer, so viewers never really got to hear all the chilling details that came out of his mouth. The reality is, Brendan’s confession lasted for hours, and new portions of the transcripts have surfaced that are very specific and equally disturbing. Details of these transcripts include how many shots were fired into Halbach’s head, and how the entire murder was premeditated because she “looked good and was pretty nice.”
Child Molestation
While the Netflix documentary makes Steven Avery out to be a pretty harmless guy, it seems like he might be anything but, especially around children. One particular phone conversation between Brendan Dassey and his mother was cut from the documentary completely. So, what were they trying to keep hidden? According to transcripts of the conversation, Dassey told his mother, “I even told them about Steven touching me,” then mentioned his brothers had been touched by Steven Avery as well.
Red Flags
While he was in prison, Steven Avery planned the torture and killing of a young woman, and fellow prisoners who served time with Avery before Halbach’s death also claimed that Avery talked about and drew diagrams of a torture chamber he planned to build upon his release. The Appleton Post Crescent also included statements from two women who claimed they were raped by Avery, with an affidavit saying that Avery admitted his guilt to his fiancé.
Purchase TCRS’ take on the Avery case at this link.
3. Amanda Knox Slams Hayden Panettiere For ‘Not Approaching’ Her Before Murder Trial Movie – RadarOnline
Hayden Panettiere portrayed Amanda Knox in the 2011 made-for-TV movie Amanda Knox: Murder on Trial In Italy – and she wasn’t a fan of the flick. On Knox’s podcast, she admitted she has “deep resentment” for the actress.
4. World’s biggest drug lord Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán is found guilty on all counts – CNN
After the jury left the room, Guzman waved and smiled at his wife, Emma Coronel, a former beauty queen and courtroom regular who smiled back and touched her hand to her heart.
“Good, thank you,” she said when asked how she felt after the verdict.
Over two and a half months, the jury heard testimony about unspeakable torture and ghastly murders, epic corruption at nearly every level of Mexico’s government, narco-mistresses and naked subterranean escapes, gold-plated AK-47s and monogrammed, diamond-encrusted pistols.
El Chapo jury deliberations will stretch into a second week. Here’s why jurors may be taking their time.The prosecution’s case featured 200 hours of testimony from 56 witnesses. Fourteen of those witnesses — mostly admitted drug traffickers and cartel associates — cooperated with prosecutors in hopes of reducing their own prison sentences.
There were also surveillance photos, intercepted phone calls and text messages involving Guzmán, as well as exhibits of blingy firepower and bricks of cocaine that dropped with the force of potato sacks.
In contrast, defense attorneys called just one witness and focused on undermining the credibility of cooperating witnesses.
Drug lord El Chapo found guilty on all counts after sensational New York trial of Mexican cartel boss – news.com.au
February 11th, 2019
1. Some recent commentary highlighting Watts’ cowardice. Did his weakness as a man play into the heart of why these unspeakable crimes took place?
More conspiracies doing the rounds now in the Chris Watts case. Now it’s that Nichol Kessinger was pregnant with Watts’ child. The idea for this conspiracy seems to have spun up around the Thayers’ recently announcing their second pregnancy on Facebook.
https://youtu.be/K152Ew8IZek
2. Mom allegedly kills son, 2, by bashing him with rock in the veld – News24
The murder shocked residents on social media, with some commenting that conditions were dire in the town…
This illustrates how and why context is important. Happy, harmonious, authentic and cohesive individuals [and communities] are less likely to engage in crime than compromised, fractured, duplicitous and incoherent individuals [and communities]. Wider ranging environmental forces, especially if they are deteriorating, such as financial hardship or illness, can exacerbate the fault lines already present in the human psyche. A pregnancy is a hybrid of internal and external factors that can overwhelm individuals and families if other burdens are already chronic and in play.
February 10th, 2019
1. The horrors of buying a house you can’t afford.
2. Valerie Reyes called her mom in panic. She vanished within days and her body was found in a suitcase – CNN
3. Judge dismisses ethics claim against Jodi Arias prosecutor Juan Martinez – AZCentral
February 9th, 2019
1. More commentary on the Chris Watts case:
2. Zahau family attorney: “I anticipate Adam Shacknai will end up behind bars” – 760kfmb
Mark Larson talks to Adam Shacknai in studio – 760kfmb
3. White House refuses to meet Congress’ deadline on Khashoggi killing – CNN
February 8th, 2019
1. Idaho woman pleads guilty to tampering with evidence in Kelsey Berreth case – Denver Channel
“I learned Patrick Frazee had committed a homicide on approximately Nov. 22, 2018 in Teller County,” Kenney said in the courtroom. “I knew that law enforcement would be investigating that crime. I moved the victim’s cell phone with the intent to impair the phone’s availability in the investigation. I had no right or authority to move the victim’s cell phone. That occurred between Nov. 24 and Nov. 25, 2018 in Teller County.”
Patrick Frazee DID murder his fiancee Kelsey Berreth, says his mistress, as she breaks down in tears and admits to destroying the victim’s phone while agreeing to testify against her lover – Daily Mail
2. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos says National Enquirer publisher tried to extort him – CNN
No thank you, Mr. Pecker – Medium
Rather than capitulate to extortion and blackmail, I’ve decided to publish exactly what they sent me, despite the personal cost and embarrassment they threaten.
3. More Chris Watts commentary:
https://youtu.be/JHlNvewBViE
4. After the legal settlement in the Ramsey case, there’s been a steady flow of garbage news. One wonders whether this is by design or simply the media muddling along, trying to make a buck.
Paedophile ‘who killed JonBenet Ramsey made collages of girls and set fire to them’ – The Mirror
February 7th, 2019
1. O.J. Simpson’s advice to Roger Stone: ‘Man up’ and ‘stop crying’ – USA Today
2. In true crime, words – semantics – matter. In criminal trials, words add up ultimately to a sentence which either deprives the defendant of his freedom, or grants it.
In ordinary society, in families and friendships, words also matter. Concentrate today on choosing yours wisely.
February 6th, 2019
1. Did Patrick Frazee “learn” from the Chris Watts case? In other words, is there Criminal Intertextuality at work here?
2. Idaho nurse charged with tampering with physical evidence in Kelsey Berreth murder case
3. Marcia Clark says O.J. Simpson trial made her a ‘depressed person’ as she looks ahead in new show ‘The Fix’ – FoxNews
4. Settlement reached in Rebecca Zahau civil case – CBS
A civil case regarding the death of 32-year-old Rebecca Zahau, whose bound and nude body was found hanging from a balcony at a historic Coronado mansion more than seven years ago, was dismissed with prejudice on Wednesday.
A jury previously found Adam Shacknai, the brother of Zahau’s boyfriend, liable in her death and awarded her family $5 million, despite a law enforcement
ruling that her death was a suicide.
The dismissal vacates the jury’s verdict due to a settlement reached between her family and Adam Shacknai’s insurance company, for an undisclosed sum.
Following the proceedings, Adam Shacknai spoke outside the courtroom professing his innocence and saying he never touched Rebecca. He also made it clear he did not take part in any settlement talks. He spoke for about 20 minutes to reporters and also talked about the Zahau family’s attorney Keith Greer, the Zahau family, the judge and the jury during his civil trial.
5. Review: ‘At Eternity’s Gate’ has its flaws, but Willem Dafoe is flawless – The National
When conversation does occur, it is almost always vital, such as the brief exchanges that manage to show the deep bond between van Gogh and his brother Theo (Rupert Friend), or a heart-wrenching [fictional] dialogue during his incarceration in an asylum where he debates art, God, and eternity with a resident priest (Mads Mikkelsen).
February 5th, 2019
1. Nurse in missing-mom case of Kelsey Berreth to plead guilty – ABC
Idaho Nurse Faces Tampering With Evidence Charge In Berreth Case – CBS
2. Video footage is still coming out on the Chris Watts case that many have not seen.
https://youtu.be/G6gQKLVoTQ0
https://youtu.be/ubN2CIuAe-k
https://youtu.be/gafU9A6Dxmw
https://youtu.be/0IAr-zJaCWw
3. 7 disturbing Netflix documentaries to watch in case ‘The Ted Bundy Tapes’ wasn’t crazy enough! – Mashable
4. FEATURE DOCUMENTARY: Get to know the man who murdered Sherlock Holmes – Channel24
February 4th, 2019
Accused Wife-Killer Rod Covlin Motivated by ‘Pure, Unadulterated Greed,’ Prosecutors Claim as Trial Begins – The Daily Beast
But when Shele Danishefsky, a 47-year-old UBS wealth manager, decided to cut Covlin out of her will in 2009—finalizing their divorce and severing her last financial connections to her husband—Covlin allegedly used a martial arts “chokehold” to break her neck before she could sign the papers.
“This is a murder. If this is a murder the only human on the plant with motive, means, and opportunity is sitting across from you in the courtroom,” Assistant District Attorney Matthew Bogdanos argued in his opening statement. “He is on trial for murdering the woman he hated… with all consuming anger.”
Prosecutors revealed stunning details of Danishefsky’s murder during opening arguments, describing how Covlin, 45, mentally and physically abused his wife, whom he relied on financially.
https://youtu.be/Rwd8YlMZBsQ
‘I want to make sure Rod doesn’t get any part of my estate!’ New York financial wizard asked lawyer to cut estranged husband Rod Covlin out of her $5.4 million will – 5 DAYS before Covlin allegedly strangled her, court heard – Daily Mail
2. Madeleine McCann cops ‘secretly investigated for misconduct’ – Daily Star
3. This feels like Truly Scraping the Bottom of the Barrel, not True Crime:
Convicted pedophile who admitted to killing JonBenét Ramsey apparently wanted to eat her body, according to a friend – CrimeOnline
February 3rd, 2019
This is Shan’ann’s final Facebook video, posted on August 8th.
https://youtu.be/uAKEPGA27LY
If Chris Watts was asked why he did what he did, and he gave an honest answer, it might go something like this…
2. Inmates without power at New York federal prison shivering in their cells for days – CNN
3. Beautiful killers: TV’s obsession with making serial killers sexy – Channel24
https://youtu.be/cKOhno0IMpA
February 2nd, 2019
1. MAN GETS LIFE FOR THROWING WIFE TO HER DEATH INTO LAKE WITH A CONCRETE SLAB AROUND HER NECK – Oxygen
“One witness described hearing what sounded like screams on the way down,” Cedillo noted, according to to The Fort Worth Star-Telegram. A 119-pound slab of concrete was found tied around her neck.
Police had at first assumed the death was a suicide, but a medical examiner determined it to be a homicide, according to the Dallas Morning News. Elizabeth and Rodolfo had been together for 13 years but she had planned to divorce him shortly before the killing.
Detectives believed that Rodolfo had waited for Elizabeth outside her home before kidnapping her, a fact confirmed by surveillance video. Police later found matching slabs of concrete in Rodolfo’s truck and yard.
2. Inside O.J. Simpson’s tense standoff with SWAT team after infamous freeway chase – NBC
“He kept grabbing my arm and begging, ‘Don’t kill him. You guys shouldn’t kill him. Please don’t kill him,’” Sandler said, adding that Kardashian was pleading with tears in his eyes.
The turning point in the standoff came when Simpson made it clear that the gun in his hands was not directed at law enforcement — “I would never point anything at you guys,” he could be heard saying — and he finally put the weapon down. The situation grew calmer — and just before 9 p.m., Simpson emerged from the Bronco and was finally arrested.
January 31st, 2019
1. Today is Shan’ann’s due date…
2. Why Are People Dying to Watch True-Crime Series? – NBC4i
January 30th, 2019
1. First reviews of DRILLING THROUGH DISCOVERY have already been posted.
2. Las Vegas shooter may have been seeking ‘infamy’: FBI – Yahoo
Las Vegas concert shooter Stephen Paddock may have been seeking a “certain degree of infamy” when he carried out the worst mass shooting in recent US history, but no single or clear motive has been found for the 2017 attack, the FBI said Tuesday.
The conclusion was reached in a report released by the FBI Behavioral Analysis Unit, which looked into the October 1, 2017 massacre.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation said a panel of experts had conducted an analysis of Paddock’s life and behavior leading up to the attack. Paddock acted alone and was not motivated by any ideological or political beliefs, the FBI said.
“There was no single or clear motivating factor behind Paddock’s attack,” the report said. “Throughout his life, Paddock went to great lengths to keep his thoughts private, and that extended to his final thinking about this mass murder,” the FBI said. It said no suicide note or any other communications related to the planning of the attack were found. “However, an important aspect of the attack was Paddock’s desire to die by suicide,” the FBI said.
FBI ends its investigation into the Las Vegas massacre — with no motive found – CNN
FBI finds no motive in Las Vegas mass shooting carried out by Stephen Paddock – GlobalNews
FBI investigation into Las Vegas shooting finds no motive – Guardian
FBI: We Will Never Know Why Stephen Paddock Murdered 58 People on Oct. 1, 2017 in Las Vegas – LawandCrime
3. Critics say Ted Bundy film glamorizes serial killer – CNN
Netflix creeped out about Ted Bundy’s ‘alleged hotness’ – CNN
4. Gerrie Nel and Barry Roux team up to defend the Coligny killers – Briefly
5. Van Gogh’s ‘Sunflowers’ Is No Longer Cleared for Takeoff – Smithsonian
“Sunflowers” journeyed to 79 exhibitions between the end of World War II and 1973 when the Van Gogh Museum was established. After that, the painting was lent out just six times, traveling as far as Chicago and Tokyo. Its last journey, a trip to London, took place in 2014.
Some of the paints used by van Gogh that have naturally faded or darkened in the last century have also impacted the brightness and coloration of the painting. Over time, the colors will change even more. While there’s little that can be done to reverse the trend, when the painting goes back on display in late February, the museum will reduce the lights shining on the painting down to 50 lux, one-third the amount previously illuminating it…
6. In other news, Chris Watts Conspiracies are now the order of the day…
https://youtu.be/yWNPyLlkkQk
https://youtu.be/_suhdZ79_Tc
January 29th, 2019
1. Drilling Through Discovery is now a #9 Amazon Bestseller.
Madeleine’s twin brother and sister Sean and Amelie, who are both aspiring amateur athletes, will have one special wish as they turn 14 on Friday – for their sister to come home.
A family friend said: “The twins have spent so much of their lives without their big sister but they never forget her and they pray for her. They just want her to be found safe and well after such a long time.”
3. Mystery of Alexander the Great’s death solved? Ruler was ‘killed by toxic wine’ claim scientists – The Independent
How suspicion and intrigue eroded Alexander’s empire – National Geographic
4. When someone dies [or is allowed to die on Everest] is anyone to blame? Is it a crime or just “one of those things”…?
January 28th, 2019
1. The 5th book in the TWO FACE series has been published.
2. Excessive force? Read the comments…
January 25th, 2019
1. Prosecutors urge court to uphold Jodi Arias’ conviction – Washington Post
2. In the mood for some Chris Watts conspiracy theory?
January 24th, 2019
1. When Agent Tammy Lee asks Watts what should happen to the person responsible [if his wife and children were murdered]. Watts’ voice breaks as he answers, “The worst possible thing…”
Elsewhere in the confession he sobs and wails for an extended time. He also fails the polygraph miserably. A psychopath would not show this kind of obvious emotion, and would be far more likely to pass a polygraph. Psychopaths are also skilled at deceiving people in general. They know how to act.
Watts has some social awkwardness issues, and he is something of an oddball, but he’s not even close to a psychopath. Many take comfort that he did what he did because he felt nothing. It’s the opposite. He did what he did because he was overwhelmed with emotions – including for his mistress, and the tangle of their financial mess, among many additional dynamics.
Notice the very long, very demonstrable answer Watts offers when Agent Lee asks him the simplest question: “How did you wake her up?” Also, note the many gestures he makes.
2. European court orders Italy to pay damages to Amanda Knox – CNN
Get the True Crime Rocket Science take on the Amanda Knox case, arguably the most globally talked-out criminal trial in true crime history, at this link.
3. Casey Anthony planning to visit Scott Peterson at San Quentin – Kron4.com
4. Obsessed JonBenét Blogger Arrested For Allegedly Sexually Assaulting A Child – RadarOnline
5. Robert Durst documentary part 2
“I was the worst fugitive the world has ever met…”
https://youtu.be/mQKpYGDMyAA
January 23rd, 2019
1. More about the Vivint security system installed in the Watts’ home.
The video below refers to and discusses Sandi Rzucek’s typed statement to Detective Baumhover.
2. Robert Durst Documentary
https://youtu.be/MQUhRb5tXpA
3. Kelsey Berreth’s friend believes her fiancé was “borderline emotionally abusive” – CBS
Ashley Cogburn told CBS News’ Nikki Battiste her friend had a lot going for her: a dream job, a baby and a fiancé. But she said Berreth also often appeared to be upset, and she believes, it had to do with Frazee.
“The moment that I found out that she had been missing, the first words that came out of my mouth were, ‘He did something to her,'” Cogburn said.
Cogburn said she saw red flags in their relationship, including that he was always “mad about something. She couldn’t win … the things that he would say to her were somewhat demeaning … I remember one time in particular she came to me and she was just crying. And Kelsey is this – she’s a tough girl … and I can’t remember specifics, but I just remember gathering, ‘This person is borderline emotionally abusive to you right now.'”
January 22nd, 2019
https://twitter.com/HashtagthisOk/status/1087729076381642753
January 21st, 2019
1. Chris Watts Update: Colorado Spent $12,600 To Remove Killer From State – IBTimes
https://youtu.be/HQtWIDln3k0
2. Shan’ann Watts, Kelsey Berreth in national spotlight, but little attention on 38 other suspected Colorado domestic violence deaths in 2018 – Denver Post
3. Evil Jayme Closs Suspect Kidnapper Jake Patterson Obsessed With His Crimes – RadarOnline
Patterson, 21, of Gordon, Wisconsin “learned the names of the two people he shot and killedOpens a New Window. after seeing their names reported on multiple news programs and social media,” the criminal complaint reads.
“The assailant followed several social-media groups that are also monitored by local, state and federal authorities,” a source close to the investigation told RadarOnline.comOpens a New Window..
“During the Chris Watts case, it was made public that Chris’ alleged mistress also followed the group, sending screen shots of posts to local, state and federal authorities on the case.”
January 20th, 2019
1. Chris Watts #1 Neighbors talk to Police
https://youtu.be/EopHTsVuqco
2. I Mentored Mark Zuckerberg. I Loved Facebook. But I Can’t Stay Silent About What’s Happening. – Time
January 19th, 2019
1. Sent in my one of the members of the Facebook group.
This video is one of many which show just how innocent these little girls were. I also noticed Ceecee’s nappy and underwear. The evidence says she was dressed in a nappy, underwear and nightgown – watching this video shows it must be part of her toilet training, putting on her pull ups nappy but also getting to wear big girl underwear. You also get to observe Ceecee’s care free nature, her bad cough and their strategy to keep her from running out of her room.
https://youtu.be/YAeyNMGJa4M
January 18th, 2019
January 17th, 2019
1. Nickole Atkinson wishes Shan’ann a happy birthday.
https://youtu.be/2JWWJC8L9CE
2. McStay Family Slayings: Prosecutor Says Defendant’s Greed Drove Him to Kill – ktla.com
Greed, debt and a gambling problem drove a Southern California man to kill his business partner’s family with a sledgehammer and bury their bodies in the desert, prosecutors said Monday.
But the defense said authorities are charging the wrong man and the real culprit is another business partner.
Opening arguments were held in the trial of Charles “Chase” Merritt.
Merritt, 61, has pleaded not guilty. If convicted, he could face the death penalty.
Sean Daugherty, supervising deputy district attorney for San Bernardino County, told jurors that Merritt wrote checks for more than $21,000 on his partner’s online bookkeeping account after the family was last seen alive in February 2010, the Sun newspaper of San Bernardino reported.
“Greed, and greed’s child, fraud” were the motive, Daugherty argued.
McStay murder mystery: Who is Chase Merritt? – thecwsandiego
When skeletal remains of the McStays were discovered last month near Victorville, detectives started taking a closer look at people associated with the Fallbrook family of four.
One of those individuals is Charles Ray Merritt, also known as Chase Merritt, a metal worker and former business partner of Joseph McStay.
Merritt, 56, is a hard man to find. CBS News 8 affiliates checked four different addresses and came up empty. We also left telephone messages and emails with Merritt and his associates, but received no response.
Merritt worked for Joseph McStay’s fountain design and manufacturing company in February 2010, when Joseph, his wife Summer, and their two young sons mysteriously went missing from their Fallbrook home.
Days after the McStay bodies were discovered on November 11 by an off-road motorcycle rider in the desert near Victorville, Merritt was interviewed by the online tabloid, Daily Mail, which quoted Merritt as saying:
|
Defense in McStay family murder trial says DNA swab taken from defendant’s brother -sbsun
Opening statements are set for Monday, Jan. 7, in the death penalty trial of Charles “Chase” Merritt, accused in the 2010 slaying of the McStay family, and one more pretrial hearing Friday, Jan. 4, may decide whether to unseal a search warrant declaration used to collect DNA from Merritt’s brother.
A motion filed by defense attorneys said the DNA swab was taken from Bennett Merritt on Dec. 20, after jurors for the trial had been selected.
Defense attorneys want to know why, and suggest in court documents that prosecutors are turning their attention to Bennett Merritt as “somehow complicit in the McStay murders,” and were pushed by independent defense DNA investigations in the case.
“We want to see what the detective wrote to a judge,” defense attorney Rajan Maline said in a brief phone interview. He said any named source in the warrant declaration can be redacted, “but what did they say in the affidavit? We’re dying to see it.”
3. Robert Durst murder trial is set for September – LA Times
4. Missing Colorado Mom Update: Patrick Frazee’s Mistress Followed Orders ‘Out Of Fear’ – IBTimes
5. KATHLEEN ZELLNER CHALLENGES ANDREW COLBORN TO RECREATE HIS BOOKCASE ALLEGATIONS FROM ‘MAKING A MURDERER’ – Newsweek
January 16th, 2019
1. Chris Watts’ neighbor talks to Dr. Oz:
https://youtu.be/8w-vhTx9WjI
Inside the Watts Family Homicide – DoctorOz
What Failed JonBenét House Sale May Mean for the Watts Home Auction – Westword
2. Robert Durst murder trial is set for September – Boston Herald
Texas Dismemberment Can Be Used In Robert Durst’s LA Murder Trial – Patch
Durst — whose past was detailed in an HBO documentary series — is set to go on trial Sept. 3 at the Airport Branch Courthouse in Los Angeles in connection with the killing of Susan Berman, 55, who was found dead in her home in Benedict Canyon on Christmas Eve 2000.
During a hearing Tuesday, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mark E. Windham agreed with the prosecution’s contention that jurors should hear evidence about Morris Black’s killing in Galveston, Texas.
Deputy District Attorney John Lewin told the judge that the 75-year- old defendant “beat a murder in Galveston.”
“… He got away with it. … He’s not going to get away a second time,” the prosecutor said, referring to Berman’s shooting death.
3. Missing Colorado Mom Update: Kelsey Berreth’s Brother Slams Couple Who Withheld Information – IBTimes
January 15th, 2019
1. Frederick home of convicted murderer Christopher Watts to be auctioned on April 17 – Denver Post
Chris Watts’ Ex Girlfriend from his college days goes on the record with Kay
https://soundcloud.com/user-924223061/sesh-18-its-finally-here-chris-watts-ex-girlfriend-goes-on-the-record-with-kay
Chris Watts arriving at Airport in North Carolina
https://youtu.be/YCi-eZdlp88
3. Madeleine McCann’s parents find hope in escape of Jayme Closs – USA Today
4. KIDNAPPER CHOSE 13-YEAR-OLD VICTIM AFTER WATCHING HER AT THE BUS STOP – The Daily Caller
5. Robert Durst: Judge to rule if evidence from old cases can be used in new murder trial – NBC News
DA Argues to Include Evidence From Prior Murder Case Against Robert Durst – NBC
Durst has been long estranged from his real estate-rich family, which is known for ownership of a series of New York City skyscrapers — including an investment in the World Trade Center. He split with the family when his younger brother was placed in charge of the family business, leading to a drawn-out legal battle.
According to various media reports, Durst ultimately reached a settlement under which the family paid him $60 million to $65 million.
January 14th, 2019
1. Man who claims he had 10-month affair with family killer Chris Watts wants to visit him in prison ‘for closure’ – CrimeOnline
“We went and looked at houses together in Fort Collins,” Bolte claimed, noting that he was about to move from his residence and Watts expressed an interest in moving in with him.
“I was planning on getting a two-bedroom apartment,” he said. “But Chris was like, ‘No, I’m going to be divorced. We need to look at three-bedroom houses and the girls can have a room.”
So Watts was going to go apartment hunting with Bolte, then with Kessinger?
2. Woman charged with killing nail salon owner who was chasing her over payment for $35 manicure – Washington Post
3. Washington Post: Trump concealed details from meetings with Putin – CNN
Notice at the end of the video clip, Trump calls the article disgusting and the question disgusting, but doesn’t actually answer it, or even deny it.
4. True Detective:Three Real-Life Cases Behind the Show’s Central Mystery – Vanity Fair
The third season of True Detective is based on true crime – the notorious West Memphis Three case. I’ve written about many criminals. Which crime, and which criminals do I despise most? This one.
January 13th, 2019
1. Pedophile Confesses to Killing JonBenet Ramsey in Letters to Friend – Rolling Stone
Boulder police brush off pedophile’s confession in JonBenet Ramsey murder – Washington Times
2. How a hacked phone may have led killers to Khashoggi – CNN
January 11th, 2019
1. Pregnant Mom Shanann Watts, Murdered With Her 2 Kids By Her Husband, Would Have Turned 35 Today – People
2. Ex Allegedly Asked Nurse Gal Pal to Kill Colorado Mom Kelsey Berreth: Report – The Daily Beast
The couple said they spoke to KMVT after their employee received threats and harassment on social media. They said Frazee was arrested four days after they called the FBI.
KMVT says that in the next interview segment, airing Friday, the Rockstahls discuss what was said in their conversation with the feds. In an interview slated for Sunday, the couple will share what they were told about Lee’s alleged trip to Colorado that prompted police to swarm Twin Falls, Idaho.
On Facebook, KMVT reporter Kelsey Souto said the Rockstahls believe that Lee was in fear for her life when Frazee allegedly solicited her to kill his fiancée.
3. Freed Death Row Inmate Damien Echols on What Helped Him Survive Nearly Two Decades in Prison – People
After his release, Echols spent years avoiding talking about the spiritual practice that he now admits helped saved his life.
“I was really, really gun-shy. Whenever I’d talk about it, I’d always look over my shoulder to check and see if anyone could hear me,” recalls Echols, who now travels the country teaching “magick” workshops and is busy working on a follow-up book on the subject. “But I eventually realized I had to get over that hurdle—because if you give up the things you love out of fear then you’re not really alive.”
4. Dr. Phil wants to interview O.J. Simpson: ‘he should unburden before he goes to his grave’ – FoxNews
Notice in the last few seconds of the video clip how OJ Simpson interrupts and corrects himself. Concluding:
“So yes, I think everything was – would have been – covered in blood.”
January 10th, 2019
1. Don’t feel bad if you missed the confession of Gary Oliva in 2016, he’s at it again now, confessing to the murder of JonBenet Ramsey.
One-time person of interest in JonBenet Ramsey case held in Boulder on child porn charges
Gary Oliva has a history of sexually abusing minors and lived blocks from the Ramseys at the time of the murder – Denver Post [July 21, 2016]
EXCLUSIVE: ‘I killed JonBenét Ramsey!’ Convicted pedophile Gary Oliva has confessed to the murder of six-year-old pageant princess in prison letters to his friend – claiming it was ‘an accident’ – Daily Mail [Today, five days after Burke Ramsey threw in the towel in that $750 lawsuit against CBS]
Also, if Oliva is the killer in question, not to worry, he’s already in prison [although eligible for release from 2020 onwards].
Interestingly, about ten years before Oliva’s confession in 2016, John mark Carr confessed:
John Mark Karr arrested in connection with JonBenet Ramsey slaying – Daily camera
The then District Attorney Mary Lacy confidently declared they had their man then, even though Karr wasn’t even in Boulder at the time of the murders.
Timing of DAs probe questioned – Denver Post
FBI searching Idaho town for evidence in Kelsey Berreth case – kdvr.com
3. Madeleine McCann’s parents receive boost as their company’s profits soar helping search go on – Mirror
Scotland Yard’s investigation into Madeleine’s disappearance from an apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal, in 2007, aged three, has so far cost £11.75million.
January 9th, 2019
1. Kelsey Berreth’s human remains still missing.
2. Why Chris Watts Murdered His Entire Family
After watching the video clip above, do you think Investigation Discovery answer or address the question why [which is the title of the clip]? If so, what answer do they provide?
January 8th, 2019
1. Trent Bolte says he may visit Watts in prison “for closure” – CNN
Are these valuation estimates accurate? $600 000+ ?
https://youtu.be/kIQLjm-aWE4
2. JonBenét Ramsey’s Brother Settles Defamation Suit Against CBS Over True Crime Docuseries – Vulture
The fact that the series is still available tells you the story behind the story – Burke Ramsey postured and lost.
3. Inside the Mind of Jeffrey Dahmer: Serial Killer’s Chilling Jailhouse Interview
January 6th, 2019
1. Nickole Atkinson is still thoroughly enjoying the Thrive Kool-Aid:
The Mirror is a little late in documenting the Watts story…
Dad slaughtered his wife and kids so he could be with his lover
The call below is inaccurately attributed to Nichol Kessinger. At 14:32 Watts took a text/call from Cristina Meacham.
https://youtu.be/WOItnWYngdw
In the clip below Watts can be seen walking with his parents.
2. Prosecutors face Friday deadline in response to Jodi Arias’ appeal – tucsonnewsnow
January 5th, 2019
JonBenet Ramsey’s brother settles $750M defamation suit against CBS – Daily Camera
An online register of actions in the case shows that Judge David A. Groner signed an order of dismissal on Wednesday, and that a settlement conference set for March 20 has been canceled, with the notation “case disposed.”
A clerk in Groner’s office on Friday said the order declares that the claims against those producing the documentary “are dismissed with prejudice and without costs or attorney fees. This is a final order and the case is closed.”
The term “with prejudice”means that an action cannot be refiled. Michigan online court records show that a separate $50 million lawsuit filed by JonBenet Ramsey’s father, John Ramsey, also was terminated by the same judge’s order on Wednesday.
In a ruling dated Dec. 10, Boulder District Judge Thomas Mulvahill granted the Boulder department’s motion seeking to quash that subpoena and granted a protective order.
Mulvahill’s ruling noted that the murder case “remains open and has not been completed,” and also states that Boulder is not a party to the ongoing litigation between Burke Ramsey and producers of the controversial documentary.
But the judge also cited the fact that, with dozens of books and movies and television shows having picked at the bones of the beleaguered investigation for more than two decades, there aren’t a lot of secrets left.
Mulvahill’s ruling stated “…there is a tremendous amount of information available in the public domain such that Defendants can obtain the subpoenaed information from other sources or through discovery.”
In a separate filing, court records show that Burke Ramsey’s lawyers in November moved to withdraw their subpoena to the Boulder Police Department and dismiss their action. In a one-line ruling, Mulvahill granted that motion on Nov. 13.
The subpoena to Hunter had targeted a broad range of material, including every document relating to JonBenet’s death that he might have retained since leaving office.
Court records show that subpoenas in recent months also had been served on numerous other players in the Ramsey drama, including onetime Ramsey private investigator Ellis Armistead, former Boulder County District Attorney Mary Lacy, Boulder’s High Peaks Elementary School — which both Ramsey children attended at the time of JonBenet’s death — as well as Dr. Francesco Beuf, JonBenet’s pediatrician.
Divorced mother-of-two Krystal Lee is being investigated over her role in the mystery of the disappearance of Kelsey Berreth. Lee, 32, is believed to have been having an affair with Patrick Frazee who has been charged with Berreth’s murder even though her body has not been found.
Lee, who lives in Twin Falls, Idaho, has not been formally identified by police as the woman they are investigating, but sources confirm she is the woman involved.
Now DailyMail.com can reveal that that person is Lee, who works as a pre-op nurse at the St. Luke’s Magic Valley Medical Center in Twin Falls. She has now been placed on a leave of absence, the hospital confirms.
NOTE: TCRS called it [on the possibility of an affair] two weeks ago, on December 23rd.
Judge allows Patrick Frazee to see his arrest affidavit; postpones preliminary hearing – The Gazette
Berreth parents file federal suit against Patrick Frazee – krdo.com
A friend of Patrick Frazee whose granddaughter was a frequent playmate of the accused killer’s daughter Kaylee shared shocking new details about his relationship with missing mom Kelsey Berreth.
Tamra Freeman told CNN that Frazee and Berreth had split back on New Year’s Day in 2018, just three months after the couple welcomed daughter Kaylee.
That contradicts comments made by Berreth’s aunt suggesting that her niece had broken up with Frazee on November 22, the day she was last seen in public.
3. Police bodycam footage in Chronological order the day Chris Watts’ family were reported missing
Will Chris Watts survive prison?
4. Animated video shows how Robert Durst could have murdered Morris Black in new court filing
TCRS assessment: Highly doubtful. Looks wrong. Feels wrong.
5. The killer within: Part one | Why did Henri van Breda murder his family?
January 4th, 2019
1. Frazee felt ‘railroaded,’ he told an acquaintance – CNN
2. Saudi prosecutors seek death penalty as Khashoggi murder trial opens – CNN
3. Jayne Zmijewski, the dog handler in the Chris Watts case, appears in this trailer:
January 3rd, 2019
1. Rocket Science has been somewhat on the fence about Watts’ possible bisexuality. I’ve been unwilling to say he was definitely bisexual, but also unable to rule it out either. From the beginning there’s been smoke, but is there really fire? Like agent Coder, it was difficult to take Bolte seriously in the beginning, but over time, Bolte’s story seems to have some credibility.
Notice how CNN carefully refers to Bolte as Watts’ “alleged” gay lover even now. So they’re not 100% convinced either, yet interested enough to put Bolte on their platform a second time.
Arnold Faks recently picked up an interesting insight in terms of the timeline of texts between Kessinger and Watts on the 13th…
And in other news…
https://youtu.be/6t2hd7zpdhw
2. Nurse may have played role in Kelsey Berreth’s disappearance – New York Post
A 32-year-old Idaho nurse is being investigated for her role in the missing Colorado mom’s disappearance and possible death, reports said.
The Twin Falls nurse is suspected of ditching Kelsey Berreth’s cellphone in Idaho, sources told ABC News, which is declining to identify the woman until law enforcement releases her name.
Fiance of missing pilot plotted her murder for almost three months, police allege – news.com.au
The charges indicate authorities believe Mr Frazee tried to persuade another person or multiple people to kill Ms Berreth on at least three occasions between September 1 2018 and November 1, 2018.
Police allege she was slain on or around November 22 — the last day she was seen alive in public — almost three months after Mr Frazee’s first alleged attempt to arrange her murder.
Charges, motions provide preview of evidence against Patrick Frazee – koaa.com
Stephen Longo, an attorney with McDivitt Law Firm, helped explain the charges.
“It suggests to me that he probably asked the same person three times to either help or commit the crime individually,” Longo said. “It’s always possible, based on the three counts, that he asked three separate people.”
“It’s documented somehow, right? Whether it’s email, text message, recorded phone call, something where we have specifics where we can trace the date,” Longo said.
A person could also have supplied that information, he said.
Meanwhile, prosecutors still are not releasing evidence, including the probable cause affidavit to Frazee, citing the ongoing investigation. They did, however, ask the judge to allow consumptive evidence testing. News 5 asked Mark Pfoff, a former detective in the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office who worked on more than 50 homicide investigations, what that testing means.
“You’re usually looking at some form of body fluids, whether it’s blood or saliva or something like that,” Pfoff said. Pfoff said the amount of evidence is so small, it’s likely not visible to the eye — meaning testing that evidence once would prevent any follow-up testing moving forward.
Judge Linda Billings-Vela will decide on the motion for consumptive testing, as well as another motion on whether to allow Frazee himself to see the probable cause affidavit, in a Friday motions hearing.
Frazee is due back in court Thursday for a custody hearing. Both Berreth and Frazee’s mothers are vying for custody of the couple’s 1-year-old daughter.
January 2nd
Which shirt was hung on the hanger? An orange shirt, or a white shirt?
2. Fiancé of Missing Colo. Mom Charged with Murder as Authorities Allege He May Have Sought Help – People
The charges against Frazee, 32, indicate that the alleged solicitations occurred between Sept. 1 and Nov. 1.
January 1st, 2019
1. Was there a child running around the crime scene on August 14, or did a child’s toy make a noise? Welcome to True Crime Idiot Science.
https://youtu.be/6e5Bc1BZ9YM?t=750
2. Kelsey Berreth’s fiancé charged with 5 counts, including first-degree murder – 9News.com
It was Berreth however who had been hesitant to move in with her fiance because he still lived with his mother. She instead decided to get her own home after moving to Colorado from Washington to be with Frazee. In May, Berreth paid $184,900 for a two-bedroom home in Woodland Hills, where she lived with her daughter.
A family member claimed soon after Berreth went missing that she had split with Frazee on the day she was last seen, but that has never been confirmed by investigators. There were a number of details that had puzzled the public in the wake of Berreth’s disappearance, including the fact that she had just baked fresh cinnamon buns before she went missing.
Frazee also failed to report her missing, despite [having] their daughter Kaylee that entire time.
Colorado man Patrick Frazee charged in death of fiancee Kelsey Berreth – Coloradoan
Prosecutors Think Fiancé of Missing Colorado Mom Had Help in Alleged Murder – TIME
…the murder solicitation charge means that someone else was involved in the crime – but so far Frazee has been the only one who has been charged.
District Attorney Dan May said that to be charged with solicitation, the suspect would have to have done more than just ask someone to commit a murder on their behalf, the Post reported…
Kelsey Berreth’s fiancé charged with 5 murder counts – Denver Post
The narrative for the solicitation charges indicate Frazee had been trying since Sept. 1 to persuade another person to participate in the killing, and the first-degree murder charge involved an accusation of robbery in connection with the killing.
Thus far, the arrest affidavit, which lays out the facts of the case that are the basis from the charges, has been sealed. Even Frazee and his public defenders have been prevented from seeing it.
3. Shocking footage shows men carrying journalist Khashoggi’s ‘body parts’ – thesouthafrican.com
The 59-year-old former Saudi insider turned critic was strangled before he was cut up into pieces by a team of 15 Saudis sent to Istanbul for the killing, according to Turkish officials, with media reports suggesting the parts were dissolved in acid.
A-Haber said the bags and suitcases were put into a minibus which travelled the short distance from the consulate to a garage at the residence. The men are then seen taking them inside.
Question: Were his body parts in the garbage bags, in the suitcases or both?
4. US military tweets, deletes New Year’s Eve message about dropping bombs – CNN
December 31st, 2018
1. Bodycam video of the interior of the Conoco Gas Station at Frederick Travel Center.
September 22nd bodycam video:
https://youtu.be/UI2q3Uf0-o0
How relevant are “burner phones”to the Watts case?
https://youtu.be/ebrtC12WBIw
2. Missing mom moved to Colorado for love of man now accused of her murder, cousin says – Foxnews.com
The cousin, JoDee Garretson, says Berreth met 31-year-old cattle rancher Patrick Frazee online in early 2016, and moved from Warden, Washington, a few months later to be closer to him. They were ultimately engaged and while they lived in separate homes about 15 miles apart, they shared custody of a 1-year-old daughter, Kaylee.
According to police, Berreth’s employer got a text from her phone on Nov. 25, saying she wouldn’t be at work that week. Frazee also said she texted him that day, but the contents of that text have not been released.
3. REVEALED: The dark secrets of Khashoggi’s killing – News24
The book also says that the head of the hit squad, Maher Abdulaziz Mutreb, told Khashoggi when he entered the consulate that he would not be harmed if he cooperated with them.
He asked Khashoggi to send a message [from his cell phone] to his son Salah’s phone in Riyadh, informing him that he was safe in Istanbul and not to worry if he could not be contacted for a while. Khashoggi refused to do so, and in the recording, cited in the book, can be heard saying: “Will you kill me? Will you suffocate me?”
According to the book, Khashoggi maintained his composure when he realised that he would not get out of the consulate alive, after he heard Mutreb ordering five members of the hit squad to attack the writer by suffocating him with a nylon bag. The recordings indicate that Khashoggi’s last sentence was: “Do not cover my mouth. I have asthma, you will suffocate me.”
Khashoggi resisted his killers for five minutes, according to the book.
Afterwards, Khashoggi’s body was cut up by Tubaigy using a forensic saw. The book purports that the members of the hit squad, who remained present at the scene, were disturbed and nauseated by the dismemberment.
4. California’s largest utility provider could face murder charges for wildfires, AG says – CNN
December 30th, 2018
1. CrimeRocket was started on October 10th, 82 days ago, or 2 months and 20 days. Today it passed 1 million page impressions. Thank you to all justice seekers for supporting this site. See you all on the other side.
2. 2018 was the year Facebook and Twitter grew up – CNN
3. Court filing in Russian troll farm case references nude selfie – CNN
Could the manner in which he collected a nude selfie really threaten the national security of the United States,” Concord’s lawyers ask in the filing.
Concord’s filing Thursday comes amid a drawn-out fight where the Russian company seeks to access what the Justice Department says is “sensitive” evidence in the case, which could reveal national security and American investigative secrets to powerful foreigners.
Is a nude selfie “sensitive evidence”?
December 29th, 2018
1. Trial Analyst Andell Brown Discusses the Many Opportunities for Chris Watts to be Truthful
2. Day Before He Was Arrested in Case of Missing Fiancée, What Colorado Dad Told a Client – People
“He’s very conscientious about his work,” Cline tells PEOPLE of Frazee, a farrier who, at least twice a year, arrived to trim and care for the hooves of the donkeys that roam free in the historic former gold mining camp near the base of Pike’s Peak. “He had the health and the well-being of the donkeys’ interest at heart,” Cline says.
Given the circumstances — Kelsey Berreth, Frazee’s 29-year-old fiancée and mother to their 1-year-old daughter, who by then had been missing for 28 days — “I think that’s the last thing I would have been doing at that time, calling my customers and giving a new cell,” Cline says.
3. Boston Marathon bomber asks to overturn conviction, toss death sentence – The Hill
4. Oscar Pistorius: Feeding souls with Bible readings and vegetable garden – TimesLive
PICTURE: Oscar Pistorius let out for memorial of beloved grandfather – TimesLive
5. Willem Dafoe: The Art of Painting the Light – backstage
Of filming and living in France, particularly in Auvers-sur-Oise, the commune outside of Paris where van Gogh died after suffering a gunshot to the chest, Dafoe says the experience was “incredible. You’re approximating his perspective; you can see some of the landscapes from his paintings and then you can visit them so they’re alive…. You feel his spirit.”
Learning to paint, which in several scenes from the film he had to do in real time, similarly rooted Dafoe in van Gogh’s body. “It was very important to give me the physical experience to be able to relate to some of the things he was talking about. I can relate as someone who’s interested in art, some I can relate to as a human being. But once I started painting, it was more complete.”
December 28th, 2018
1.New CU Study Finds Cancer Risk Is Higher For Those Living Near Oil And Gas Wells – Longmont Observer
2. Patrick Frazee Appears In Court For Custody Hearing – CBS
Note the custody hearing was scheduled last week, so clearly the hearing itself does not play into the motive for the murder, although that doesn’t mean custody wasn’t a contentious issue.
3. Amanda Knox Suffers Horrific Christmas Death Tragedy -RadarOnline
Knox, 31, says she and new fiancé Christopher Robinson are “utterly heartbroken” over the accident.
“He was the smartest, funniest, sweetest, cuddliest, most talkative and wonderful cat. We feel so lucky to have had him our lives.”
Words and sentiments Knox failed to come close to expressing after her friend, Meredith Kercher, was murdered in her home, in the room next to hers, in Perugia, Italy.
4. Police have video of Kevin Spacey groping a busboy, complaint says – CNN
5. How Trump’s secret trip to Iraq became not-so-secret – CNN
Former Secret Service Agent Jonathan Wackrow, who has helped coordinate conflict zone trips for multiple protectees…says the spotting of Air Force One and Twitter chatter is not a security breach, but is concerning and a lesson to be learned.
“In the age of social media, this highlights a new vulnerability that the Secret Service and military have to be super mindful of in the future,” Wackrow says. “You’re charting new territory with the inclusion of social media from a threat perspective and from an awareness perspective, and future planning is going to address that.”
December 27th, 2018
1. From a happy pregnancy announcement to a shallow grave: The full timeline of the Chris Watts murder case – Business Insider Australia
June 14: Chris Watts enters coworker Nichol Kessinger’s contact information into his phone. Kessinger would later become his mistress.
The way the media has written this suggests Watts had one phone, and by entering her details into his phone in June, Kessinger became his mistress after this date. This is how myths and misconceptions are created by the MSM.
June 27: Shanann Watts takes Bella, right, and Celeste, left, to North Carolina for a five-week vacation, while her husband stays at home and works.
July 4: Kessinger told police she went to Chris Watts’ house for the first time on the Fourth of July to “set up his diet and weight loss/exercise goals.” “He invited her to his home, he cooked lunch, they ate and she left,” according to police documents.
July 7: The first phone call is logged between Chris Watts and Kessinger.
That too is a misleading misinterpretation.
July 14: Chris Watts and Kessinger go on a date to [the Shelby American Collection in Boulder]. That afternoon, Shanann Watts makes four unanswered calls to her husband.
2. JonBenet’s tricycle: Murdered six-year-old’s abandoned toy reveals new truths in famous case – news.com.au
This is how the media “investigates” a 22 year old crime on its anniversary:
The child pageant queen’s cute pink tricycle, complete with streamers on the handlebars, was dumped beside the house. Soon enough, Novick had taken ownership of the dead girl’s trike, along with a packet of popcorn and an oversized candy cane which had decorated the front lawn, but became a grim symbol of the tragedy as cameras filmed every minute of the investigation from outside the Ramsey home.
Novick, previously a member of local Charles Manson-themed band Scramblehead, was no stranger to controversy. He wanted to explore the meaning behind the trike.
He took it to psychics to see whether they could read anything from it. He left it on the footpath to see how passers-by would react (many began riding it).
He realised everyone had some kind of link to JonBenet. “One woman who rode it, her dad was one of the movers,” he told news.com.au. “Another one told me she lived two doors down, and grew up with the media attention.
“There will always be theories. I’m as interested in how we treat it, the media.”
The above story is actually an amalgam of a story from Forbes, posted in March 2018, and another from October 2016, in other words, none of it is new.
From the archives:
Shock claim Burke Ramsey killed JonBenet – but with different weapon – NZ Herald
December 26th, 2018
1.
2. Evidence in Case of Missing Colorado Mother Found 800 Miles Away in Idaho – Time
3. Willem Dafoe (‘At Eternity’s Gate’): ‘I worked very hard’ to get into Vincent van Gogh’s mindset [Complete Interview Transcript] – goldderby.com
4. Life’s one big party! Newly-engaged Amanda Knox parties with her beau and friends before the holidays as her interviews for Vice show air – Amanda Knox
December 25th, 2018
1. Holiday Season Murders: Laci Peterson, JonBenét Ramsey and Other Disturbing Crimes – People
2. Cell phone of missing Colorado mom Kelsey Berreth may have been found as court docs show her fiance Patrick Frazee plans to fight murder charge – Daily Mail
Sheila Frazee, the mother of the suspect, was briefly detained by authorities but not placed under arrest. The divorced mother-of-four, who is a registered nurse, lives with her youngest son at the ranch, which she outright owns according to public records. She also owns two additional properties in the area.
Her son meanwhile attends to the ranch and also breeds dogs.
That same source said that Frazee’s arrest came after authorities obtained new information about Berreth that has lead them to believe she is no longer alive. Frazee was arrested after cell records and data provided new details regarding Berreth’s disappearance, according to officials.
The solicitation charge was also addressed at a news conference on Friday, with officials saying that Frazee asked someone to commit some sort of crime but refusing to elaborate beyond that at this time. On Friday, Frazee appeared at Teller County court via video conference where the judge read him his charges – first-degree murder as well as solicitation of murder. The audience at court was unable to see the screen.
None of his relatives were present during the hearing. He will be held without bond pending his next court appearance on December 31. As for where the body may be, police told residents of Woodland Park that they should expect an increase in police activity around the area in the coming days. Agents are also at Berreth’s home looking for evidence.
New documents released in case against Kelsey Berreth’s fiancé – 9news
Monday’s court documents include a request from Frazee’s public defenders asking that investigators turn over emails and text messages they’ve recovered.
Woodland Park Police Chief Miles De Young said the two had exchanged custody of their 1-year-old daughter on Thanksgiving. Frazee does not have a prior criminal history in Colorado, according to CBI records. He is slated to appear in court again on Dec. 31.
De Young said it is an “absolute possibility” there could be more arrests in Berreth’s disappearance.
December 24th, 2018
1. Chris Watts: Police Scanner Audio
https://youtu.be/X13gHNZHUcE
Christopher Watts’ two lives leading to murder – Daily Camera
2. Patrick Frazee spotted at waste management facility, police return to his property – krdo.com
…eyewitnesses exclusively told KRDO they saw Frazee at a waste management facility, dropping off a load on Monday.
Employees at the company in Teller County also tell us they saw Frazee at the facility dropping off trash from a long trailer with two other men. Witnesses say Frazee remained in a white pickup truck as the two other men, who drove in two separate cars, unloaded the trailer.
The trash was later collected by police and it’s been reported a few of the items were taken away by police for further investigation. Photos capture Woodland Park police cars on the property. They were not able to give us any further information regarding the investigation or could not tell us what exactly was found.
Family: Kelsey Berreth moved to Colorado to be closer to Frazee – koaa.com
No sign of law enforcement at Berreth or Frazee home one day after murder arrest – krdo.com
3. Egypt Bans Teen Who Climbed and Took Photos Atop the Great Pyramid of Giza – hyperallergic.com
4. Danish photographer and model take nude photo on top of Giza pyramids -stepfeed.com
December 23rd, 2018
1. Selfie of Shan’ann Watts, with her mother-in-law in the pool behind her
What do we know about CO 528-ZJV?
Why Colorado Crimes So Often Go National – Westword
Colorado is a bucolic wonderland filled with spectacular scenery and gorgeous people whose lives are like travel brochures made real.
It’s the kind of place where nothing bad should ever happen — and when it does, the impact is amplified to a shattering degree.
2. Kelsey Berreth case: Idaho police find possible evidence linked to missing mom investigation – Denver Post
3. IDENTIFYING JAMESON: Hickory’s peculiar connection to the JonBenét Ramsey murder investigation – Hickory Record
Jameson, who is now in her 60s, described herself in her pre-cybersleuth days as a housewife who homeschooled her kid and baked bread all day. I imagine in 1997 when Jameson first heard of what happened to JonBenét, she put herself in the Ramseys’ shoes. She saw herself and her husband in John and Patsy and she saw her own child or children in JonBenét and Burke.
The article appears to indicate that Jameson has inherited detective Lou Smit’s case files.
Who is Jameson? – Reddit
ACandyRose on the History of Webbsleuths
JonBenet Ramsey and the Rise of an Internet Subculture – Westword
December 22nd, 2018
https://youtu.be/4dHC3Xzken4
1. For the past week or so, the mainstream media has been saturated with talk about Watts receiving love letters in jail. That’s all the media can talk about, and all that is being talked about. It’s ultra lame tabloid-style coverage of the Watts case. Here’s another:
He’s locked up for life after murdering his wife and children. So why do women send him love letters? – Washington Post
2. Murder suspect Patrick Frazee to get new attorney – krdo.com
Patrick Frazee arrested for murder after Kelsey Berreth’s disappearance – krdo.com
3. Gatwick drone chaos: Man and woman arrested – CNN
Gatwick drone drama shows how even unarmed UAVs can cause economic chaos and risk to life – The Conversation
December 21st, 2018
1. Chris Watts Is A ‘Narcissist’ Who ‘Thought He Could Get Away With It …– In Touch Weekly
Shan’ann Watts Slammed Chris’s ‘Evil’ Parents for Putting Girls in Danger Before Murder – CafeMom
“You should call your dad and tell him you did not appreciate your mom putting your daughter at risk today, nor do you like that she teased our girls,” Shan’ann reportedly wrote in texts to Chris. “You should also say you don’t appreciate her saying they have to learn they can’t always get what they want! They are 2 and 4!”
Infidelity…. Should you be able to sue the person who had an affair with your significant other? – blog.law.info
…we’ve decided as a society that certain behaviors are not OK. As a result, we’ve decided that there are certain standards by which people are obligated to act. We expect people to act according to “that degree of care that an ordinarily prudent person can be reasonably expected to exercise under similar circumstance.” If someone acts “unreasonably” in those situations, then they can be sued for the harm caused to a third person as a result. For instance:
If you are injured by a driver who failed to exercise reasonable care when driving on the freeway, you can sue them because all drivers have a duty to act reasonably to prevent harm to other drivers. Doctors are supposed to perform their duties as any other reasonable doctor would in a similar situation, or else face liability for medical malpractice. Store owners must put up a sign when a floor is wet, because society considers that to be the reasonable way to act to prevent someone from slipping and falling. Homeowners must warn guests in their home of any sort of danger that may be posed by an ongoing remodeling job of the kitchen. If someone punches you, you can sue them for injuries for intentionally hurting you! …but in most states you can’t sue an affair-partner for interfering with the most important relationship of your life?
2. Missing Colorado woman likely died at home, fiance charged with murder – abc7
A mother vanished on Thanksgiving. Now her fiance is facing murder charges. – Washington Post
Missing Colorado Mom’s Fiance Charged With Her Murder – CNN
Police PLEAD with fiance of missing Colorado mom to sit down and answer their questions 23 days after she vanished – Daily Mail
Kelsey Berreth’s Fiance Is a ‘Gentle Soul’ Who Would Never Hurt Anyone, Friend Says – CNN
3. Madeleine McCann search will not stop until it ‘reaches conclusion’ – The Mirror
In the Chris Watts case, the “missing persons” were found a few days after they “disappeared”. In the Madeleine McCann case, the “missing person” search has been going on for eleven years, and this story involves another pledge to never stop searching.
£12 million has already been spent on the search for Madeleine, making it the most expensive individual missing person’s case in history.
December 20th, 2018
1. Home Where Chris Watts Slaughtered His Family On Auction Block – RadarOnline
Jailbird Chris Watts Pigging Out On Brownies, Donuts & Cookies Behind Bars – RadarOnline
Killer Chris WattsOpens a New Window. is stuffing his face with brownies, donuts and other junk foods at his Wisconsin prison — but the monster murderer has yet to make a single phone call RadarOnline.com can exclusively report.
Maybe he’s trying to transform himself from Sexy Hunk to Joe Ordinary, in an effort to be overlooked by libidinous prison-mates.
According to his December 14 commissary list, the jailbird, 36, will soon trade in his buff physique for a dad-bod: He ordered a six-pack of fudge brownies, three boxes of holiday cookies, powdered donuts, and three iced buns.
He also bought deodorant, shampoo, body lotion and even pens and envelopes to mail letters out — amid reports he’s receiving a massive amount of love letters from female fans.
FROM CHRIS WATTS TO THE RHODEN FAMILY MASSACRE: 10 SHOCKING FAMILY CRIMES OF 2018 – Oxygen
He spoke about how Watts’ wife Shan’ann texted him over and over trying to save their marriage, how she bought relationship books for him, one of which was found in the trash. Instead, he shopped for jewelry and vacation spots for his new girlfriend.
Prosecutor Michael Rourke said Watts killed his family not out of rage, but in a calculated manner.
“Why did this have to happen? [Watts]’ motive was simple, your honor,” Rourke said. “He had a desire for a fresh start.”
Was the motive really that simple?
2. Former sheriff sues Netflix over ‘Making A Murderer’ – news.com.au
Colborn contends the series was edited to make viewers think he and others planted evidence to frame Avery.
“His reputation and that of Manitowoc County, itself, has been severely and unjustly defamed,” Colborn’s lawyer, Michael Griesbach, said in a press release (per Variety). “He is filing this lawsuit to set the record straight and to restore his good name.”
Representatives for Netflix had no comment when reached by Fox News.
Colborn contends that the filmmakers distorted the events and left out key facts in order to make the argument that he framed Avery and Dassey for the murder.
Both Dassey and Avery remain behind bars as the debate over their guilt or innocence continues to be debated.
Steven Avery’s Attorney Calls Ex-Cop’s Lawsuit ‘Early Christmas Present’ – Rolling Stone
3. FROM THE ARCHIVES: Scott Peterson Talks About The Disappearance Of His Wife Laci – CBS Sacramento
December 19th, 2018
1. Dr. Phil reckons Chris Watts broke the bones of his daughters when he forced their bodies through the thief hatches and into the tanks. But the autopsy doesn’t show any broken bones…
https://youtu.be/5ETF0t_vlzI
2. Sixteen Years Later, Family Of Scott Peterson Claims New Evidence Proves Innocence CBS Sacramento
3. San Diego Sheriff Affirms Suicide as Cause of Rebecca Zahau’s Death – timesofsandiego
December 18th, 2018
1. Chris Watts guilty plea was a surprise to prosecutors: ‘Out of the blue’ – CrimeOnline
A spokesperson for the Weld County District Attorney’s office said that prosecutors there were just as surprised by Chris Watts’s seemingly sudden decision to plead guilty to murdering his pregnant wife and two children as the curious public that has been gripped by the tragic family killing.
CrimeOnline contacted the Weld County District Attorney’s office for confirmation of a report related to the Watts murder case and to follow up on a fulfilled Colorado Open Records Request. Part of CrimeOnline’s original request asked for any documentation related to any recorded discussions preceding Watts’s decision to plead guilty to murdering his pregnant wife Shanann and two daughters, 4-year-old Bella and 3-year-old Celeste.
But a spokesperson for the District Attorney’s office said that Watts’ defense lawyer approached the District Attorney “out of the blue” to announce that Watts had decided to plead guilty on the condition that the death penalty be taken off the table. The spokesperson indicated that Watts’ decision was very unexpected, and said that prosecutors don’t know why Watts appeared to have a sudden change of heart.
‘I don’t even know if they were like filing for divorce. I don’t know if they were putting the house up. I don’t even know. I don’t even know anymore what is real and what is not.’
TWO FACE RAPE OF CASSANDRA, the 4th book in the ongoing series, has been published.
2. At Eternity’s Gate: Willem Dafoe redefines, raises the bar in portraying Vincent van Gogh – Stuff.co.nz
China’s art copy capital struggles to change its reputation – scmp
Vincent van Gogh’s swirling dreamscape vision of the night sky, the iconic The Starry Night is estimated to be worth more than US$100 million.
Ma Chunyan, a 32-year-old artist in Dafen, can produce in one day a 1,000 yuan (US$145) reproduction of the masterpiece from an image on her mobile phone.
Ma is one of 8,000 painters creating copies of Western art in Dafen for a market which has never returned since the global financial crisis in 2008 when foreign demand for art reproductions fell.
The declining overseas orders have spurred the local government to embark on a plan to transform Dafen into a producer of original works instead.
3. Michael Flynn sentencing postponed after judge issues blistering rebuke – CNN
December 17th, 2018
1. Wife & Child Killer Chris Watts’ Mistress Placed In Witness Protection – RadarOnline
Nichol Kessinger ‘plans to start fresh with a new name,’ a source claims.
“She has received several threats, public shaming and could be considered one of the ‘most hated women’ in America,” a source close to the investigation told Radar. “She plans to start fresh with a new name, new town and ultimately a new identity.”
Now, she is living in another state for her own safety, the source explained…
Death penalty: How likely is it to be imposed with a new Colorado governor? – Coloradoan
https://youtu.be/dxX271P34AA
https://youtu.be/bkwuPF6CGBU
https://youtu.be/O9RXcka-3i8
2. Russians sought to recruit ‘assets’ through social media, Senate told – CNN
December 15th, 2018
1. Chris Watts Killed His Family. Then The Love Letters Started Rolling In. – Huffington Post
Watts’ arrangements with Kodi Roberts on Friday to go to CERVI 319 first thing Monday prove the premeditation went as far back as two full days.
Colorado gas prices plummet, and some local stations have it for less than $2 per gallon – Greeley Tribune
Before this week, there was no point in 2018 when average prices in Colorado were lower than they were at the same time period in 2017, 2016 or 2015. The drop was abrupt. As recently as a month ago, motorists were paying an average of $2.77 per gallon in the Centennial State.
“We had the largest week-to-week drop of any state,” AAA Colorado spokesman Skyler McKinley said. “So there is some stabilization going on.”
The reasons behind Colorado’s pricey year are complicated. Gas prices are affected by “thousands if not hundreds of thousands of micro economies,” McKinley said, especially since the state gets gas from West Coast sources, refineries in states to the north and from the Gulf Coast.
Local gas taxes aren’t to blame. As of July, Colorado applied 22 cents of taxes and fees to each gallon of gas sold in the state, the 11th lowest rate in the nation, according to the nonprofit Tax Foundation.
2. Is Scott Peterson Innocent? Part Two – Psychology Today
3. How Van Gogh’s Tumultuous Friendship with Gauguin Drove Him to Cut Off His Ear – Biography.com
The intense and turbulent friendship between the Post-Impressionist masters Paul Gauguin and Vincent van Gogh lasted only 63 days and ended in one of the most bizarre acts in the history of art—van Gogh brutally slicing off his own ear.
That’s the official version of why the world’s most famous artist cut off his own ear, and almost bled to death afterwards. I believe Gauguin – who was a keen fencer – cut off Vincent’s ear, and Vincent took it on the chin. He had to because Gauguin was the more successful artist, and had a business arrangement with his brother Theo. And coincidentally, so did Vincent, so he couldn’t fuck that up by blaming Gauguin, so he reverted to type, he blamed himself.
So add credence to this theory, Gauguin bugged out of Arles so quickly after Vincent’s “mishap”, he left behind his fencing equipment. He wrote to Vincent later asking him if he’d courier his swords back to him. This was Vincent’s response:
Read the full New Yorker article about Van Gogh’s Ear, here.
My book The Murder of Vincent van Gogh rubbishes the popular mainstream contentions that 1) Vincent cut off his ear, 2) went mad and 3) committed suicide. It also provides an in-depth revisionist history of the great artist. The Murder of Vincent van Gogh describes how and why Gauguin injured Vincent [it was an attempted murder in fact], what drove him to the asylum at St Remy [it wasn’t madness, but he was a very troubled man, you would be too in a similar situation] and finally, that Vincent wasn’t shot by accident but deliberately murdered.
The identity of the murderer and the motive, as well as the location of the crime, is sketched in true crime terms for the first time ever.
December 14th, 2018
1. BREAKING: Frankie Rzucek arrested in October 2015 for assaulting a two-year-old child
2. 2 from O.J. Simpson defense team helping ex-USU linebacker charged with rapes – Deseret News
3. His worst nightmare: Trump’s life under a legal microscope – CNN
4. Woman arrested after racist tirade in NYC subway – CNN
December 13th, 2018
New evidence released in Chris Watts case – CNN
2. Maddie McCann latest: ‘Maybe tomorrow we will find her’ Mum’s heartbreaking speech – Express
3. Trump inaugural committee under criminal investigation, source says – CNN
4. How Sandy Hook changed the response to mass shootings – CNN
December 12th, 2018
1. FBI accuse Watts’ ‘gay lover’ of lying and being a prostitute
Chris Watts’ coworker Anthony Brown talks about Nichol Kessinger’s “nice body”… [AUDIO]
https://youtu.be/SZt2CWP0ZXY
Shan’ann’s brother Frankie Rzucek calls Golightly
2. Alleged Russian spy Maria Butina pleads guilty to engaging in conspiracy against US – CNN
3. Texas Hockey foul…
December 11th, 2018
2. Rebecca Zahau Death Review Concluded, Official Cause Remains Suicide: Sheriff – NBCSanDiego
At Friday’s news conference, Gore told reporters he knows some observers are skeptical of his department’s conclusions. But he defended his homicide team, calling them “as good as any in the state or the county.”
“They’ve got 100 years of experience,” he said. “We have no reason not to follow the facts, follow the evidence, and follow the interviews where they lead us.”
Greer, the Zahau family attorney, told reporters that the sheriff’s department had barred him from the news conference. Speaking outside the department’s conference room, he claimed it is “impossible” that fair, thorough review of the evidence could again conclude that Zahau killed herself.
“That tells me there’s something corrupt in the (Sheriff’s) process,” Greer said. “I don’t know if we’ll ever know that (that corruption) is, but it’s not a logical conclusion. There’s something here that is motivating (the Sheriff’s department) to do the wrong thing.”
Before the news conference, Greer told NBC 7 that it’s possible that Sheriff Gore and other department executives were influenced by Jonah Shacknai’s wealth.
Gore responded with a measured but forceful denial. “I never took any money from Jonah Shacknai in my election or re-election campaigns. That’s just not the way we operate,” he said. “And to be quite honest, I take personal offense at that, at impugning the reputation of this department, one of the best in the country.”
3. Time magazine names Jamal Khashoggi and persecuted journalists ‘person of the year’ – Guardian
Like all human gifts, courage comes to us at varying levels and at varying moments,” Time magazine’s editor-in-chief, Edward Felsenthal, wrote in an essay about the selection.
“This year we are recognizing four journalists and one news organization who have paid a terrible price to seize the challenge of this moment…
4. How well do you really know van Gogh? Part 2 of a two-part series that reevaluates the legendary painter. – UTNE.com
December 10th, 2018
1.Why is Kessinger’s first Google Search for “Shanann Watts” becoming a Shifting Goalpost?
Chris Watts’ Mistress Tells Police of Sexual Encounter – NBCBoston
2. ‘I can’t breathe.’ Jamal Khashoggi’s last words disclosed in transcript, source says – CNN
Despite his desperate pleas, the last discernible words the transcript records for Khashoggi are:
“I can’t breathe.”
The transcript notes more noises, and several more voices.
One of those voices is identified on the transcript by Turkish authorities as belonging to Dr. Salah Muhammad al-Tubaiqi, the head of forensic medicine at Saudi Arabia’s Interior Ministry, the source says.
Aside from Khashoggi and Mutreb, he is the only other voice identified by name on the transcript. As the transcript continues, it is clear Khashoggi is not yet dead.
The transcript notes the noises that can be heard on the tape, almost in the manner that subtitles describe moments in movies where there is no dialogue.
“Scream.”
“Scream.”
“Gasping.”
Then, the transcript notes other descriptions.
“Saw.”
“Cutting.”
Tubaiqi is noted giving some advice to other people in the room, apparently to help them deal with the appalling task.
“Put your earphones in, or listen to music like me.”
During the scene, the transcript notes at least three phone calls placed by Mutreb.
The transcript does not specify the moment Khashoggi dies.
December 9th, 2018
1. Download link for SECOND MAJOR TRANCHE OF DISCOVERY DOCUMENTS
The moment Chris Watts confessed to murdering his pregnant wife: Part 2 – Yahoo
Chris Watts led double life before murdering his family, court docs show: Part 3 – Yahoo
In a shocking statement, Chris Watts describes how he killed his wife: Part 4 – Yahoo
Nichol Kessinger Private Texts with Charlotte Nelson
2. Cold cases are getting colder: Why we must have an ending to the story – Telegraph
December 8th, 2018
1. Final release of evidence in Chris Watts case still doesn’t answer ‘why’ – 9News
Investigators working on the disappearance of a pregnant Frederick woman and her two young daughters amassed a staggering amount of evidence – thousands of pages of documents, hundreds of hours of video footage, dozens of recorded interviews.
All of it was used to build a sweeping case against Chris Watts, the 33-year-old man who ultimately pled guilty to killing his wife and kids in a deal brokered by his attorneys to spare him the possibility of facing the death penalty.
But even as much information as it provides, it does not answer the biggest question of all: Why did Watts decide to strangle Shanann Watts, his wife of six years, and smother the couple’s little girls, Bella, 4, and Celeste, 3?
‘Bad thoughts were going through my head’: Watts neighbor’s police interview details suspicion, ‘eerie’ feeling – Greeley Tribune
When Watts family neighbor and Shanann Watts’ friend Nickole Atkinson was looking through the Watts home with Frederick police Aug. 13, she said she tried not to touch anything.
It had been hours since Atkinson had sent several unanswered texts to Shanann, since Atkinson had called Shanann’s husband, Christopher Watts, since Atkinson had gone to the doctor to beg them to tell her whether Shanann made it to her scheduled appointment.
Jesus, it’s December and they can’t even get the facts straight that Atkinson was Shan’ann’s friend not her neighbor. Clueless media!
So when she walked into the Watts home with Christopher and police at the very beginning of a missing persons-come murder case, Atkinson said she had an eerie feeling. That’s why she tried not to touch anything.
“Because at that point, bad thoughts were going through my head,” Atkinson told investigators in a newly released audio recording.
“They’re silly little things, but why would he strip the bed before he went to work if Shanann was still sleeping in the bed (as Watts told friends, family and investigators),” Atkinson said.
It turns out, Atkinson’s eerie feeling was correct. The family wasn’t on a play date; they had been murdered by Watts. Shanann was never around to make the kids beds Aug. 13. And the master bed? Investigators would later find a fitted sheet matching that bedding near the tank battery north of Roggen where Watts had dumped his families’ bodies.
There was more. Atkinson watched a neighbor’s camera footage from early that morning. It was 5:18 a.m., and Watts had backed his truck up into the garage and loaded something into the bed.
“That’s when my mind went bad — really bad,” Atkinson said. “What would he be loading up at 5:18 in the morning? And Shanann yells at him (when he uses the garage) because the garage wakes up the (girls) and the girls’ bedroom is right above the garage.”
In one exchange, Shanann tells her friend Watts wasn’t wearing his wedding ring, and he had changed his phone’s background photo to sand dunes. Unknown to both Shanann and Atkinson was this: Watts had spent time at the sand dunes with his mistress while Shanann was in North Carolina with the girls.
Shanann told Atkinson she would tell Watts to find a place when they got back from North Carolina, and she told him she was going to put the house on the market and takes the kids out of school to save money.
In a series of texts about a week before she would be murdered, Shanann laid out her thoughts on Watts’ posture toward the relationship.
“He’s obviously not in it. He’s not fighting. He’s not in love. He’s checked out.”
Shirtless Chris Watts seen in evidence photos taken just moments before his arrest for murdering his whole family – revealing the giant Metallica tattoo across his back- Daily Mail
Christopher Watts’ girlfriend didn’t see any “red flags” that foreshadowed the future murders – Daily Camera
2. Killer day in court: Rohde hit by triple whammy of setbacks – TimesLive
Susan Rohde’s estate pays R2.9m to defend husband who killed her – TimesLive
Susan Rohde’s estate has paid R2.9m to her husband, Jason, to fund a defence that failed when he was convicted of murdering her.
This was revealed on Wednesday by the administrator of Susan Rohde’s estate, David Anderson, who was giving evidence during Rohde’s sentencing proceedings in the High Court in Cape Town. Rohde is the estate’s beneficiary.
Anderson told Rohde’s advocate, Graham van der Spuy, that there was only R80,000 in cash still available for distribution, and that he would be unable to finalise the estate until Rohde’s criminal proceedings were concluded.
He said Susan’s mother, Diane Holmes, had offered to loan the estate R500,000 so that it could continue to fund the education and maintenance of the couple’s three daughters.
Prosecutor Louis van Niekerk handed Judge Gayaat Salie-Hlophe confirmation from Stellenbosch University that the Rohdes’ twins, Alexandra and Josie, who have just written their matric exams, had been accepted to study there in 2019.
Anderson said annual expenses for the twins and the Rohdes’ eldest daughter, Katie, were expected to amount to about R250,000 a year.
He told the court that a Liberty Life insurance policy on Susan’s life, which named Rohde as the beneficiary, was expected to pay out R2.6m. When this amount reached the estate the financial pressure it was facing would ease.
Anderson was the first prosecution witness to testify in aggravation of sentence for Rohde, who was convicted on November 8 of murdering Susan at Spier, in Stellenbosch, in July 2016.
Proceedings were delayed when power cuts hit the high court at 10am. The court sitting resumed after 12.30pm. Rohde arrived in court in handcuffs after spending the last four weeks in Pollsmoor prison.
Anderson was followed into the witness box by Dr Naeemah Abrahams of the Medical Research Council. Abrahams is a global expert on femicide, which she described as the killing of women by their intimate partners.
December 7th, 2018
1. Chris Watts Was ‘Cold as Ice’ Before Triple Murders — and What Wife’s Mom Told Her Before She Died – People
Sandra said the estrangement seemed to have been going on for a “few weeks, maybe a month.” Chris acted “just cold as ice,” she said, not replying, not responding.
“I just said, ‘Give him space,’ you know,” Sandra recalled. “But little did we know.”
In the end it wasn’t the best advice, was it?
‘I’M NOT GOING TO BLAME THE KIDS,’ CHRIS WATTS TELLS COPS BEFORE APPEARING TO BLAME KIDS – OXYGEN
“I’m not going to blame the kids for a disconnection or anything, but yeah, we focus on the kids like, all the time,” he told an investigator. “And like, as our relationship got longer and longer, I could feel that disconnect.”
Chris then went on to say that he and Shanann didn’t have deep conversations anymore.
Chris Watts transferred to new facility in Wisconsin – kare11.com
2. Jason Rohde’s daughters do not want to lose their father as well, social worker tells court – News24
December 6th, 2018
1. In the video below, Shan’ann Watts’ pants are in the laundry. Watts picks them up and shows them to the K9 officer. Thank you to Sylvester for providing this link.
CNN begins using the proper spelling for Shan’ann Watts. People magazine have been using it for some time now.
How Shan’ann Watts’ Best Friend Helped Stop Chris Watts From Getting Away With Murder – CNN
‘YOU HEAT ME UP:’ CHRIS WATTS FILLED LETTERS TO MISTRESS WITH SAPPY SONG LYRICS – OXYGEN
Ronnie Watts Talks About Shan’ann…
2. Rohde to spend Christmas in Pollsmoor after losing fresh bail bid – News24
Rohde’s tears amid ‘vulnerable’ daughter’s testimony drama – IOL
OVERVIEW: Rohde denied bail, heads back to prison – News24
December 5th, 2018
1. “Chris Watts seemed like a genuine guy” – CNN
Chris Watts’ Mistress Nichol Kessinger 2nd interview (FULL VIDEO)
2. WATCH LIVE: Jason Rohde sentencing
3. Saudi crown prince ‘ordered, monitored’ killing of Khashoggi – CNN
December 4th, 2018
1. Chris Watts transferred from Colorado to an out of state prison, sources say – Denver Channel
Why is there so much secrecy regarding this case?
Four sources confirm to Denver7’s Jace Larson that Chris Watts was transferred from the Denver Reception and Diagnostic Center, where a new prison inmate goes after conviction, to an undisclosed facility out of state. The Colorado Department of Corrections inmate locator shows Watt’s location as the Denver Reception and Diagnostic Center, but this is no longer the case.
Police respond to First B&E Call [Daytime, August 17]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOiu90ZGV20
Link to Police response to Second B&E Call [Night, September 21]
Chris Watts Watching Neighbors Security Camera Footage
https://youtu.be/ofqD_NkVPnY
2. Judge grants Maricopa County Attorney’s request to seal documents on prosecutor’s conduct – AZ Central
What is the state Bar investigating?
Earlier this month, the State Bar’s probable cause committee ordered the Bar attorneys to prepare a formal complaint against Martinez. He is alleged to have given false testimony to the Bar and alleged to have revealed the identity of a juror in the second Jodi Arias murder trial, which Martinez prosecuted in 2015.
Dishonesty is a cardinal sin in the legal profession, and if an attorney or a law enforcement officer is found to be untruthful, it casts doubt on all of his or her cases. And jury identities are protected by law. The media is barred from photographing or identifying jurors without their permission.
Martinez gained national attention and devout fandom from those trials, the first of which was live-streamed in 2013. Arias was convicted of the 2008 murder of her sometime boyfriend, Travis Alexander. But two different juries failed to reach a unanimous verdict on whether to sentence her to death.
3. Mueller may be poised to lift the lid of his investigation – CNN
America may get its most intimate look yet inside Robert Mueller’s secretive Russia investigation in the next four days, with a series of disclosures that have the potential to be greatly damaging for President Donald Trump.
Court filings focusing on Trump’s first national security adviser, Michael Flynn, on Tuesday and his ex-campaign chairman Paul Manafort on Friday could offer tantalizing new details of Mueller’s deep dive into the 2016 campaign.
If the special counsel lives up to his reputation, his filings will feature surprising revelations and rich texture to color the picture he has already painted in indictments and witness testimony of a culture of endemic dishonesty in Trump’s orbit about multiple, so far unexplainable, ties with Russians.
He may also begin to add context and answers to some of the intriguing clues he has dropped in a probe that has so far seen three people sentenced, one convicted at trial and seven guilty pleas and has charged 36 people and entities with a total of 192 criminal counts.
With each twist of the investigation, a fascinating trove is building of hints and implied connections, odd coincidences and apparent shady links between key players that is crying out for explanation.
December 3rd, 2018
1. Girlfriend of Christopher Watts talked with officers about fear of publicity, finding a job – Times-Call
How the Chris Watts Lawsuit Treats Confessed Killer Like O.J. Simpson – Westword
Frederick’s Chris Watts became infamous nationwide thanks to sweeping coverage of his arrest and subsequent conviction for killing his pregnant wife, Shanann Watts, and their two daughters, three-year-old Celeste and four-year-old Bella.
But a civil suit filed by Shanann’s parents, Sandra and Frank Rzucek, and brother, Frank Jr., on behalf of her estate seeks to ensure that his name recognition doesn’t turn into cash. The document is accessible below, and its language echoes that of a complaint that the family of another murder victim aimed at arguably the most notorious alleged American killer of the past century.
“It has a lot of similarities to the suit Ron Goldman’s family brought against O.J. Simpson,” notes Tom Grant, a partner in Greeley’s Grant & Hoffman Law Firm, which represents the Rzuceks. “That’s its intent — to make sure Chris Watts is never able to profit from his evil acts.”
I can’t imagine Watts is the type to write books, or have books written about himself. He’s not an actor or a showman to the extent OJ was and is, but that’s not to say he’s not been putting on some kind of act for God knows how long.
Typical mainstream media. Can’t provide a location or any particularly useful data.
Watts gave mistress cards, love letters in weeks leading up to murders – Greeley Tribune
At the above link, scroll down to the extended version of Watts’ arrest video and processing into jail cell.
2. The astounding Putin-MBS high five – CNN
Reporters have been tweeting out jokes about what the two men must have saying. “You would be happy too if you just got away with murder,” wrote Aaron Blake of The Washington Post, as he offered his caption.
3. Vincent Van Gogh, young and old – Apollo Magazine
December 2nd, 2018
1. Beneath appearance of perfect family, Christopher Watts lied and cheated even as his wife attempted to save their marriage – Denver Post
As concerned messages and calls about his missing wife lit up his phone and the bodies of his daughters sank in Weld County oil tanks less than 100 feet from his truck, Christopher Watts planned his new life as a bachelor.
He called his daughters’ preschool to unenroll them. He exchanged text messages with a real estate agent about selling the family’s large Frederick home, the house that made them seem like any other suburban family. Minutes after speaking with his mother-in-law, who was wondering about Shanann Watts’ well-being, he searched online for coupons to Aspen resorts, phone records released by investigators show.
He looked up the lyrics to a Metallica song, the chorus of which includes: “Pounding out aggression/Turns into obsession/Cannot kill the battery/Cannot kill the family.”
Hours had passed without anyone hearing from Shanann.
“What the heck is going on with you guys that she would totally shut out everything?” a friend texted. “It’s not like her.”
Watts tried to allay everyone’s fears. He asked them not to call police.
Cellphone data obtained in the investigation into Colorado murderer Chris Watts show he was looking up ways to marry his mistress and the lyrics to love songs in the days before he killed his pregnant wife and their two kids in August.
The data was included in a batch of nearly 2,000 documents obtained by the Daily Mail in a Freedom of Information Act request this week.
The cellphone data showed Watts striking up a romantic relationship with a woman he met at work, Nichol Kessinger. He entered her phone number into his phone on June 14, and they started dating while his wife, Shanann Watts, and daughters, Bella, 4, and Celeste, 3, were away for most of the summer visiting family in North Carolina.
Chris Watts’ phone data showed that he had his first phone call with Kessinger on July 7, and a week later they visited a Mustang museum together. Four days later, Kessinger started sending him seminude photos of herself, according to the data obtained by the Mail.
That same day, a worried Shanann Watts sent a slew of texts to her husband saying she had realized “what’s missing in our relationship!” and accusing him of not reciprocating her feelings and effort. The following morning, Chris Watts made several Google searches between 8:41 a.m. and 12:07 p.m., including, “When to say I love you,” “When to say I love you for the first time in a new relationship,” “What do you feel when someone tells you they love you,” and, “How does it feel when someone says I love you.”
During an interview with The Denver Post earlier this month, Kessinger said that she started dating Watts at the end of June and that he told her he was in the final stages of his divorce. She said she didn’t know that he was expecting his third child with his wife.
On July 28, investigators wrote in documents that Watts and Kessinger traveled together to spend a night at the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve. Two days later, Watts started looking up “love letters” and lyrics to love songs.
The next day, Watts flew to North Carolina for the final week of his family’s vacation.
On August 4, while Watts was away, Kessinger spent two hours looking for wedding dresses on Google.
On August 8, a day after the family returned from North Carolina, Watts searched Google for topics related to “marrying your mistress.” Meanwhile, Shanann Watts had started confiding in her friends that her husband had become distant and they were having issues.
In the five final days of her life, Shanann Watts Googled couples counselors in her area and bought relationship self-help books online, according to the documents.
Meanwhile, on August 9, four days before he killed his wife and kids, Chris Watts looked up the price of an Audi Q7. That day, his wife left for a quick business trip to Arizona. The following day, he spent the morning arranging a babysitter to look after his girls so he could attend a Colorado Rockies game the next day. In reality, he went out on a date with Kessinger.
2. A Masterpiece Stolen From Auction House Walls – Mutual Art
December 1st, 2018
1. BREAKING: Crime Scene Footage CERVI 319 #TCRS
BREAKING: First Crime Scene Footage INSIDE #2825 Saratoga Trail [UPDATED] #TCRS
Audio, video recordings reveal first contact with Christopher Watts, investigative process – Greeley Tribune
‘Heartless Monster’ Chris Watts Googled: ‘When to Say I Love You When Starting a New Relationship’ – People
Weeks before he killed his wife and two daughters amidst an affair he was having with a co-worker, Chris Watts typed into Google, “When to say I love you for the first time in a new relationship.”
On that same day of July 25, less than three weeks before the Aug. 13 murders, Watts Googled, “What do you feel when someone tells you they love you” and “How does it feel when someone says I love you.”
During this period, Shanann desperately tried to salvage the couple’s crumbling marriage, prosecutors have said, citing pleading text messages and self-help books she got for her husband, including one he threw in the garbage.
Chris Watts: Last photos of pregnant wife and daughters before dad murdered them – The Mirror
How Chris Watts’ family’s ‘decomposing’ bodies were found revealed in harrowing new report – The Mirror
2.. Madeleine McCann’s parents fail in bid to revive Leveson inquiry – Guardian
Four individuals brought the legal challenge to this decision, with the support of the campaign group Hacked Off. The four were phone-hacking victim and former Crimewatch presenter Jacqui Hames, the Bristol schoolteacher Christopher Jefferies, who was wrongly accused of murder, and Gerry and Kate McCann – the parents of missing child Madeleine McCann.
At a hearing earlier this month, the four argued that in November 2012 the former prime minister David Cameron made a “clear and unambiguous commitment” that the second part of the inquiry would go ahead. Their lawyers said that commitment, made at a meeting with Jefferies, Mrs McCann and Hames, meant they had a “legitimate expectation” it would proceed.
But Lord Justice Davis said Cameron made “no such promise” in the meeting and that it was unacceptable that the case was based on a covert recording of the discussion, despite participants having agreed that what was said in the meeting would remain confidential.
The judge said he had a great deal of sympathy for the claimants but that sympathy could not override the law and the legal case failed “at almost every level”.
There’s something almost comical about the accused murderer walking alongside a Christmas tree, down the corridor, flanked by cameras on the one side, on his way to Court 11. His green prison garb contrives to make him seem more clown than man; a joker more than a father, son, or fiance. The woman in the fourth image from the top is Frazee’s mother.
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:
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].
Back to koaaa.com:
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.
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.
Patrick Frazee arrested on charge of murdering his fiance Kelsey Berreth – what we know so far, and how much of it relates to the Chris Watts case
Time. That’s the main difference between the Frazee case and Watts case. Just three days after Chris Watts was sentenced to life in imprisonment in Greeley, 29-year-old Colorado pilot Kelsey Berreth was last seen seen at a Safeway grocery store in Woodland Park, Teller County. CCTV recorded Kelsey shopping with her daughter from 12:05 to 12:27 on Wednesday, November 22nd.
While the cops were alerted to Shan’ann’s disappearance at about noon on August 13th, or within about ten hours after she was last seen by Nickole Atkinson, Kelsey was reported missing at noon on December 2nd by her mother Cheryl Berreth, ten days after she disappeared. Like Shan’ann, Kelsey was described as “not the kind that runs off.”
While it’s not relevant, strictly speaking, where the Watts home was relative to the Berreth’s home, for those unfamiliar with this case, and with Colorado, this map provides the basic geographic context.
Frazee lawyered up. It’s not clear precisely when Frazee lawyered up, but Jeremy Loew, his attorney features in the timeline on December 12th, 22 days after Kelsey’s disappearance. Watts, of course, never lawyered up.
On December 12th, Frazee handed over his cellphone and a cheek swab for DNA. That’s very late compared to what happened in the Watts case, where Shan’ann’s cell phone was seized on the afternoon of August 13 [Day 1], while Watts’s phone was confiscated at 21:00 on August 14th [Day 2].
Human remains. Shan’ann’s remains were found and exhumed approximately 67 hours after her murder. When Frazee was finally arrested on December 21, one day short of a month after Kelsey’s murder, it wasn’t clear whether her body had been recovered. What is clear [at the time of writing], that while it took less than three days to find Shan’ann’s body, Kelsey’s cadaver was missing for 696 hours, or four weeks and one day.
Frazee didn’t live with Kelsey. Frazee was based in Florissant, about 15 miles West from Kelsey’s home. The geographical distance between the couple could mean there was space for a third party to be involved as we saw in the Watts case. Since Kelsey was a young mother, the likelihood is greater that Frazee was cheating on her, than the other away round [assuming infidelity is even a factor].
Kelsey’s phone wasn’t found at her home, but eventually tracked to Gooding, Idaho, about 35 miles north of Twin Falls, almost 800 miles [1 290 kilometers] north west of Kelsey’s home. Shan’ann’s phone was found in the loft lounge, under some cushions on the couch. It is possible Watts took her phone with him, and returned it, or put it in the Lexus and retrieved it from there when he entered the garage. 
Kelsey was a strong Christian, who wanted the same qualities in her partner.
Frazee didn’t participate in a press conference set up to find Kelsey. Lesson learned from Chris Watts’ catastrophic Sermon on the Porch.
https://twitter.com/i/broadcasts/1YqKDyOvWeNGV
Frazee did not agree to an in-person interview with law enforcement. Watts did and was arrested within three days of committing the crime.
Kaylee Berreth, the couple’s 1-year-old daughter, survived the murder of her mother.
Now for the similarities between the Frazee case and the Watts case:
- Authorities have declined to provide a motive for Kelsey’s death.
- Authorities have not – thus far – disclosed how they believe Kelsey was killed. Due to the length of time her remains have likely been out there, we may never know. A similar uncertainty exists around time of death and precisely how or where the Watts family were killed.
- Frazee was the last person to see Kelsey alive. Watts was the last to see his family alive.
- Frazee appears to co-operate with law enforcement, though he’s less co-operative than Watts when one looks at the media aspect and the Frazee having a lawyer speak on his behalf. Nevertheless media were told he was co-operating. As a result of these shenanigans, Frazee appeared less plausibly a suspect -arguably – than Watts did.
- Frazee is charged with premeditated murder. This tends to support the supposition that a third party may have been in involved. The third party may refer to the “solicitation” charge.
- Cellphone data [and “other data”] proved to be instrumental in both cases.
- Certain aspects of the cell phone data appeared to be a ruse, contrived and calculated to create the impression Kelsey was alive when she wasn’t. Watts also made a call and texted Shan’ann hours after she was already dead.
Unlike Watts, however, Frazee travelled a long distance to reinforce the impression that Kelsey was somewhere else. As mentioned above, Kelsey’s phone was recovered from Idaho. Since she was a pilot, it was somewhat conceivable that she’d flown somewhere. The cellphone is key. Police said the only signs of Berreth after Thanksgiving were some text messages and that location data suggested the phone by November 25 was near Gooding, Idaho, 800 miles (1,290 kilometers) from her house. – abc7
- The crime appeared to be committed inside Kelsey’s home [which implies Kaylee was present].
- Frazee was described as a “gentle soul” would never hurt anyone. From CNN: Sonja Oliver, who says she has known Frazee for five years, told Inside Edition, “I’ve always considered him to be a gentle soul. Soft spoken and just really down to Earth and practical.” Oliver says she “couldn’t imagine him doing anything that would harm anyone.” When asked by Inside Edition if she believes he had anything to do with Berreth’s disappearance, Oliver again stated, “I just can’t imagine Patrick doing anything like that.” This echoes the multiple early character references for Chris Watts – including from teachers, high school friends, co-workers, the Thayers, from his pal Jeremy Lindstrom, and from his parents. Nickole Atkinson and Cassie Rosenberg, who had the inside track into Shan’ann’s world, knew better, however.
- The initial searches of the respective residences didn’t turn up anything. This suggests Frazee also covered up extensively, just as Watts cleaned up his crime scene. The digital deception suggests a real world parallel.
That’s ten similarities, that’s enough. Now for the Rocket Science treatment on what we don’t know. Please note these speculations are made hours after Frazee’s arrest and need to be seen in the light of extremely limited or non-existent information [check the date this blog was published].
Rocket Science’s Early Assessment of Kelsey Berreth Slaying
1. Why was Frazee arrested?
According to abc7 the cops believe Frazee killed his fiance, but either they don’t know how, when or why, or they know and they’re not telling, or they’re sure of only a limited fraction of information.
“As you can tell from the arrest, sadly, we do not believe that Kelsey is still alive,” De Young said. Authorities also declined to elaborate on the solicitation of murder charge, how they believe Berreth was killed or any other aspect of the investigation.
The easy answer is that Frazee has been arrested because the cops don’t believe Kelsey is alive. The harder question to figure out is why don’t they believe she’s alive. The answer probably has something to do with the cadaver dogs.
There’s a big insight into the mind of law enforcement via the release to the press that Kelsey likely died at home – at her home.
Investigators who went to Berreth’s home found cinnamon rolls in the kitchen and both of her cars outside. De Young said the company where Berreth worked as a flight instructor, Doss Aviation, had accounted for all their planes and that police had no reason to believe she used someone else’s plane for a flight.
This makes sense, because Kelsey was last seen at a shopping center near her home, and was expecting Frazee to arrive later that afternoon to pick up their daughter. The fact that it was Thanksgiving, and he was coming to pick-up their child and take her with him, points to the possibility that they were either on the verge of breaking up, or in the process of it, but had not announced the end of their engagement to the public [which rings many similar bells to those in the Watts case, doesn’t it?]*
…the search and arrest affidavits will stay sealed for now. “There are a lot of investigative leads that need to be done,” May said. Authorities said as many as 30 FBI agents are participating in the investigation in several states.
Kelsey’s cars in the garage, and the sealing of the investigative reports, both echo what happened in the Watts case. It’s clear once the cops were able to confirm the flight logs with Doss Aviation that Kelsey hadn’t flown anywhere, her vehicles at her house and the CCTV footage started to sketch a mosaic that she was probably home.
A cadaver dog search [and reports indicate they searched for her above and below ground] would have confirmed or provided some potential confirmation that her remains, or part of her remains, were in and/or near the residence.
But just as we find in the Watts case, there’s a possibility that Kelsey’s body was transported back to Frazee’s ranch [an area he was as familiar with as Watts was with CERVI 319, and what’s more, could exert access control to] for burial.
According to the Daily Mail:
Deputies arrived and cut the lock on the gate that leads onto Frazee’s property, according to ABC News Correspondent Clayton Sandell.
Frazee was present when they arrived and later left the house with his daughter in the back of a sheriff’s vehicle, according to ABC News.
Several law enforcement vehicles – including a K9 search dog unit and an FBI pick up with a wheelbarrow in the back- were seen driving up the dirt road towards the farm where Frazee keeps cattle and horses. Later a convoy of search personal from Teller County Search and Rescue drove up. Greg Couch, Sheriff’s Office PIO at the scene, told Daily Mail.com: ‘We’re just giving him a courtesy ride off the property.
The excavations below on Frazee’s 35-acre ranch [left] were made by the cops. It’s unknown why they chose to dig in that area. But clearly there is excavation, and probably something was discovered [even a scent] on or under that disturbed earth that provided confirmation that Kelsey was dead.
‘He just left in one of those two cars. We’re just giving him a ride, I don’t know where he’s en route to but he was on the property when we got here. ‘When we do a search warrant we remove everyone so he’s gone.’.
Frazee, a farrier (horse shoer) and cattle rancher, also lives with his mother Sheila police confirmed [she] has also left the farm.
2. How could the cops be reasonably sure Kelsey didn’t go on a trip?
In both cases, there’s a psychology of the spouse or mother “running away” and disappearing. Ironically, this seems to be precisely what the murderer/s is/are doing. Watts wanted to “run away” with Kessinger, and so his motive is imputed – mirrored – onto Shan’ann as her going to an anonymous friend. When Watts was confronted with his affair, he was adamant that he didn’t want to identify Kessinger, which proves the mirroring was clearly in effect. The same scenario appears to be playing out in the Frazee case.
What Frazee couldn’t have anticipated was the Nickole Atkinson-factor.
According to the Daily Mail:
Kelsey’s brother Clint Berreth had earlier revealed he went to her home shortly after realizing she was missing and is adamant she didn’t pack to go anywhere. Her luggage and makeup remained untouched, and her two vehicles were still at her home.
If Frazee was hoping Kelsey’s disappearance wouldn’t be noticed, well, he seriously miscalculated in terms of Kelsey’s brother Clint, just as Watts underestimated Nickole – and Nicolas.
3. The big question is whether Frazee was aware of, and attempted to learn from the “mistakes” of the Watts case. In TWO FACE ANNIHILATION, the 6th book in the K9 series, I will address this aspect. There is a very clear indicator for this being not merely possible, but probable. Can you see what it is?
*Kelsey’s mother disputes the idea that the engagement was crumbling.
Cherly said she spoke with Kelsey twice on the phone on the day of her disappearance. Asked what they talked about she told Today: ‘it was just small things, initially she needed a recipe. ‘Her voice was fine, it was a normal day for her’. Cheryl said while the couple did not live together, their bond was strong. She added: ‘The relationship has been good, they are loving’.
It may be that it wasn’t, or more likely in my view, that Kelsey herself wasn’t fully aware of a dalliance.
COMING SOON IN FEBRUARY 2019…
In POST TRUTH, the 100th True Crime Rocket Science [TCRS] title, the world’s most prolific true crime author Nick van der Leek demonstrates how much we still don’t know in the Watts case. In the final chapter of the SILVER FOX trilogy the author provides a sly twist in a tale that has spanned 12 TCRS books to date. The result may shock or leave you with even more questions.
SILVER FOX III available now in paperback!
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