Missing Colorado Mom Kelsey Berreth's Fiancé Patrick Frazee Was 'Emotionally Abusive'

As police continue to search for the body or remains of missing Colorado mom Kelsey Berreth, who is now presumed dead, more details have emerged about her relationship with her fiancé. A close friend of Berreth spoke to CBS News saying Frazee was "borderline emotionally abusive."

Ashley Cogburn said when she learned about Berreth's disappearance and that Frazee was the last person she met, she knew that something was wrong.

"The moment I found out she had been with him when she went missing, the first words that came out of my mouth was: 'He did something to her,'" Cogburn told CBS on Tuesday.

Cogburn said her childhood friend was a "tough girl... She kind of had it all going on. She was, you know, she was really smart. She was on top of her game in life... She was doing it all."

However, she may have not seen the many red flags in her relationship with Frazee.

"He was just always mad about something," Cogburn said about Frazee, who has been charged with the murder of Berreth.

"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,'" Cogburn said in the interview.

Berreth's family has also filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Frazee. In the complaint, they wrote Frazee "enacted physical, mental, and emotional acts of violence upon Kelsey Berreth prior to her death." It also states that "when Frazee acted as either the perpetrator or accessory to the murder of Kelsey Berreth, Frazee breached the duty of care with which a reasonable person should conduct himself toward another human being."

Berreth was last seen shopping on Thanksgiving Day and three days later her cell phone pinged near Gooding, Idaho, just 40 miles from Twin Falls. Police believe the woman was murdered at her Woodland Park home.

When Frazee was arrested on Dec. 21, 2018, Cogburn said she knew in her heart that her friend was dead.

“I wanted to hold onto hope that that wasn’t the case. You know, so you – I grasped onto, ‘Well, maybe somebody took her. Maybe.’ I think deep down I knew,” she said.

Frazee was charged with five counts of murder, including two counts of first-degree murder and three counts of solicitation to commit first-degree murder. Investigators do not believe he acted alone.

Earlier this month, CNN reported that two friends of Frazee revealed Berreth ended her relationship with the father of her child months before her disappearance. Meanwhile, Cogburn said in the interview that she had at times encouraged Berreth to end her relationship with Frazee, but Berreth believed she could still make it work.

While it still remains unclear how Berreth was killed, investigators are searching for evidence in a landfill in the city of Fountain. The Midway landfill is a roughly 40-mile drive from Woodland Park, where Berreth was last seen shopping.

Amid the investigation, a custody battle between Berreth’s and Frazee parents is ongoing. The court ruled earlier this month that one-year-old Kaylee would remain in the custody of Berreth’s parents and child protective services. Frazee’s mother has since filed a motion to change the decision.

Frazee is currently in the Teller County Jail awaiting trial in the case.