Missing Colorado Mom Update: Judge Orders Custody Of Daughter To Kelsey Berreth’s Parents

Kelsey Berreth’s parents have prevailed in the custody battle of their one-year-old granddaughter, Kaylee. A Teller County District Court judge ruled Thursday that the girl will remain with her maternal grandparents and not the parents of Patrick Frazee, who is charged with the murder of Berreth.

Frazee, the fiancé of the missing Colorado mom, allegedly murdered Berreth on Nov. 22 with a baseball bat, burned her body, and disposed of it in a landfill. Investigators are combing the Colorado landfill for Berreth’s remains and are reportedly 35 to 40 percent through the search, KRDO in Colorado Springs, Colorado, reported. It is unknown what the searchers have found thus far.

Berreth’s parents were granted temporary emergency custody of Kaylee in December. The Teller County Department of Human Service retained legal custody of the girl while Frazee’s parents filed a motion for custody of the child in February.

At that time, the court maintained that Kaylee would stay with her maternal grandparents until the custody hearing which occurred on Thursday. The judge ruled in favor of Berreth’s parents, giving them custody of the girl until the next custody hearing which is slated for June 13.

Berreth was last seen on Thanksgiving Day on surveillance footage at a Safeway grocery store. Frazee is thought to be the last person that saw her alive. He has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder, three counts of solicitation of murder, and tampering with a deceased body.

Berreth’s body has not been recovered in the case. Frazee will be arraigned Friday morning where he is expected to enter a plea, KUSA, an NBC affiliate in Denver reported.