FILE – In this Dec. 13, 2018 file photo, community members hold a candlelight vigil for Kelsey Berreth under the gazebo of Memorial Park in Woodland Park, Colo. An Idaho woman has been charged with tampering with evidence connected to the disappearance of the Colorado mother. Court records filed this week suggest the charge against Krystal Jean Lee Kenney is related to the death of Berreth, who was last seen on Thanksgiving 2018. Kenney, who is 32, is scheduled for a Friday, Feb. 8, 2019, court appearance. (Kelsey Brunner/The Gazette via AP, File)
DENVER (AP) — An Idaho woman charged with tampering with physical evidence connected to the disappearance of a Colorado mother is set to appear in court Friday.
Court records filed this week suggest the charge filed Monday against Krystal Jean Lee Kenney is related to the death of Kelsey Berreth, who was last seen on Thanksgiving.
Prosecutors in December charged Berreth’s fiance, Patrick Frazee, with murder and solicitation of murder in the 29-year-old’s death. Police have not found the woman’s body but have said evidence suggests Berreth was killed at her home in Woodland Park on or around Thanksgiving.
A Colorado state courts spokesman said Tuesday that a Teller County judge had set the same media restrictions for all court proceedings regarding Berreth, including Kenney’s first court appearance set for Friday morning.
Prosecutors accused Kenney of tampering with evidence on Nov. 24 or Nov. 25, within days of when police believe Berreth was killed. It’s not clear what evidence Kenney, who is 32 and from Hansen, Idaho, is accused of tampering with.
Key court records containing details about the evidence that led investigators to charge Frazee and Kenney remain sealed.
Authorities also have declined to discuss how Frazee and Kenney are connected or say what motive there may be for Berreth’s disappearance and slaying.
A spokeswoman for District Attorney Dan May did not immediately return voicemail or email messages Tuesday seeking more information.
In a court filing on Tuesday, Kenney’s attorney Dru Nielsen asked a judge to require that prosecutors preserve all notes, photographs and other material produced by investigators on the case.
Nielsen did not immediately return voicemail or email messages seeking further comment. Kenney did not appear on a list of inmates being held at the Teller County jail on Tuesday.
Berreth was last seen entering a grocery store on Thanksgiving near her Woodland Park home. Video footage showed she was toting a baby carrier holding her 1-year-old daughter with Frazee.
Prosecutors have accused Frazee of working to find someone to kill Berreth between September and November and causing her death.
Frazee is due back in court on Feb. 19. An attorney with the state public defender’s office is representing him in the criminal case. The office has said its attorneys will not comment on ongoing cases.
Berreth and Frazee’s 1-year-old daughter has remained with her mother’s parents amid an ongoing custody case involving members of both parents’ families. Parties in that case are due in court Thursday morning.
By KATHLEEN FOODY
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