Patrick Frazee’s lawyer has submitted a Motion to Dismiss the wrongful death lawsuit filed against him earlier this month by the parents of Kelsey Berreth.
Frazee’s attorney argues her parents do not have legal standing under Colorado law as Berreth has a surviving child. The motion filed in federal court claims state law only allows parents to file a wrongful death lawsuit if “the deceased is an unmarried minor without descendants or an unmarried adult without descendants and without a designated beneficiary.”
The motion also claims the parents cannot claim infliction of emotional distress because “they were not the targets of the alleged actions causing the wrongful death of Kelsy (sic) Berreth nor were they physically present or physically injured on the occasion of the alleged wrongful death.”
Frazee was formally charged with murder at the end of December. Authorities allege he tried to find someone to kill Berreth three times between September and November and causing her death on or around Thanksgiving.
Frazee and Berreth have a child together, who was less than a year old when Berreth disappeared.
Frazee faces two counts of first-degree murder and three counts of solicitation. He has not entered a plea in the case and is due next back in court on Feb. 19.
