Deadline for prosecutors to pursue death penalty for Patrick Frazee in Kelsey Berreth case is Friday

It appears prosecutors won't pursue the death penalty against a Colorado man accused of beating the mother of his child to death with a baseball bat.

Patrick Frazee was arrested in Teller County after Kelsey Berreth went missing on Thanksgiving. Prosecutors had nine weeks to seek the death penalty from the moment Frazee pleaded not guilty back in May. The deadline was Friday, and last time this article was updated at 5:05 p.m. the district attorney's office had not filed any documents.

A spokeswoman for the district attorney's office declined to comment on the reason behind the decision on the death penalty. The next time the district attorney is expected to speak publicly on this case is at a hearing next month.

Frazee's trial is expected to start in late October.

Officials believe Frazee blindfolded Berreth under the guise of guessing the scent of some candles, then beat her with a baseball bat. Berreth's remains have not been found. Investigators combed through a landfill south of Fountain and didn't find her remains.

The last time Berreth was seen alive was on surveillance video at a Woodland Park Safeway early in the afternoon on Thanksgiving Day. She was first reported as a missing person, and throughout that initial search, Frazee maintained his innocence.

A woman associated with Frazee, Krystal Kenney also known as Krystal Lee, testified under oath on Feb. 8 that Frazee admitted to Kenney that he had murdered Kelsey on or about Nov. 22.

to read more on the case in previous stories by 11 News.