Missing Colorado Mom Update: Fear Caused Idaho Nurse To Destroy Cellphone

The Idaho nurse involved in the case of missing Colorado mom Kelsey Berreth may have disposed of the cell phone because she feared for her life.

Michelle Stein, a friend of Krystal Lee, told "CBS This Morning" that “she had very, very good reasoning for whatever it is she may or may not have done.” Stein also went on to say that she couldn’t comment completely, but said but “legitimate fear” was the reasoning behind Lee disposing of the cell phone.

When asked if Lee feared Patrick Frazee, who has been charged with the murder of Berreth, Stein said, “Yes, that's what I believe, yes.” Stein also told "CBS This Morning" that Lee had “never seen that kind of evil in anybody.”

While Lee and Frazee are suspected of having an affair, Stein would not confirm or deny the accusation to the news outlet.

Lee, who is accused of tampering with physical evidence in the case, may have helped Frazee dispose of Berreth’s cell phone because he was a “dangerous person,” Stein said.

“She did tell me that she's never seen that kind of evil in anybody... I will just tell you Krystal was very, very scared,” Stein told the morning show. “Krystal is a level headed, kind, fun-loving, happy-go-lucky person. She's a tough cowgirl. She was absolutely scared and extremely upset.”

When pressed about Berreth’s murder, Stein maintained that Krystal had no part in it. She told the news outlet she had “absolutely no doubt whatsoever” about her friend’s involvement in the actual murder.

Lee pleaded guilty to one felony count of tampering with evidence and confessed to destroying Berreth’s cellphone to the court. She has agreed to testify against Frazee, The Daily Mail reported.

“I learned that Patrick Frazee has committed a homicide on approximately Nov. 22, 2018 in Teller County. I knew that law enforcement would be investigating that crime,” Lee said during her court appearance on Friday, reading from a prepared statement.

“I moved the victim’s cell phone with the intent to impair the phone’s availability in the investigation. I had no right or authority to move the victim’s cell phone. That occurred between Nov. 24 and Nov. 25, 2018. In Teller County.”

Berreth went missing from a Safeway grocery store in her hometown of Woodland Parks, Colorado, on Thanksgiving Day. The last person to have seen her alive is suspected to be Frazee.

Just three days after Berreth’s disappearance, her cell phone pinged off a Gooding, Idaho, cell tower. Lee is thought to have been in Colorado at the time of Berreth’s disappearance; a source told The Daily Mail.

Berreth's body or remains have yet to be found.