The judge granted temporary custody to Kelsey Berreth's parents.
A bitter custody battle has erupted over a 14-month-old child whose father is accused of killing her mother.
Patrick Frazee, the child's father, has been charged with first-degree murder and solicitation to commit murder in the death of 29-year-old Kelsey Berreth, his fiancée who's been missing since Thanksgiving Day. Berreth's body has not been found, but police believe she is dead.
Frazee, who is in police custody, appeared in court Thursday, shackled and looking disheveled, for an emergency custody hearing regarding his daughter, Kaylee.
It was the first time he had come face to face with Berreth's mother, Cheryl, since his arrest.
As Frazee walked down the hallway at the hearing, reporters shouted questions at him.
"He was silent," said KKTV morning anchor Rebekah Hoeger. "Pretty stone-faced. I didn't notice any sort of emotion."
The judge granted temporary custody to Kelsey's parents.
Kelsey, a flight instructor, was last seen at a Safeway supermarket in Woodland Park, Colorado, with Kaylee on Nov. 22. Frazee told authorities Berreth dropped off their daughter at his home that day. Police now believe she was killed at Frazee's home, though they've been unable to find her body despite an extensive search.
Evidence in the case has been found hundreds of miles away in Idaho, however, where Berreth's cellphone last pinged. Authorities have not elaborated on the nature of that evidence.
Berreth’s cousin, Jodee Garretson, told Inside Edition’s Senior Correspondent Les Trent last week that her parents were “absolutely devastated” upon learning their daughter is likely dead.
“I can’t even fully comprehend how horrible they have to be feeling,” Garretson said. “That’s their only daughter.”
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