CRIPPLE CREEK—A Colorado rancher was sentenced to life in prison without parole Monday shortly after a jury convicted him of beating his fiancée to death with a baseball bat and setting the woman’s remains on fire to hide the evidence.
Patrick Frazee was convicted of first-degree murder and other charges after the jury deliberated for four hours. Less than an hour later, a judge sentenced him to the life term, plus 156 years, the mandatory sentence after prosecutors previously decided not to seek the death penalty.
