77-year-old man pleads guilty in beating, strangling death of woman whose body was found 2 decades ago
07/03/2025 1:09 pm PDT
SISKIYOU COUNTY, Fla. (TCN) -- An elderly man recently entered a guilty plea in connection with the 2005 cold case of a woman found dead in a river.
According to the Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office, 77-year-old Phillip Frase pleaded guilty on July 1 to voluntary manslaughter for killing Patricia Joseph nearly two decades ago. He is scheduled to be sentenced July 29.
Rafters discovered Joseph’s body in the Klamath River on July 17, 2005. Authorities said she was reported missing around three days prior. A forensic autopsy later revealed Johnson died of blunt force trauma and asphyxia, and her death was ruled a homicide.
Sheriff Jeremiah LaRue launched a cold case and forensic evidence team in 2021. Through a comprehensive review of physical evidence and modern advancements, investigators identified Frase as the primary suspect.
In a statement, the sheriff’s office said they are "committed to never forgetting the victims of crime, especially cold cases such as Patty Joseph’s. Crimes of this magnitude should never go unpunished, and the sheriff’s investigative team will remain relentless in pursuing leads and advancing other unsolved murder cases in Siskiyou County."
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