ELKO, Nev. — As Celia Costanzo held the plastic evidence bag that contained her daughter's house key and a charm that hung on her keyring, there was nothing she could do to hold her tears back.
Costanzo was the first witness Wednesday in the preliminary hearing of a young woman accused of killing her daughter, Micaela "Mickey" Costanzo, 16, and burying her body in a shallow grave in the desert.
Toni Fratto, 19, and Kody Lee Patten, 18, are charged with killing Micaela on March 3. A two-day preliminary hearing for Fratto started Wednesday at the Elko County Courthouse.
But it was the defense that seemed to raise the most doubts about Fratto's involvement after day one, pointing out that there were no eyewitnesses or physical evidence linking Fratto to the crime.
Fratto allegedly gave a taped confession of her involvement to Patten's attorneys several weeks ago. But that tape was not played in court Wednesday.
Fratto, wearing a blue jail jumpsuit, handcuffs and shackles, with her hair braided, sat quietly in her chair during Wednesday's hearing. She said nothing to the court and was only seen occasionally talking to her attorneys.
Many times she appeared to be staring straight ahead, not looking at the witnesses, or down at the floor. She did not look at Cecelia Costanzo when she testified.
Costanzo gave the most emotional testimony of the day. She cried as she held the charm that hung from the lanyard she used as a keyring. On the key chain was a charm of a panda bear with the word "Buds." Her friend Tiffany Rasmussen, 17, has a matching charm that says "Best."
She also became emotional when prosecutors showed her photos of her daughter's charred backpack, which was found in a fire pit in Tooele County.
Rasmussen testified that on March 3, Patten had been sending numerous text messages to Micaela — something she described as "very unusual."
Micaela and Patten had dated at one time, but Rasmussen said the two had barely spoken to each other in more than a year, and Micaela didn't even want him around her any more.
In describing the texts, Rasmussen said: "He was wanting to do a project" with Micaela. But she said Patten didn't mention in the texts what the project was.
"She was just as confused as I was," Rasmussen said of Micaela.
On March 3, prosecutors say Patten picked up Micaela, drove her to a remote area in the desert about five miles outside of town, killed her and buried her in a shallow grave. Micaela's body was found following a large search of the area.
Patten was arrested and charged him with open murder. But nearly a month after his arrest, in a shocking announcement during his court arraignment, defense attorneys for Patten announced they had an audio taped confession from Fratto saying she was also responsible for Micaela's death. She was subsequently charged with the same crime.
Both Patten and Fratto claimed to investigators that they pushed Micaela to the ground during an argument, she bumped her head and Micaela was then hit over the head with a shovel.
Witnesses said Patten and Fratto were dating.
Questions immediately arose after Fratto's arrest about whether the confession was sincere and whether Fratto would recant it.
During court hearings in June, a judge ruled that the alleged confession would be allowed to be presented as evidence during Fratto's preliminary hearing. A judge also split the preliminary hearings of Fratto and Patten so they will not appear together.
Although there is a low standard during a preliminary hearing in determining if there is enough evidence to bound a case over for trial, the Elko district attorney has 21 potential witnesses listed for the preliminary hearing. The defense has none.
Several law enforcers, educators from West Wendover High School and friends of Patten and Fratto testified Wednesday.
But none said they saw Fratto at West Wendover High on the afternoon Patten allegedly took Micaela. And no solid evidence was presented Wednesday directly linking Fratto to the crime.
Elko County Sheriff's detective Kevin McKinney, upon cross examination, said test results on the shovel allegedly used to strike Micaela just recently came back from the Washoe County Crime Lab, and there were no fingerprints identifying Fratto. He noted that several other lab tests, including some from the FBI, have not been received.
But as of Wednesday, when asked whether there was currently any forensic evidence tying Fratto to the crime, McKinney said, "No."
West Wendover Police Chief Ron Sapp testified that no footprint was found matching Fratto's shoe at the shallow gravesite. But when asked whether there was anything else that possibly linked Fratto to Micaela's death other than the taped confession, Sapp said, "I think, yes."
When Fratto was questioned by police, she made mention of items found at the place where Micaela was buried that had not been made public at that point, he said.
As to when Patten became the focus of the investigation after Micaela's body was found, Sapp said, "Almost the first day."
Wendy Murphy knows both Fratto and Patten. She testified that she loaned her white Trailblazer to Patten on March 3 because he said he needed to move some wood and metal from school. He was supposed to return the vehicle by 5 p.m. But by 5:45 p.m., Murphy, who needed to get to her son's basketball game, texted Patten to ask where he was.
"He said he was not finished," Murphy recalled. "He said, 'I'm still moving things.'"
It wasn't until 8:45 p.m. that Patten returned with Murphy's vehicle. When he returned it, she said Fratto was with him.
When police searched Murphy's SUV in subsequent days, they found wire and a used bar of soap, she testified. Both were items that were not in the vehicle when she loaned it to Patten, she said.
Fratto's parents were expected to testify Thursday.
Patten's preliminary hearing is scheduled for Aug. 2.
Email: preavy@desnews.com, Twitter: DNewsCrimeTeam