Judge hears emotional confession, apology from man charged with killing fellow Wendover student

ELKO, Nev. — Courtroom observers Tuesday heard a tearful plea by a father for his son to do what's right, followed by a tearful confession from an 18-year-old charged with murder.

And then a tearful apology.

The first day of the preliminary hearing for Kody Cree Patten ended with an emotional 45-minute recording of Patten's interview with police on the night he was arrested in connection with the death of fellow West Wendover High School student, 16-year-old Micaela "Mickey" Costanzo.

"Can I just say on the record, that I'm sorry," a tearful Patten tells police investigators at the end of the recorded interview. "I hate being me, being in the wrong place at the wrong time, that it had to happen to someone who didn't deserve it."

The emotional confession and apology came at the end of a full day of testimony in Elko Justice Court Judge Al Kacin's courtroom. Patten is charged with kidnapping and killing Costanzo on March 3 and then burying her body in a shallow grave in the desert outside of Wendover. Last month, Patten's fiancée and co-defendant, 19-year-old Toni Fratto, was ordered to stand trial for her alleged role in the killing.

Fratto was bound over for trial despite no physical or forensic evidence that linked her to the crime. The decision was based on two confessions that Fratto's attorneys say came from non-credible sources.

But outside the courthouse Tuesday, Patten's defense attorney John Ohlson noted that no physical or forensic evidence had been presented yet against his client, either. Ohlson believes his client's girlfriend, Fratto, is the main culprit behind Micaela's death.

"Kody's not entirely responsible for this. We don't think he's the engine, the motivation, the force behind this killing," he said.

Ohlson wasn't trying to argue that his client is completely free of responsibility, but said the reason he was hired was to fight against a possible death penalty sentence if he's convicted.

The Elko District Attorney's Office has not said whether it will seek the death penalty.

What prosecutors did present Tuesday was an emotional interview between Patten and police that began on the night of March 6 and ended early the next morning.

After Patten's Miranda rights are read, investigators give him time to speak alone with his father, Kip Patten, to consider whether he wanted to waive his right to remain silent and have an attorney present. Because his rights had been read, the recording was still running during the meeting between Patten and his father.