77-year-old convicted 20 years after woman’s body found in river, CA officials say
Nearly 20 years after rafters found a woman’s body in a California river, a man has been convicted in her killing, prosecutors said.
Philip William Gregory Frase, 77, pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in the 2005 cold case slaying of Patricia Joseph, the Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office said in a July 2 news release shared to Facebook.
Joseph’s grandson commented on the sheriff’s office post, saying “pleading guilty to manslaughter isn’t the justice we hoped for — but it’s more than we’ve had for the last 20 years.”
“Hearing him say the words, ‘I killed Patty Joseph,’ was all the closure we ever needed,” he wrote. “It’s now on record, and it’s something he can never take back.”
Rafters find body in river
In July 2005, rafters discovered a woman’s body, later identified as 56-year-old Joseph, “in the Klamath River near the Ash Creek Bridge along State Route 96,” deputies said.
Her partially clothed body “had been in the water for several days,” deputies said in a February 2023 news release on Facebook announcing Frase’s arrest.
Joseph had been reported missing from her Fort Jones home three days earlier, deputies said.
An autopsy showed she “died from multiple blunt force traumas and asphyxia,” and her death was ruled a homicide, according to deputies.
District attorney dismisses warrant
Five years after her body was found, Frase was charged in connection with Joseph’s death and kidnapping, The Press Democrat reported.
At the time, Frase was awaiting trial in a separate killing, to which he pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and was given a three-year prison sentence including time already served, KTVL reported.
Two years later, however, the Siskiyou County District Attorney’s Office dismissed Frase’s warrant in Joseph’s case, citing a lack of evidence to try him for murder, the Redding Record Searchlight reported in 2012.
‘I will settle for justice’
After the sheriff’s office created a cold case and forensic evidence team, investigators reexamined Joseph’s case, deputies said.
“Since 2005, science and technology has advanced significantly to bring new capabilities to forensic evidence analysis,” deputies said.
The team then submitted evidence to the Department of Justice for analysis, which linked Frase to Joseph’s killing, deputies said.
Frase was arrested in Yreka on Feb. 6, 2023, and formally arraigned in Joseph’s death two days later, deputies said.
“Our hearts are with Patricia’s family, and we hope this arrest begins the path toward closure and healing,” Sheriff Jeremiah LaRue said in the 2023 release.
In an August Facebook post, shortly before Frase’s trial was set to begin, Joseph’s grandson PJ Bock wrote “no amount of justice will bring her back.”
“No matter how many years he spends behind bars, I will never taste her pies again or feel the warmth of her embrace,” he wrote. “Victory would have been having her at my wedding or high school graduation. In the absence of victory, I will settle for justice.”
‘The justice she deserves’
Frase on July 1 “admitted in open court that he was responsible for Ms. Joseph’s death,” deputies said.
“The Sheriff’s Office sends its deepest condolences to Ms. Joseph’s family and loved ones, and extends gratitude to the investigative team for their tireless dedication to solving this case,” deputies said.
Frase is scheduled to appear in court for sentencing July 29.
“True justice won’t come from the sentence he serves,” Joseph’s grandson wrote. “It will come when his name is forgotten, his body is gone, and he leaves behind no legacy. But my Grandma — Patty Joseph — will live on.”
The grandson said his family will continue to tell her story.
“My children will grow up knowing the love she gave me, the warmth she brought to every room, and the way she made food a language of care,” he wrote. “That’s the justice she deserves.”
Fort Jones is about 270 miles northwest from Sacramento.
This story was originally published July 3, 2025 at 2:56 PM with the headline "77-year-old convicted 20 years after woman’s body found in river, CA officials say."
