16-Year-Old Girl Left in Shallow Grave by Bestfriend & his Girlfriend : Mickie Costanzo

As always, thank you for hanging out and remembering Micaela Rae Costanzo with me today. On March 3, 2011, 16-year-old Micaela “Mickey” Costanzo disappeared after leaving school in West Wendover, Nevada. Two days later, her body was found buried in a shallow grave in nearby gravel pits. She had been beaten and stabbed, and a plastic tie around her arm suggested she had been forced there.Investigators focused on two classmates: 18-year-old Kody Patten and his girlfriend, Toni Fratto. They had a turbulent relationship and both gave conflicting accounts. Patten eventually confessed that an argument at the gravel pits escalated violently — resulting in Mickey’s death — and that he buried her body. Fratto later admitted she helped hold Mickey down and struck her, but her story shifted several times during the investigation.In April 2012, Fratto pled guilty to second-degree murder with a deadly weapon and received life with parole eligibility after 18 years; her parole was denied in 2021. Patten took a plea deal for first-degree murder, avoiding the death penalty, and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.