Freddie Glenn
Freddie Lee Glenn (born January 6, 1957) is an American spree killer and rapist. Along with his accomplice, Michael Corbett, Glenn was found guilty of murdering three people in 1975. Glenn and Corbett were responsible for a total of five deaths in and around Colorado Springs, Colorado. One of Glenn's most famous victims was Karen Grammer, the younger sister of actor Kelsey Grammer.
Freddie Glenn | |
|---|---|
| Born | Freddie Lee Glenn January 6, 1957 |
| Criminal penalty | Death, commuted to life |
| Details | |
| Victims | Daniel Van Lone Winfred Proffitt Karen Grammer |
| Date | June 19 – July 1, 1975 |
| Country | United States |
| State(s) | Colorado |
| Killed | 3–5 (including Karen Grammer) |
Murders
The killings began on June 19, 1975, when Glenn, a civilian employee at Fort Carson, Corbett, a soldier, and another soldier kidnapped Daniel Van Lone, a 29-year-old cook just getting off work from the Four Seasons hotel, to rob him. They later drove Van Lone to a remote area, made him lie on the ground, and shot him in the head. They got 50 cents from him. Eight days later, the pair met Winfred Proffitt, 19, another Fort Carson soldier, at Prospect Lake, ostensibly to sell him some marijuana. Training with bayonets, Corbett stabbed Proffitt with one to see what it was like.
The murdering duo committed their final and most publicized killing on July 1, 1975. Glenn, Corbett, and two other men decided to rob the Red Lobster restaurant on South Academy Boulevard. They left without any money, but on their way out they grabbed Karen Grammer, an 18-year-old who worked there and was waiting for her boyfriend to get off work, because they feared she could identify them. After robbing a convenience store, the men took Grammer to the apartment they shared, where they raped her repeatedly. They promised to take her home, then sat her in the car, put a cloth over her head and let her out in a mobile home park on South Wahsatch Avenue. Then Glenn, who, according to court testimony, had taken LSD, stabbed her in the throat, back and hand, and left her to die. In a desperate attempt to save herself, she ran toward the back porch of a nearby home where there was a light, but the homeowners were out. She died there, leaving bloody hand prints and fingerprints where she tried to reach the doorbell for help.[1] Police photographs show a bloody hand print on the wall, inches from the doorbell. Police did not know her name for a week, until her brother Kelsey Grammer arrived to identify the body.[2]
Trial and conviction
Glenn was convicted in 1976 for the murders of Van Lone, Profitt and Grammer. Judge Hunter Hardeman, noting "there was no rhyme or reason for what happened," sentenced Glenn to the gas chamber for Grammer's murder. Two years later, the Colorado Supreme Court overturned the state's death penalty. When Glenn was sentenced, the law allowed parole after a convict served 10 years, so he became eligible. Because two of his sentences were to be served consecutively, Corbett became eligible in 1996.
Parole denial
In 2006, as recommended by his case manager, Matt Sylvia, Glenn waived his first parole hearing so he could enroll in several programs at the prison that would help his chances.
In 2009, Glenn was denied parole after the Colorado Parole Board received a letter from actor Kelsey Grammer, who described him as a "butcher" and a "monster". The board also heard from other relatives of the victims and from detectives before deciding not to release Glenn. Grammer himself had originally planned to attend the hearing at the state's Limon Correctional Facility, but a rain delay at New York City's JFK International Airport caused him to miss a connecting flight to Denver. Instead, Grammer decided to send a letter to Robert Russel, the retired El Paso County, Colorado District Attorney who successfully prosecuted Glenn. During the hearing, Glenn told the board: "I apologize for my participation in something so terrible. I am sincerely and truly remorseful,"[3] According to his letter to Russel, Grammer has said that his sister had graduated from high school and later decided to take a year off after attending a semester of college. Grammer also said his sister may have moved to Colorado Springs because of a boy that she liked. "She was so smart and good and decent. She wrote poetry... We could laugh for hours together", Grammer wrote; "I was supposed to protect her — I could not. I have never gotten over it. I was supposed to save her. I could not. It very nearly destroyed me... When we heard this man might be paroled, the suffering began anew".[4]
Glenn was eligible for parole in 2014, but was denied twice with his request deferred for three more years. In his emotional testimony given via video conference at the parole board hearing, Kelsey Grammer offered forgiveness after being convinced that Glenn was remorseful for killing his sister. However, Grammer said that Glenn should stay behind bars for the remainder of his life sentence.[5][6] Grammer would later repeat his position when Glenn went up for parole again in 2017, saying that Glenn does not deserve freedom.[7]
References
- Ross, Stephanie. "Kelsey Grammer to Attend Parole Hearing For Sister's Murderer". www.kktv.com.
- "Convict in brutal 1975 killings may seek parole".
- Mitchell, Kirk (2009-07-27). "Parole denied for Limon inmate who killed actor's sister". Denver Post.
- Findagrave.com (2009-07-27) Kelsey Grammer's Letter to the Colorado Parole Board to Keep Sister's Killer Behind Bars
- Nicholson, Kieran (2014-07-30). "Parole denied to convict who killed actor Kelsey Grammer's sister". Denver Post.
- SoundCloud (2014-07-30) Audio from Kelsey Grammer's testimony to the Colorado Parole Board
- Independent (2017-12-11) Kelsey Grammer says he forgives sister’s rapist and killer but he does not deserve freedom
