'I forgive my sister's killer but he doesn't deserve freedom': Actor Kelsey Grammer tells Desert Island Discs how his sibling's rape and murder by a serial killer 42 years ago still haunts him.
Kelsey Grammer, star of Cheers and Frasier, today reveals the personal heartbreak he still feels following the brutal murder of his sister Karen in 1975. In a moving interview with BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs, Grammer says that he honours his sister’s memory by ensuring her killer remains behind bars. Grammer, 62, said: ‘I have learnt to forgive. I have even told the guy I forgive him, although I don’t advocate his freedom. I don’t think that is reasonable.’ Grammer said he still feels the personal heartbreak following the murder of his sister. The star, who has twice helped to block attempts by killer Freddie Glenn to get parole, said it was important to speak up for the rights of victim’s families. He said: ‘In a letter to the parole board, I said the punishment shouldn’t be worse for the family than it is for the guy that killed the person and that’s what this feels like sometimes.’ Grammer, who was 20 at the time, said the murder had almost pushed him over the edge and his belief in God was shattered, but he has since recovered his faith. Glenn was convicted in 1976 of killing Karen Grammer, 18, and two other victims chosen at random the year before.
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