Nearly 40 years after his sister was brutally raped and murdered, “Frasier” star KELSEY GRAMMER continues his battle to keep her killers behind bars.
The Emmy-winning actor personally appeared at a hearing to oppose parole for a convicted felon suspected of being involved in his sister’s slaying, The National ENQUIRER has learned.
Karen Elisa Grammer, 18, was kidnapped, raped and murdered by three thugs after a failed robbery attempt as she was leaving her job at a Red Lobster restaurant in Colorado Springs, Colo., on July 1, 1975.
Authorities believe a fourth man, Michael Corbett, was an accomplice based on his ties to the three men, and his involvement in two previous slayings.
Corbett, 59, was sentenced to life in prison for his crimes, and recently became eligible for release to a halfway house.
But on Aug. 20, the “Cheers” actor appeared at a Denver Community Corrections hearing and made an impassioned plea to keep Corbett behind bars.
“I heard he (Kelsey) said that she (Karen) was stabbed 47 times, raped and tortured and that Michael Corbett was there in the beginning of the murder,” Corbett’s wife Rosemary Chinangwa, who married the felon in jail, told The ENQUIRER exclusively. But she insisted: “My husband was not there! He did not rape or kill her.”
Rosemary claims Kelsey is “being fed erroneous information,” and her husband had a “good chance” of being paroled. “But then Kelsey showed up to voice his opposition, and that didn’t happen,” Rosemary told The ENQUIRER.
“When I found out Kelsey was there I flipped out. He came because my husband was being considered to go to a halfway house.”
Greg Mauro, liaison for the Denver Department of Corrections, confirmed to The ENQUIRER that Corbett “was reviewed and denied placement in a community halfway house.”
Corbett was also reviewed twice before, and “both times was denied placement,” Mauro added. While the board does not disclose the names of those who attend its meetings, Kelsey’s publicist, Stan Rosenfield, confirmed to The ENQUIRER that the actor was present at the hearing, but declined to discuss his comments.
Kelsey also testified at the parole hearing of the lead convict in Karen’s murder, Freddie Lee Glenn, on July 29.
Grammer also testified at the parole hearing of the lead convict in Karen’s murder, Freddie Lee Glenn, on July 29.While Corbett is barred from personally contacting Kelsey, his wife intends to write the actor or his manager, hoping that she can convince them that her husband played no role in Karen’s murder.
“Michael is sick. He’s on dialysis,” Rosemary added.
“It would be a wonderful thing if at some point, after more than three decades of incarceration, he could finally get parole, even if it’s to a halfway house. But with a powerful Hollywood figure like Kelsey coming out of the blue to run interference, Michael’s chances are slim to none.”
