Man who killed Grammer's sis up for parole

DENVER, July 27 (UPI) -- A man convicted of raping and killing the sister of actor Kelsey Grammer 34 years ago is up for parole, officials in Colorado said.

The former "Frasier" and "Cheers" star was expected to argue against Freddie Glenn's release at his parole hearing Monday at the Limon Correctional Facility. However, the actor missed his flight and will not be able to attend, The Denver Post reported. The newspaper did not say from where Grammer intended to fly.

Karen Grammer, 18, was abducted outside the Colorado Springs Red Lobster where she worked by three men after a botched attempt to rob the restaurant.

She was blindfolded and dragged along as the trio held up a convenience store, then taken to an apartment where she was sexually assaulted for hours before her throat was slashed and she was stabbed in the hand and back, police said.

Bob Russel, a former Colorado Springs prosecutor, and former homicide detective Lou Smit, had agreed to drive Kelsey Grammer to the parole hearing at the prison from which his sister's killer is seeking to be released.

"It was his kid sister," Russel told the Post. "He has gone through hell over this. He felt guilty about it because he didn't protect her. He wants to do what he can to argue against parole."

Glenn also is serving a life sentence for the deaths of two men prior to the Grammer slaying, the newspaper noted.

The report did not say what became of Glenn's accomplices in the Grammer homicide.