Kelsey Grammer is revisiting one of the most devastating chapters of his life—the murder of his younger sister, Karen—nearly 50 years after it happened. In his new memoir, Karen: A Brother Remembers, the Frasier star shares painful details about the night she was killed and the decades-long impact it’s had on him.
Karen Grammer was just 18 when she was abducted outside her workplace in Colorado Springs on July 1, 1975. She had been waiting outside a Red Lobster when she was approached by Freddie Glenn and his accomplices, who originally planned to rob the restaurant. Instead, they kidnapped Karen, tied her up, and subjected her to a horrific assault that ended with her being stabbed 42 times and nearly decapitated in an alley. She died trying to crawl for help.
Grammer, then 20, last spoke to his sister the night before her death, making plans to reunite in Florida after the Fourth of July. When he didn’t hear from her, he alerted authorities. Days later, the family identified her body. Grammer describes her final moments and the heartbreak of that confirmation in raw, heartbreaking prose—something he says he agonized over including.
In interviews, Grammer said writing the book helped him process a grief that had long overshadowed his ability to feel happiness. Though he considered omitting the graphic details, he ultimately felt they served a purpose: to show the brutality of the crime and argue against granting Glenn parole. Glenn remains in prison with another hearing scheduled for 2027.
Beyond recounting Karen’s final hours, Grammer’s memoir also seeks to celebrate who she was—a spirited young woman with a sharp sense of humor. He recalls their bond as siblings and the many other tragedies that have marked his life, including the deaths of his father and two half-brothers. For Grammer, the book is as much about remembrance as it is about reckoning. It’s a way of giving voice to the sister he lost and finding some measure of peace in the telling. Karen: A Brother Remembers is set to be released May 6.
