Freddie Lee Glenn

Case record: Freddie Lee Glenn

Timeline

• January 6, 1957 — Freddie Lee Glenn was born.
• June 19, 1975 — Glenn and accomplice Michael Corbett, with another soldier, grabbed Daniel Van Lone outside the Four Seasons hotel in Colorado Springs to rob him; Corbett shot Van Lone in the head.
• June 27, 1975 — Glenn and accomplices met Winfred Proffitt at Prospect Lake ostensibly to sell marijuana; Corbett stabbed Proffitt with a bayonet.
• 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 and kidnapped Karen Grammer, then raped and stabbed her.
• 1976 — Freddie Lee Glenn was convicted for the murders of Daniel Van Lone, Winfred Proffitt and Karen Grammer.
• 1976 — Judge Hunter Hardeman sentenced Glenn to the gas chamber for Karen Grammer’s murder.
• 1978 — The Colorado Supreme Court overturned the state’s death penalty; Glenn was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole.
• 1985 — Glenn was convicted of contraband.
• 1996 — Michael Corbett became eligible for parole because Glenn’s consecutive sentences made him eligible in that year.
• 2006 — Glenn waived his first parole hearing to enroll in several programs at the prison that would help his chances.
• July 27, 2009 — Freddie Lee Glenn was denied parole after the Colorado Parole Board heard from written materials including a statement from Kelsey Grammer; Glenn told the board he apologized and expressed remorse.
• 2014 — Glenn would be eligible for parole again.

Background

Freddie Lee Glenn was an African American spree killer and rapist. He was convicted along with accomplice Michael Corbett.

The offence

Murder of Daniel Van Lone (June 19, 1975)

Glenn and accomplice Michael Corbett, with another soldier, grabbed Daniel Van Lone, a 29-year-old cook, just getting off work from the Four Seasons hotel. They committed the robbery attempt after grabbing him, drove him to a remote area, and made him lie on the ground. Van Lone pleaded, "Please don't kill me. Please don't kill me," as Lou Smit, a detective who worked on the case, later said. Corbett shot Van Lone in the head and they got 50 cents from him.

Murder of Winfred Proffitt (late June 1975)

Eight days after the killing of Daniel Van Lone, Glenn and Corbett met Winfred Proffitt, a 19-year-old Fort Carson soldier, at Prospect Lake, ostensibly to sell him some marijuana. Corbett had been training with bayonets and stabbed Proffitt with one to see what it was like.

Murder of Karen Grammer (July 1, 1975)

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 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. 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. Glenn, who according to court testimony had taken LSD, stabbed Karen Grammer in the throat, back, and hand, and left her to die.

Grammer 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. She had almost reached the doorbell when she collapsed. Police photographs showed a bloody hand print on the wall, inches from the doorbell.

Police did not know her name for a week. Her brother, Kelsey Grammer, arrived to identify the body. Kelsey Grammer later went on to star in Cheers and Frasier.

Investigation

Lou Smit worked on the case. He later described Van Lone’s plea: "Please don't kill me. Please don't kill me,".

Trial

Freddie Lee Glenn was convicted in 1976 for the murders of Daniel Van Lone, Winfred Proffitt and Karen Grammer.

Judge Hunter Hardeman sentenced Glenn to the gas chamber for Karen Grammer’s murder. Hunter Hardeman said, "there was no rhyme or reason for what happened," while sentencing.

Sentencing

Judge Hunter Hardeman sentenced Glenn to the gas chamber for Grammer’s murder in 1976.

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. Because two sentences were to be served consecutively, Corbett became eligible in 1996. Glenn became eligible for parole under the same structure.

Glenn was given life in prison in 1978 with the possibility of parole.

Appeals

The Colorado Supreme Court overturned the state's death penalty two years after Glenn was sentenced.

Parole and proceedings after conviction

In 2006, Glenn waived his first parole hearing so he could enroll in several programs at the prison that would help his chances. His case manager was Matt Sylvia. Other than a 1985 contraband conviction, Glenn had few disciplinary problems while in prison. Neither Matt Sylvia nor a Department of Corrections spokeswoman provided details about the contraband conviction.

On July 27, 2009, Glenn was denied parole. The prison board heard a written statement from Kelsey Grammer calling Glenn a "butcher" and a "monster." The Colorado Parole Board also heard from other relatives of the victims and from detectives before deciding not to release Freddie Glenn.

Kelsey Grammer planned to attend the hearing at a state prison in Limon, about 90 miles southeast of Denver, but a rain delay at Kennedy International Airport in New York caused him to miss a connecting flight.

During the parole hearing, Glenn told the board, "I apologize for my participation in something so terrible. I am sincerely and truly remorseful,".

Kelsey Grammer wrote in his statement that his sister had graduated from high school a year early and decided to take a year off after attending a semester of college. He also wrote that she may have moved to Colorado Springs because of a boy she liked. Kelsey Grammer wrote: "She was so smart and good and decent. She wrote poetry ... We could laugh for hours together,". He continued: "I was supposed to protect her — I could not. It very nearly destroyed me... When we heard this man might be paroled, the suffering began anew."

Freddie Lee Glenn would be eligible for parole again in 2014.

Other details

• Karen Grammer was described as the younger sister of actor Kelsey Grammer.
• Kelsey Grammer’s letter was read out at the parole hearing.
• Glenn’s parole denial hearing took place at a state prison in Limon, near Denver, Colorado.
• Glenn was identified as a convicted rapist and murderer.
• Glenn was imprisoned for the rape and murder of Karen Grammer.
• Glenn was also imprisoned for the slaying of 28-year-old motel cook Daniel Van Lone during a botched robbery on June 19, 1975.
• Glenn was also imprisoned for the murder of 19-year-old army soldier Winfred Proffitt during a drug deal on June 27, 1975.
• The convictions involved murdering three people, with a total of five deaths in and around Colorado Springs credited to Glenn and Corbett combined.