Kelsey Grammer: Standing Up For His Slain Sister

Kelsey Grammer is returning to TV this fall as a disgraced local newsman in the FOX sitcom “Back to You.”

But when Access Hollywood’s Billy Bush paid a visit to the set, it was all jokes aside as Kelsey opened up about one of the most painful chapters in his life – the man who killed his sister.

In the summer of 1975, Kelsey’s 18-year-old sister was abducted, raped, slashed and left to bleed to death in Colorado Springs.

“The man who murdered your sister is eligible for parole and you’re going to attend the hearing. What do you want to accomplish?” Billy asked.

“Well, I don’t want to state things I don’t know yet. I just know that there is a hearing scheduled and I intend to appear and speak for my sister on her behalf,” Kelsey explained.

“Are you speaking to the judge?” Billy asked.

“Probably the parole board. I’m still not sure at this point and I know that the D.A. has been in touch with my publicist who is kind of handling it for me because it’s a sensitive issue,” Kelsey continued.

Known to generations of fans as TV’s Dr. Frasier Crane, Kelsey’s impeccable sense of comic timing has long hid his years of personal pain. By the time he was 25, Kelsey had dealt with the murder of his father, the tragic slaying of his sister and the death of his two half-brothers in a scuba diving accident.

For years, Kelsey turned to drugs and alcohol, which led to multiple arrests and even time behind bars in 1990.

But when his little sister was killed, it was Kelsey who brought her body home to Florida to be buried. And now more than 30 years later, he may finally get the opportunity to speak for the young girl silenced by a killer.

“I intend to be there when it’s important for me to be there. He also killed six other people. This is not a person that I think should be back out on the street,” Kelsey said.

“Is this maybe also a chance for a guy who, you know, you were the big brother at the time to speak up for her when you couldn’t?” Billy asked.

“This is the first opportunity I’ve had to say something on her behalf that might make a difference because I couldn’t make a difference before,” Kelsey concluded.