Kelsey Grammer forgives the man who raped and murdered his sister in 1975

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Kelsey Grammer has forgiven and accepted the apology of Freddie Glenn, the man who raped and killed his sister 30 years ago.

The Frasier actor was testifying at the parole board hearing at the Limon Correctional Facility in Colorado for the inmate, Glenn, 57, in a video conference.

Glenn, then 18, abducted Karen Elisa Grammer with the help of two accomplices from the Red Lobster restaurant where she worked in Colorado Springs in 1975, as she waited outside for her boyfriend to pick her up.

She was then repeatedly sexually assaulted, before she was murdered.

Appearing via a video link, Grammer, now 59, told those present that while he accepted Glenn might have reformed his character, he could not give his support to him being given parole.

"She was a terrific kid. She was a wonderful, wonderful person," he told him.

Glenn interrupted Grammer to apologise, to which the actor responded: "Thank you. I accept your apology. I forgive you.

"I miss her all the time and I accept that you live with remorse, but I live with tragedy every day of mine.

"I want to believe you have actually changed your life," Grammer said. "Things you say, I accept a lot of it.

"However, I cannot give your release my endorsement. To give that a blessing would be a betrayal of my sister's life."

Glenn is currently serving a life sentence at the Buena Vista Correctional Facility.

He was initially sentenced to death for his crimes, before the Colorado death penalty was overturned.

Yesterday (30 August), a corrections department spokeswoman confirmed to the Los Angeles Times that Glenn’s parole had been denied.

He will appear before the board again in three years.

Grammer’s life has been steeped in tragedy. His twin half-brothers were killed in a scuba-diving accident, while his father, Frank Grammer, was shot dead in 1968.

His wife, Katya Grammer, gave birth to the couple’s second child last week.