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Fred Grabbe, the topic of the Crime Junkie podcast episode MURDERED: Charlotte Grabbe, was found guilty of killing his wife, Charlotte Sue Grabbe, in 1981. He was arrested in 1985 and originally sentenced to life in prison without parole. His conviction was later reversed, and in a second trial conducted in 1988, he was sentenced to 75 years in prison.
Having spent decades behind bars, Fred Grabbe has finally been let out on parole, reports AOL. Fred was 83 years old when released and serving his time under the Illinois Department of Corrections supervision at the Centralia Correctional Center.
His case was brought into focus once again after being featured on Crime Junkie. The show investigated the history of violence between Charlotte and Fred, the bizarre nature of her vanishing, and the eventual revelation by Fred's ex-girlfriend. The episode aired on April 7, 2025, on their website.
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The disappearance and investigation
According to Tuko, Charlotte Sue Grabbe vanished on July 24, 1981, from her family's 800-acre farm in Clark County, Illinois. Crime Junkie states that Charlotte had been asking for a divorce from Fred and had made him leave their house. On the day she vanished, Charlotte was seen driving her tractor in the fields, but she never returned home.
Her untouched lunch and discarded purse were left behind on the farm, which raised suspicions at once. Fred Grabbe initially claimed he had seen Charlotte leave the farm after an argument, saying she drove off toward Indiana. However, her children doubted this version of events and hired a private investigator.
According to Tuko, eventually, Fred's former mistress, Vicki McCalister, came forward. She revealed that Charlotte had caught her and Fred together in the barn, leading to a violent altercation. Fred strangled Charlotte, put her corpse in a barrel, and set it on fire along the Wabash River before discarding the ashes, according to McCalister's testimony.
The testimony, combined with forensic evidence from the site of the burning, resulted in Fred's arrest in 1985. A delay was experienced as a result of his son Jeff Grabbe missing court testimony and subsequently dying under mysterious circumstances. The prosecution proceeded with its case.
Fred Grabbe's trial, conviction, and parole
According to Tuko, Fred Grabbe was initially convicted in 1985 and given life imprisonment with no possibility of parole. The sentence was overturned on the basis of irregularities regarding the jury's composition. Fred was once more found guilty during a retrial conducted in 1988. He was given a 75-year prison term with eligibility for parole on this occasion.
In both trials, family members also testified to Fred's abusive conduct. The couple's son, Jeff Grabbe, was also supposed to be a major witness, but in 1988, before he could testify in the second trial, his body was discovered off the coast of California. As reported by the Los Angeles Times, Jeff's death added yet another layer of intrigue to the already complicated case.
In 2022, Fred became eligible for parole, and according to AOL, he was later released under supervision. Details about his current residence or activities have not been made public.
Podcast coverage and public attention
The Crime Junkie podcast returned national attention to the case. Hosts Ashley Flowers and Brit Prawat on the podcast episode MURDERED: Charlotte Grabbe chronicled the timeline of events, starting from Charlotte's dysfunctional marriage through the last-minute confession that opened up the case.
Podscripts says the podcast episode points to not just Fred Grabbe's offenses but also to other individuals, including McCalister, who had been granted immunity for her evidence. The podcast also covered the Grabbe family houses that were set on fire when Fred was in jail.
Nobody was arrested for the blazes, but there was suspicion surrounding the events because of their timing and because Fred Grabbe had made threats before.
For more insights into the case, listen to the Crime Junkie podcast.
