The Grabbes’ daughter-in-law, Cindy Pancake, told Forensic Files that Fred could be a fun-loving and warm host.īut the unpleasant events were memorable, too. Jennie would later say that her mother did a good job of raising her and her brother, but Charlotte was so young that sometimes she seemed more like a sister.įather’s fury. Charlotte lost her father in 1974 and, thanks in part to family assets she inherited, the Grabbes were able to own and operate a successful farm. Vickie McCalister and Barbara Graham weren’t exactly on paths of glory before they met Fred Grabbe, but their affairs with him all but ruined the rest of their lives The family lived in Canada for a while and eventually moved to Clark County, Illinois, in an area rich with corn and soybean fields. He must have turned on the charm because she gave him another chance - he hadn’t metamorphosed into a walking sea cow yet and they did have two small kids together - and they remarried in 1962. 1, 1958, and daughter Jennie the following year.Ĭharlotte caught Fred cheating on her and divorced him in 1961. It was 1957, long before anyone had heard the term “date rape” and Charlotte, with no female role model to guide her, probably didn’t know what else to do but marry the man who impregnated her.īucolic life. According to Jennie, Charlotte and Fred’s marriage didn’t just end in a horror show: It began that way, too.Īt age 15, Charlotte went out on a date with 19-year-old Fred and he raped her, according to an interview Jennie gave to a radio show in 2015. Margaret died young, leaving Charlotte motherless at age 7. 31, 1942, the daughter of Melvin and Margaret Gore. Before turning to farming, Fred co-owned an agricultural implement store and worked in coal-mining and oil-drilling.Ĭharlotte Sue Gore was also born in Indiana, on Jan. So let’s get going on a recap of the episode along with extra information culled from online research:įred Grabbe came into the world on June 2, 1939, in West Terre Haute, Indiana, the son of Inez and Chester Grabbe. The Grabbes had the largest farm in Clark County I also looked for an epilogue for the Grabbes’ daughter, Jennie, who guarded many of the worst family secrets until long after Forensic Files produced “The Root of All Evil” in 2001. Vickie McCalister was mad at Fred, not because he was a killer but rather because he jilted Vickie and replaced her with another blond woman in her 20s - Barbara Graham, who was so crazy about Fred that she attempted to break him out of jail.įor this week, I searched for Fred Grabbe’s whereabouts today and any clues as to how this violent tub of lard managed to snag girlfriends despite his horrible past and why Charlotte Grabbe married him in the first place. Fortunately, a private detective tracked down Fred’s young ex-girlfriend and she spilled everything she knew about what happened to Charlotte Grabbe. He had four years of freedom before authorities, who never recovered Charlotte’s remains, could put together a case against him. In fact, he physically abused her up until the day he suffocated her with his meaty hands and incinerated her body. On the last day of her life, she was driving a tractor and cultivating soybean fields.Īnd Fred didn’t treat her like she was made of china either. But Charlotte didn’t act like a delicate flower. She had a simple, elegant style and a pretty face with birdlike features.įloodgates open. The love between Charlotte (with son Jeff) and her children was boundlessĪcquaintances described Fred, who was 6-foot-4 and 280 pounds with blue eyes, as outgoing and friendly.Ĭharlotte was a foot shorter than Fred and less than half his weight.
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