MURDERED: Charlotte Grabbe
After a woman goes missing, it’s up to law enforcement and her children to make sure justice is served. But listen closely, because we think there might be more crimes out there connected to this case that are yet to be solved…
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Land on the old Grabbe farm.
Photo taken by audiochuck staff.
The shed where Charlotte is alleged to have been murdered.
Photo taken by audiochuck staff.
The alleged scene of where Fred dumped Charlotte’s body.
Photo taken by audiochuck staff.
Bullet holes from Fred’s escape attempt still remain at the Clark County Jail.
Photo taken by audiochuck staff.
Bullet holes from Fred’s escape attempt still remain at the Clark County Jail.
Photo taken by audiochuck staff.
Fred Grabbe circa March 2025.
Photo taken by audiochuck staff.
Charlotte’s daughter, Jennie, standing in front of the shed where Charlotte was allegedly murdered.
Photo taken by audiochuck staff.
Timeline:
July 24, 1981
July 24, 1981
Afternoon
Fred Grabbe meets Vickie McCallister at a shed on his property.
4:15-4:30pm
A neighbor in the area sees Fred’s pickup truck, followed by Charlotte Grabbe’s car.
8pm
Jennie Grabbe gets a call from Cindy, her sister-in-law, saying that Charlotte never returned home.
November 1984
November 1984
Fred and Vickie are arrested. Vickie is offered immunity if she testified against Fred.
June 1985
June 1985
Fred is convicted of Charlotte’s murder.
July 1985
July 1985
Fred’s girlfriend attempts to break him out of the Clark County Jail.
September 4, 1985
September 4, 1985
Two buildings on the Grabbe family burn down.
September 12, 1985
September 12, 1985
Fred is sentenced to life in prison.
September 1986
September 1986
Fred’s conviction is overturned in an appeal.
March 1988
March 1988
Fred’s retrial begins. He is sentenced to 75 years.
March 22, 1988
March 22, 1988
Jeff Grabbe’s body is found in Seal Beach, CA.
July 15, 2022
July 15, 2022
Fred Grabbe is released from prison.
Marshall, IL
The location of the Grabbe family farm, near the Wabash River.
Terre Haute, IN
Where Vickie McCalister’s car is found, parked and locked at a local bar.
Seal Beach, CA
Where Jeff Grabbe’s body is found, murdered.
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If you’re a law enforcement agency or family member of one of the people we mentioned in this episode, or if you’re looking for more coverage on a case, please reach out. You can email us at:
Episode Source Material
- Original reporting by Emily Mieure
- Forensic Files: Root of all Evil (Season 6, Episode 2). Aired September 30, 2001. https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B00KGMQV0A/ref=atv_dp_season_select_s6
- Herald and Review (Decatur, IL): Marshall Woman still missing, by Dave Petrina. Published July 30, 1981. Accessed January 27, 2025 via Newspapers.com. https://www.newspapers.com/image/91039257
- Herald and Review (Decatur, IL): Search for farm wife will be resumed today. Published August 5, 1981. Accessed January 27, 2025 via Newspapers.com. https://www.newspapers.com/image/93164414
- Herald and Review (Decatur, IL): Woman still missing. Published August 19, 1981. Accessed January 27, 2025 via Newspapers.com. https://www.newspapers.com/image/92514252
- Journal-Gazette and Times-Courier (Mattoon, IL): Jury may probe fate of woman. Published September 26, 1981. Accessed January 28, 2025 via Newspapers.com. https://www.newspapers.com/image/83050502
- The Daily Journal (Franklin, IN): Two held in murder, by UPI. Published November 10, 1984. Accessed January 28, 2025 via Newspapers.com. https://www.newspapers.com/image/154780940
- Herald and Review (Decatur, IL): Evidence: missing woman murdered. Published November 13, 1984. Accessed January 28, 2025 via Newspapers.com. https://www.newspapers.com/image/86810047
- Journal Gazette and Times-Courier (Mattoon, IL): Grabbe trial opens, by Dan Hagen. Published June 5, 1985. Accessed January 30, 2025 via Newspapers.com. https://www.newspapers.com/image/82959651
- Journal Gazette and Times-Courier (Mattoon, IL): Grabbe witness denies fictitious testimony, by Dan Hagen. Published June 8, 1985. Accessed January 30, 2025 via Newspapers.com. https://www.newspapers.com/image/82959992
- Herald and Review (Decatur, IL): Grabbe trial/Girlfriend: Fear led to arm-slashing, by Associated Press. Published June 8, 1985. Accessed January 30, 2025 via Newspapers.com. https://www.newspapers.com/image/94291602
- Journal Gazette and Times-Courier (Mattoon, IL): Grabbe witness says murder contrived, by Dan Hagen. Published June 14, 1985. Accessed January 30, 2025 via Newspapers.com. https://www.newspapers.com/image/82960464
- Journal Gazette and Times-Courier (Mattoon, IL): Jailbreak try results in 3 felony counts for girlfriend, by Dan Hagen. Published July 9, 1985. Accessed January 30, 2025 via Newspapers.com. https://www.newspapers.com/image/83397180
- Journal Gazette and Times-Courier (Mattoon, IL): Grabbe homes burn down; arson suspected cause, by Dan Hagen. Published September 05, 1985. Accessed January 30, 2025 via Newspapers.com. https://www.newspapers.com/image/83195597
- The Vincennes Sun-Commercial (Vincennes, IN): Man gets life, by Associated Press. Published September 13, 1985. Accessed January 30, 2025 via Newspapers.com. https://www.newspapers.com/image/1057432881
- Herald and Review (Decatur, IL): Fires deliberately set. Published October 9, 1985. Accessed January 30, 2025 via Newspapers.com. https://www.newspapers.com/image/86950386
- Journal Gazette and Times-Courier (Mattoon, IL): Area murder conviction, by Dan Hagen. Published September 18, 1986. Accessed January 30, 2025 via Newspapers.com. https://www.newspapers.com/image/84544367
- Journal Gazette and Times-Courier (Mattoon, IL): Grabbe reversal modified, by Dan Hagen. Published November 19, 1986. Accessed January 30, 2025 via Newspapers.com. https://www.newspapers.com/image/83538238
- Journal Gazette and Times-Courier (Mattoon, IL): Clark County jury indicts Grabbe, by Jeff Paine. Published May 15, 1987. Accessed January 30, 2025 via Newspapers.com. https://www.newspapers.com/image/83549600
- Journal Gazette and Times-Courier (Mattoon, IL): Graham’s testimony inconsistent/Gun may have been Mrs. Grabe’s, by Steve Binder. Published October 3, 1987. Accessed January 30, 2025 via Newspapers.com. https://www.newspapers.com/image/83525837
- Journal Gazette and Times-Courier (Mattoon, IL): Grabbe denies involvement in escape plan, by Steve Binder. Published October 7, 1987. Accessed January 30, 2025 via Newspapers.com. https://www.newspapers.com/image/83529683
- Journal Gazette and Times-Courier (Mattoon, IL): Accused Killer’s son missing, by Steve Binder. Published March 8, 1988. Accessed January 31, 2025 via Newspapers.com. https://www.newspapers.com/image/83522607
- Journal Gazette and Times-Courier (Mattoon, IL): Grabbe’s son hiding from his creditors, not victim of ‘foul play,’ daughter says. Published March 10, 1988. Accessed January 31, 2025 via Newspapers.com. https://www.newspapers.com/image/83525434
- Herald and Review (Decatur, IL): Grabbe retrial begins Monday, by Jeffrey Raymond. Published March 27, 1988. Accessed January 31, 2025 via Newspapers.com. https://www.newspapers.com/image/92503973
- Journal Gazette and Times-Courier (Mattoon, IL): Judge ‘underwhelmed’ by stat’s efforts to find Fred Grabbe’s son, by Steve Binder. Published March 30, 1988. Accessed January 31, 2025 via Newspapers.com. https://www.newspapers.com/image/83550432
- Journal Gazette and Times-Courier (Mattoon, IL): Grabbe’s ex-girlfriend: Fred strangled his wife, by Steve Binder. Published March 31, 1988. Accessed January 31, 2025 via Newspapers.com. https://www.newspapers.com/image/83551557
- Journal Gazette and Times-Courier (Mattoon, IL): McCalister testimony supported, by Steve Binder. Published April 5, 1988. Accessed January 31, 2025 via Newspapers.com. https://www.newspapers.com/image/83556591
- Journal Gazette and Times-Courier (Mattoon, IL): Letter admitted in Grabbe retrial, by Steve Binder. Published April 6, 1988. Accessed January 31, 2025 via Newspapers.com. https://www.newspapers.com/image/83557555
- Herald and Review (Decatur, IL): Grabbe jury to reconvene today, by Jeffrey Raymond. Published April 12, 1988. Accessed January 31, 2025 via Newspapers.com. https://www.newspapers.com/image/687458745
- Herald and Review (Decatur, IL): Grabbe’s son found dead, by Judy Tatham. Published June 1, 1988. Accessed January 31, 2025 via Newspapers.com. https://www.newspapers.com/image/93510997
- The Los Angeles Times (Los Angeles, CA): Slain Man Was Going to Testify in Father’s Murder Trial, by Jim Carlton. Published June 2, 1988. Accessed January 31, 2025. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-06-02-me-5518-story.html
- Journal Gazette and Times-Courier (Mattoon, IL): ‘Supernatural’ added to Grabbe case, by Steve Binder. Published August 2, 1988. Accessed January 31, 2025 via Newspapers.com. https://www.newspapers.com/image/83401106
- Chicago Tribune (Chicago, IL): Murder Tree. Published October 7, 1988. Updated August 8, 2021. Accessed January 31, 2025. https://www.chicagotribune.com/1988/10/07/murder-tree/
- Los Angeles Times (Los Angeles, CA): Man Killed After Double-Cross in Scheme, Police Say, by Richard Beene. Published November 18, 1988. Accessed January 31, 2025. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-11-18-me-609-story.html
- Herald and Review (Decatur, IL): Grabbe: Prosecutor relieved complicated case is over, by Jeffrey Raymond. Published December 30, 1989. Accessed January 31, 2025 via Newspapers.com. https://www.newspapers.com/image/77687171
- Journal Gazette and Times-Courier (Mattoon, IL): Jeff Grabbe murder mystery revealed, by Sharon Bray. Published February 1, 1989. Accessed January 31, 2025 via Newspapers.com. https://www.newspapers.com/image/83415719
- The Terre Haute Star (Terre Haute, IN) : Carlisle Woman Dies in Flames. Published May 10, 1958. Accessed March 2025 via Newspapers.com https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-terre-haute-star-obituary-for-ethel/71413546/
- The Carlisle News (Carlisle, Sullivan County, IN): Mrs. Ethel Gore Burned to Death Friday Morning. Published May 16, 1958. Accessed March 2025 link N/A.
- Herald and Review (Decatur, IL): Grand jury will consider woman’s disappearance. Published October 10, 1981. Accessed January 31, 2025 via Newspapers.com. https://www.newspapers.com/image/91039252/
- WCIA.com (Champaign, IL): Fred Grabbe released from IDOC facility by Nicole Krasean. Published July 15, 2022. Accessed March 2025. https://www.wcia.com/news/fred-grabbe-released-from-idoc-facility/
- NC Prosecutors’ Resource Online: UNC School Of Government (Chapel Hill, NC ): 611.1 Gunshot Residue Test. Published December 1, 2023. Accessed March 2025. https://ncpro.sog.unc.edu/manual/611-1#:~:text=There%20is%20no%20scientific%20test,person’s%20skin%2C%20clothes%2C%20etc
- Various police, court, and state documents. Accessed January & March 2025 link N/A.
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