FAIRWAY, Kan. – A 53-year-old man was charged with the Monday shooting death of his estranged wife after a three-hour long standoff Thursday in California.
But he won't be in court anytime soon.
Franklin Grammer, Jr. is in a coma more than 1,600 miles away in Los Angeles County, California.
He was charged Friday in Johnson County Court with first degree murder, prosecutors said in a press release.
Doctors said Thursday Grammer was comatose and undergoing treatment at a California for a K-9 bite and ingestion of controlled substances. But by Friday afternoon, he was in a coma.
Grammer’s estranged wife, Betty Grammer, was painting a house near 63rd and Glenfield in Fairway on Monday when she was shot in a drive-by shooting. She died one day later.
Thursday morning, a California Highway Patrol trooper spotted a blue dodge pick-up parked outside an Econolodge hotel room. The trooper ran a check on the Oklahoma license plates. He discovered a murder warrant for Grammer.
Once they confirmed Grammer was staying at the hotel, officers surrounded his room and asked him to surrender. Crisis negotiators talked with Grammer for 30 minutes before he hung up the phone. Two and a half hours later, tactical officers used tear gas, and then entered the room.
They found him on a bed. Police said Grammer suffered minor puncture wounds to his chest from a K-9 bite and was comatose, possibly because of the ingestion of controlled substances.
“I feel very bad for the family,” said Bob Flaspohler, a Fairway resident.
When news hit Fairway, neighbors expressed relief.
“This happened not far from our home and I think this is certainly a very tragic event,” said David Wiebe, another Fairway resident. “I’m glad there is at least some conclusion.”
