Shawn Grate

Grate graduated from River Valley High School in 1995.[3]

A grand jury indicted Grate on two counts of aggravated murder in the deaths of two women, Stacey Stanley and Elizabeth Griffith, and the kidnapping and multiple sexual assaults of an unidentified woman whose 911 call to Ashland police led to Grate's arrest on September 13, 2016. In court documents her name has been redacted. She is being referred to as "Jane Doe". Grate was indicted on 23 counts, all first, second, or third-degree felonies; lesser charges include breaking and entering, burglary, and tampering with evidence.[4]

He was represented in court by court-appointed attorney Rolf Whitney,[5] who entered a plea of not guilty on all charges on behalf of Grate.[6] In a press interview Grate confessed to five murders.[7] Grate's attorneys later filed a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity.[8] His trial date was set for November 6, 2017,[9] and was later delayed to April 9, 2018.[10][11][12]

Ashland County prosecutor Christopher R. Tunnell said that given the "...depraved actions and the gruesome evidence", he would seek the death penalty.[13]

Shawn Grate has also been charged in the deaths of his former girlfriend Candice Cunningham and Rebekah Leicy in neighboring Richland County,[14] and has also been charged in the death of Dana Nicole Lowrey, 23, who died in 2006 and was found in 2007 in Marion County.[15][16] In the second of two letters he sent to Cleveland news station WEWS (News 5 Cleveland) reporter Megan Hickey, Grate attributed his motives to "government assistance", writing that it took his victims' minds. "They were already dead, just their bodies were flopping wherever it can flop but their minds were already dead! The state took their minds. Once they started receiving their monthly checks". Grate claimed he once received a $197 food card and that he "never was able to receive any encouragement, though many bodies received 700".[17]

After Grate gave details of the murders to two different news organizations while in custody, attorneys for the defense and prosecution jointly requested and obtained a gag order preventing Grate from communicating any further with the media.[18] On January 6, 2017, a competency hearing determined Grate is fit to stand trial.[19] An evaluation released March 6, based on a January 17 assessment to evaluate Grate's claim of insanity, declared that he was not insane at the time the crimes were committed.[20][21] Grate's counsel then withdrew the plea of not guilty by reason of insanity on April 7, 2017.[22][23]

363 Covert Court in Ashland, OH where Grate was arrested, a public memorial is in front of the house. The house has since been demolished.

In a settlement with the owner, the City of Ashland obtained ownership of the house where Grate was apprehended, two bodies were discovered, and a kidnapped woman was rescued by police. The city is pursuing a federal grant with the intention of demolishing the house.[24][25]

“There is a settlement agreement among the parties that essentially obligates the Pump House to transfer all property that is the subject of this action to the city of Ashland and transfer their title thereto, provided that the city pays off the sums owed to the county for delinquent taxes and to the Muskingum Watershed District,” said Andrew Bush, assistant law director for the city of Ashland.[24]

Grate's trial for the Ashland crimes began with two weeks of jury selection on April 9, 2018.[26] The trial began with opening statements on April 23.[27] On May 2, Grate pleaded guilty to 15 of the charges against him.[28][29] On May 7, Grate was found guilty of murdering Stacey Stanley and Elizabeth Griffith.[30][31][32] On June 1, Grate was sentenced to death.[33][34] An initial execution date was set upon conviction for September 13, 2018,[33] but the execution was stayed due to a pending appeal to the Ohio Supreme Court.[35]

Defense counsel in the trial were Robert Whitney and Rolf Whitney. The prosecution team was Ashland Prosecutor Chris Tunnell, Medina County Assistant Prosecutor Michael McNamara and Special Prosecutor Mark Weaver.[33]

On March 1, 2019, Grate pleaded guilty in the murders of Rebekah Leicy and Candice Cunningham, and was sentenced to life in prison without parole for the murder of Leicy, and 17 years to life for the other charges with the sentences running consecutively.[36]

On September 11, 2019, Grate pleaded guilty in the murder of Dana Lowrey and was sentenced to life in prison without parole plus 16 years.[37][38][39]

On 10 December 2020, it was reported that Grate lost his appeal against the death sentence, with the Ohio Supreme Court upholding the sentence by stating there is no mitigation or "reversible error" in Grate's case on the grounds of dismissing the appeal.[40]

• List of serial killers in the United States