Grate graduated from River Valley High School in 1995. 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. He was represented in court by court-appointed attorney Rolf Whitney, who entered a plea of not guilty on all charges on behalf of Grate. In a press interview Grate confessed to five murders. Grate's attorneys later filed a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity. His trial date was set for November 6, 2017, and was later delayed to April 9, 2018. Ashland Countyprosecutor Christopher R. Tunnell said that given the "...depraved actions and the gruesome evidence", he would seek the death penalty. Shawn Grate has also been charged in the deaths of his former girlfriend Candice Cunningham and Rebekah Leicy in neighboring Richland County, 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. In the second of two letters he sent to Cleveland news station WEWS 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". 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. On January 6, 2017, a competency hearing determined Grate is fit to stand trial. 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. Grate's counsel then withdrew the plea of not guilty by reason of insanity on April 7, 2017. 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. “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.
Trials
Grate's trial for the Ashland crimes began with two weeks of jury selection on April 9, 2018. The trial began with opening statements on April 23. On May 2, Grate pleaded guilty to 15 of the charges against him. On May 7, Grate was found guilty of murdering Stacey Stanley and Elizabeth Griffith. On June 1, Grate was sentenced to death. An initial execution date was set upon conviction for September 13, 2018, however the execution was stayed due to a pending appeal to the Ohio Supreme Court. 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. 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. 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.
Victims
Kidnapping Victim
While Grate slept, the victim identified by the indictment only as "Jane Doe" called 911 from the Ashland house where Grate had held her for three days. She was safely rescued by Ashland police. Because she was the victim of a sexual assault, police declined to reveal her identity. Grate claims he did not plan to kill her and that they were going to get married.
Stacey Stanley A.K.A. Stacey Hicks
Stanley's family had reported her missing the week before Grate was arrested. Her body was found at the Ashland house where Grate was arrested. She is also known as Stacy Hicks. An autopsy concluded she was strangled to death.
Elizabeth Griffith
Griffith had been missing for about a month before Grate was arrested. Her body was found at the Ashland house where Grate was arrested. An autopsy concluded she was strangled to death.
Candice Cunningham
Grate led police to what he claimed was Cunningham's body in neighboring Richland County on the day of his arrest. Police found the body behind a house that had previously burned down. The Richland County Sheriff's office officially confirmed that the body found was Cunningham's on November 1, 2016.
Rebekah Leicy
Based on information supplied by Grate, police have reopened the investigation into Leicy's death. Her body was found in March 2015, and her death was originally ruled a drug overdose. Grate says he strangled her after she stole $4 from him in a bar.
Dana Lowrey
Grate claims to have killed another woman who was found dead in Marion County, Ohio in 2007 who remained unidentified for 12 years. He has stated he believes her name was Dana. In January 2018, isotope analysis indicated she was likely from the southern United States. The victim was identified in June 2019 by the DNA Doe Project as Dana Nicole Lowrey, 23, of Minden, Louisiana. Lowrey had two daughters aged one and five at the time of her death and was separated from her daughters’ father.
