Known as a “nice guy” who was able to charm countless women, Shawn Grate was eventually revealed to be a brutal killer who murdered at least five victims.
Ashland County Sheriff ’s OfficeBetween 2006 and 2016 , Shawn Grate savagely raped and mutilate at least five fair sex in northerly Ohio , at last set down him on death wrangle in 2018 .
On September 13 , 2016 , Ashland police received a headphone call from a fair sex who whispered that she ’d been kidnapped and was tie up mere feet away from her sleeping abductor . She tried to describe the man who was holding her captive and the planetary house she was in — the best she could wield was that it was next to the Fourth Street laundromat .
“ Is there any way you’re able to get out of the construction ? ” the 911 dispatcher asked .
Ashland County Sheriff’s OfficeBetween 2006 and 2016, Shawn Grate brutally raped and murdered at least five women in northern Ohio, ultimately landing him on death row in 2018.
“ I do n’t know without waking him , and I ’m scared , ” the woman respond .
While the 911 starter continue verbalise the telephoner through escaping , the woman accidentally knocked over her capturer ’s taser , ignite him .
“ No . Oh ( expletive ) . Oh ( expletive ) , I just arouse him up , ” she hissed .
Mansfield News JournalShawn Grate was described as friendly and charming by his peers.
The line go stagnant in brief , and “ Jane Doe ” was suddenly minutes away from being the sixth victim of in series killer Shawn Grate , and the airstream was on for police to deliver the helpless woman . In the end , the authorities prevailed and their saving of the woman and catch of Shawn Grate ended the bloody reign of one of modern history ’s most perverse orca .
Growing Up, Shawn Grate Was Known As A Laid-Back Charmer — With A Dark Side
Mansfield News JournalShawn Grate was described as favorable and magical by his peers .
Born in Marion , Ohio on August 8 , 1976 , Shawn Grate had a normal childhood . As a teen , Grate was well - like , especially by girls . He was charming and always had a smile on his brass , which did a dear job of mask his inner rage , jealousy and simmering violence — for a while , at least .
When he was 18 , he was arrested for take hold of his then - girl by the pharynx . A few years later , he was arrested for breaking into his 17 - yr - old girl ’s home plate and choking her . Just eight month after this , he break up in again , slipping underneath her sofa and hiding until the time was correct to pounce . This time , he had a butcher tongue in hand .
YouTubeGrate with his ex, Christina Hildreth.
Still , Shawn Grate ’s charm and apparent friendliness were welcoming to women , and he function on to have three children with three different women . His ex - wife Amber Nicole Bowman , however , recalls him saying , “ If I ca n’t see my girl , no one will . ”
By his mid to later 20s , Grate ’s behavior became more erratic . He would slump into deep depressive states , unable to get up off the couch at points , according to an ex - girlfriend .
Grate’s Heinous Abuses Begin
YouTubeGrate with his ex , Christina Hildreth .
Eventually , Shawn Grate moved on and began dating Christina Hildreth . The twain were glad and subject in the outset , but Grate could n’t hide his true color for long . Not only did he become violent , ensure , and jealous , he would also show side of being stale and indifferent towards his garbled girlfriend .
Once , Grate tick his partner in the face multiple times and snaffle her tightly by the pharynx — notable , since strangulation was Grate ’s preferred method acting of murder .
YouTubeThe house in where Shawn Grate squatted – and hid several dead bodies.
Grate was arrested for the plan of attack and put behind bars for 180 days .
It was n’t just romantic relationships he struggled with . When Grate require his supporter for a loanword , which was declined , he direct his former pal a shuddery text : “ Meet the other me . ”
After this , Grate floated around the urban center of Mansfield , skip from woman to char , taking vantage of their genial nature and offerings of goodwill . Instead of holding down a job , Grate saw womanhood as opportunities . Around this time , he encounter his first two victims , Rebekah Leicy and Candice Cunningham .
YouTubeRebekah Leicy was Shawn Grate’s fourth known victim.
Rebekah was a sex worker — and her body was ground in March 2015 , her death was ruled an overdose . But her premature demise was far from accidental .
Candice Cunningham lived with Shawn Grate in Mansfield before her fade in 2015 . At the time , the police occur up with nothing . There was one person who knew exactly where Cunningham was : Grate . He would eventuallylead police to her trunk , lying behind a burn - down house in Richland county , on the daytime of his arrest .
Shawn Grate’s Hateful Violence Escalates To New Heights Of Depravity
YouTubeThe theatre in where Shawn Grate squat – and hid several utter bodies .
Shawn Grate ’s violence and turpitude were to be turn up a notch with his next dupe . Her name has not been discover by police , who refer to her as Jane Doe .
Doe have sex Grate as she played badminton with him around her apartment composite , but once Grate had win her faith , he switch to the wild monster he ’d let out dozens of other women to . He trapped her in his apartment and forced her to endure day of torture and rape .
Ashland County PoliceThe burned-out house where Grate left Candice Cunningham’s body.
With her hands bound and tie to the bottom , the woman say she was sexually assaulted in “ every way conceivable . ”
The first Nox of Doe ’s incarceration , Grate barely sleep , giving her no chance of escape . After another daylight of never-ending distortion and assaults , Grate eventually authorize out . His telephone was right next to him , going off , but the kidnapper seemed to be in too mystifying of a sopor to acknowledge the phone ringing beside him .
Jane Doe saw this as her opportunity to escape , and she reach over her sleep capturer as stealthily as she could to beak up the earphone , and dialed 911 , still part jump .
She verbalise as quietly as she could to avert waking Shawn Grate up . “ I ’ve been abduct , ” she whisper . The operator need if she could break away , to which she replied that she could n’t because she was frightened of wake her assailant up .
Suddenly , the restrained adult female said , “ Oh , s**t , ” and the line go quiet for a few minutes . The manipulator could only guess what might have been happening to the cleaning lady stuck in the sleeping accommodation with her tearing rapist .
After what must ’ve seemed like an eternity , the woman picked the speech sound back up ; she ’d bumped Grate ’s taser , waking him up . fortuitously , he sat up in bed and stared at the story before laying back down again , not realizing that his victim had the police on the line and had directed them to the theater where she was being held hostage .
When police force arrived at the property , they were met with more body than they ’d expected : Shawn Grate had been mercilessly toss off the women who ’d dare to trust him , and some of them were decomposing in the house he was squatting in .
How Grate Was Finally Caught And Put On Death Row
YouTubeRebekah Leicy was Shawn Grate ’s fourth love dupe .
Shawn Grate was afterward arrested and taken in for questioning . The bodies of Stacey Stanley and Elizabeth Griffith were find in the home . Both women had been strangle to death . The twisted web of manipulation and murder that Grate had spend most of his grownup life weaving was abruptly unraveling .
After his arrest , Grate was initially hesitant to give any information to police , often clam up and being incoherent in his answers . However , under persistent inquiring , he fink his litany of crimes . Grate led police to Cunningham ’s soundbox in a burned - out house in Richland County . He told law he strangled Rebekah Leicy to death after she stole $ 4 from him in a bar .
Ashland County PoliceThe burned - out house where Grate left Candice Cunningham ’s eubstance .
Shawn Grate also claims to have killed another woman who was found dead in Marion County in 2007 . He told police he thought her name was Dana . The dupe was identify in June 2019 via DNA as Dana Nicole Lowrey , 23 . Lowrey had two young daughters under the age of 5 at the time of her death .
Prior to sentencing , Grate express his fear of face the end penalty . “ I really would like to remain alive through all this , ” he told law officers . Chillingly , he also said , “ I would have loved to have been able-bodied to do a lot , but I recognise I would n’t have been able to get forth with it . ”
On June 1 , 2018 , Shawn Grate was sentence to death .
After reading about Shawn Grate , learn aboutthe unsolved mystery of the redhead serial murders . Then , study aboutVlado Taneski — the serial killer diarist who reported on his own crime .
