Disclaimer: The article contains mentions of murder and sexual assault. Reader discretion is advised.
Shawn Grate committed multiple murders in the late 2000s and managed to evade police for several years. However, in 2016, authorities eventually apprehended him following a distress call from a woman who reported kidnapping by him. Reports indicate that the survivor testified during the trial and revealed how Grate sexually assaulted her for two days. Investigators also discovered the remains of two dead women in an abandoned house in Ashland County, Ohio. Subsequently, the court gave him the death penalty for the slayings.
Police arrested Shawn Grate after a woman called 911 and told the dispatcher about her abduction. According to Mansfield News Journal, the woman crawled out of the bed when Grate was asleep and contacted the authorities. However, she accidentally activated a Taser while on the call, waking up Grate for 30 seconds. Fortunately, the survivor remained unharmed, and Grate went back to sleep. During the call, she told the police that she had been kidnapped and requested them to save her.
Citing the call, CBS News also mentioned that the survivor partly freed herself to make the distress call. She said, “I’ve been abducted. Please hurry.” Moreover, the outlet reported that she couldn’t leave the house because of a locked door. During the telephone conversation, she added, “the bedroom is closed and he made it [the door] so it would make noise.”
While testifying in court, the survivor mentioned how Shawn Grate raped her repeatedly while she was in the house. Per Mansfield News Journal, she told the court that he assaulted her “in every way imaginable.” Additionally, the woman noted how she “tried to kick, punch,” but all her attempts were unsuccessful.
Where is the convicted serial killer now?
Upon his arrest, investigators discovered the dead bodies of two women in Shawn Grate’s apartment. The Washington Post reported that police found one of the bodies in the basement of the house. On the other hand, they discovered the body of the second woman below a pile of clothes. Following his arrest, Grate told investigators that he targeted women with addiction problems. Even though his attorneys filed a not guilty plea, Grate went on to admit publicly that he murdered five women in his life.
As per Cleveland 19, Shawn Grate was “afraid” of the death penalty and wanted to die on his terms. That’s the reason why he continued to tell media outlets about the crimes he committed. He told the reporter, “I’m just trying to free myself of what I’ve done. I’m afraid of the death penalty. I’d like to die on my own and not by the state.” During the same interview, he also opened up about how he killed his victims and if he felt any remorse.
The court officially charged Shawn Grate with killing two women. During the trial, the prosecution team disclosed what serial killer Shawn Grate said about his victims and told the jurors not to forget how he used his victims. The prosecutor said (via NBC New York), “This is not a spur-of-the-moment killing. Take a broad view of the evidence. What do you know of this victim? Listen to what he says. Look at what he did.”
The jury deliberated for three hours before delivering a guilty verdict. Then, in 2019, Grate confessed to killing two more women and pleaded guilty to the charges. The court sentenced him to life in prison for one of the slayings, after which he received another life term after pleading guilty to another killing.
According to Mansfield News Journal, Shawn Grate is serving his sentence at Chillicothe Correctional Institution, Ohio.
