When will Shawn Grate be executed? Details explored ahead of 20/20 on ABC
The upcoming episode of ABC's 20/20, one of the most famed true-crime shows of all time, is set to cover the case of Shawn Grate, a serial killer who is now awaiting his death sentence. Grate has reportedly murdered at least five young women in and around northern Ohio from 2006 to 2016. He was also charged with assault.
In 2016, Grate was arrested at an abandoned house in Ohio for the kidnapping and assault of a local woman, whom he kept tied up in the house. The woman, who preferred to remain unidentified, became key to apprehending Shawn Grate when she called 911 as the killer slept.
After his arrest, detective Kim Mager reportedly spent over 33 hours extracting a confession out of the killer who barely showed any remorse for his actions. Grate ultimately was convicted on two counts of aggravated murder on May 7, 2018, in Ashland County.
He pleaded guilty to two additional murders on March 1, 2019, in Richland County, and pleaded guilty to one more murder in Marion County on September 11, 2019. He was sentenced to death.
Right now, Shawn Grate is incarcerated at the Chillicothe Correctional Institution and is awaiting his execution, which is reportedly scheduled for March 19, 2025. However, appeals are still going on to reverse the death penalty and the date can be considered tentative for now. The method of execution is also yet to be determined.
Who is Shawn Grate and what did he do?
Born to Terry Grate and Theresa McFarland in Marion, Ohio, on August 8, 1976, Shawn Grate was reported to have had a normal childhood and shared enthusiasm for sports. When he was six years old, his parents split up, reportedly leading to some mental turmoil.
When he was 11 years old, his mother reportedly abandoned the family in Ohio to live with a man in Kentucky, something Shawn did not like. He continued to live with his father. While attending River Valley High School, he excelled in Baseball and was reportedly well-liked by peers and women.
His former high school girlfriend claimed that Shawn would lie on the couch for days before snapping back to normal. On November 24, 1994, Shawn was arrested for the first time for allegedly grabbing his girlfriend by the throat. He was arrested again in 1997 for an alleged burglary charge. He was released shortly after, however.
On March 10, 2007, the police found a body of an unidentified woman. On February 6, 2015, Rebekah Leicy went missing and was discovered a month later, dead. On 16 August 2016, Elizabeth Griffith went missing, and in September of the same year, Stacey Stanley went missing.
When another woman was abducted and kept in an abandoned house, she managed to call 911 and give out the location. The police came and found that she was tied to a bed and was repeatedly assaulted.
The house reportedly also had two other dead bodies and the condition that Shawn Grate kept her in was horrific. The two corpses were identified as Stacey Stanley and Elizabeth Griffith. The first woman was also later identified as Dana Nicole Lowrey.
Where is Shawn Grate now?
After his arrest, Shawn Grate was charged with kidnapping, rape, and murder amongst other charges. He was ultimately handed a death sentence, along with life in prison without parole for the murder of Rebekah Leicy and his ex-girlfriend.
After he confessed to the fifth murder, he was given another life without parole plus 16 years. He is currently incarcerated at the Chillicothe Correctional Institution, where he is slated to be executed in 2025, as per reports. Appeals about the death sentence reportedly continue.
The upcoming episode of ABC's 20/20, premiering on Friday, November 22, at 9/8c, will cover this case in detail.
