ASHLAND – Bond was set at $1 million for murder and kidnapping suspect Shawn Michael Grate during his bond hearing Friday afternoon in Ashland County Common Pleas Court and the second Covert Court victim was identified as Elizabeth Griffith.
Grate was charged Thursday with two counts of murder and one count of kidnapping.
During the hearing, which took place via Skype, County Prosecutor Christopher Tunnell asked for the $1 million bond after reciting Grate’s lengthy criminal record which includes:
- Misdemeanor assault in Marion in 1994
- Disorderly conduct in Marion in 1996
- Burglary in Marion in 1997
- Misdemeanor assault and unlawful restraint in Marion in 1999
- Aggravated menacing in Marion in 1999
- Criminal trespass, violating protection order and telephone harassment in Marion in 1999
- Parole violation in Marion 1999
- Felony abduction in Marion in 2000
- Misdemeanor domestic violence in Marion in 2003
- Falsification, identity theft and obstruction in Bucyrus in 2007
- Possession of marijuana in Bucyrus in 2009
- Misdemeanor domestic violence in Bucyrus in 2010
- Misdemeanor drug abuse, possession of drug paraphernalia and receiving stolen property in Mansfield in 2013
- Warrant issued in Richland County for obstructing official business after fleeing from deputies in June 2016
- Open case for contempt of court from Crawford County Juvenile Court.
Tunnell also advised that Grate is transient and was squatting in the house on Covert Court where he was found.
When setting the bond at $1 million, Judge Ronald Forstoefhel also set the conditions that if Grate posts bond he is to have no contact with “Jane Doe,” the woman he is accused of kidnapping. He also will be subject to passive GPS monitoring and under a curfew from 9 p.m. to 7 a.m.
After setting the $1 million bond, the judge asked Grate if he had any questions. Grate responded, “No, that sounds fair.”
Judge Forstoefhel ruled that Grate was indigent and eligible for a court-appointed attorney. Rolf Whitney was appointed as Grate’s attorney and a preliminary hearing was set for Monday at 7:45 a.m.
Tunnell released a video statement via Twitter following the hearing confirming that Griffith, 29, is the second victim found in the Covert Court house. Griffith went missing Aug. 16 in the area of WalMart and Aldi’s in Ashland. Members of her family were at the crime scene on Tuesday after the bodies were discovered, hoping to hear word on their missing loved one.
In the short video statement, Tunnell said they have evidence indicating that Grate kidnapped three women in Ashland County and killed two of them.
At the conclusion of his statement, Tunnell reassured the public.
“Ashland County is a safe place to live,” the prosecutor said. “We have not seen crimes of this magnitude in a very long time. There is no reason for people in this county to live in fear.”
“These women did not deserve to what was done to them. Their families want justice. I want justice, and I will not rest until I see justice is done,” Tunnell said.
Grate was arrested Tuesday morning after a woman called 911 a little before 7 a.m. and said she was being held against her will in a home on Covert Court. Police arrived and rescued the woman, taking Grate into custody. Police and investigators from the Ohio Bureau of Criminal searched the two homes on Covert Court and found two bodies, one of which was identified on Wednesday as missing Greenwich woman Stacey Stanley.
After being arrested, Grate led investigators to a third body buried in a wooded area behind a burned-out home at 1127 Park Ave. East in Madison Township in Richland County. Authorities removed the body from the woods Wednesday afternoon. A forensic pathologist from Mercyhurst University is helping to identify the body and examine the body for evidence.
