Grate prosecutor: 'He told her she was going to die'

ASHLAND - Jane Doe could be the key witness in Shawn Grate's capital murder trial.

The woman, whom the News Journal is not identifying because she was the victim of a sex crime, called police to 363 Covert Court on Sept 13, 2016. She had met Grate in late July and occasionally had lunch with him at the Kroc Center.

Ashland County Prosecutor Chris Tunnell delivered a 95-minute opening statement Monday, sharing her story and those of homicide victims Elizabeth Griffith and Stacey Stanley.

Daily diary: Trial of a suspected serial killer

The evidence portion of Grate's trial began after a seven-man, five-woman jury was selected.

Tunnell led off with what he said happened to Doe.

"Grate planned to keep and rape her from the first time he met her," Tunnell said.

Tunnell said the deeply religious woman did not want a romantic relationship with Grate and had him stand outside when they went to her apartment.

On Sept. 11, she and Grate were walking on East Main Street and accepted a ride from one of her friends. With Grate present, the woman asked Doe if she had heard that Griffith was missing.

On that day, Doe told police she did go inside the vacant house off downtown Ashland where Grate had been staying. While inside, she began to read Bible passages, and Grate, she said, violently assaulted her and told her she wasn't going anywhere.

"He told her she was going to die," Tunnell said.

Doe accepted her fate and did not struggle. Tunnell said that made Grate stop. He had made nine videos of him raping Doe, Tunnell said.

"She is deeply traumatized," the prosecutor said.

The prosecutor said Grate assaulted and raped Doe on Sept. 11, all day Sept. 12 and into the early morning hours of Sept. 13, when she slipped out of restraints and called 911.

"This defendant was found asleep and naked in bed in a house that a terrified, naked woman escaped from after being repeatedly assaulted and raped," Tunnell said.

Ashland police Sgt. Jim Cox, the second witness for the state, was among the first on the scene. He said Doe was naked when police found her.

"She was absolutely terrified, kind of almost frozen in fear," Cox said.

Tunnell said Grate has confessed to all 23 counts in his indictment.

"This is not a 'whodunit' case," he said. "This is a 'he did it' case."

Grate, wearing a white shirt, purple tie and khakis, sat impassively at the defense table as Tunnell spoke.

Defense attorney Robert Whitney waived his opening statement.

Prosecutors allege Griffith was Grate's first Ashland victim.

Griffith had her "share of problems," Tunnell said.

The 29-year-old suffered from schizophrenia, he said, but could function on her own and maintained an apartment.

Tunnell described her as "almost childlike."

After Aug. 16, Griffith was never seen again.

A counselor reported Griffith missing on Sept. 7 after she had missed several appointments.

She had told another counselor that she had met somebody. Police tracked Griffith's movements on Aug. 16 through Ashland Transit. She went from Aldi's to Dor Lo Pizza.

Griffith's mummified remains were discovered Sept. 13 at 363 Covert Court. Police found her under a pile of stuffed animals and clothing. There was an infestation of flies around her body.

"She was naked," Tunnell said. "Her hands were bound together behind her back."

A restraint also was tied to each of Griffith's ankles, he said.

Grate told a police detective he did Griffith "a favor" by killing her. In one account, Grate reportedly said he met Griffith at the Ashland YMCA, and the two walked to the house on Covert Court.

He reportedly said he put his hands around her neck, his heart racing as he thought about killing her.

"What exactly happened to Elizabeth Griffith, we'll never know," Tunnell said.

Prosecutors say Stanley was Grate's next victim. The 43-year-old lived in Greenwich but came to Ashland on Sept. 8 to get her nails done. 

At some point, Stanley's car had a flat tire, and she pulled in to the BP station at Main and Union streets.

Tunnell said Grate happened to walk past and offered to help. An employee at BP said  he saw them together when she bought him a cup of coffee.

Tunnell speculates that Stanley gave Grate a ride home.

"Once inside that house, she never left," the prosecutor said.

Grate reportedly told a detective that he forcibly raped Stanley and strangled her after she sprayed him with mace.

Tunnell said Grate taped the video on a cellphone. Jurors will see the video.

About 20 of the victims' loved ones were on hand Monday. Some of them cried during Tunnell's opening statement.

The prosecutor said Grate dragged Stanley's body to the basement, then piled on bags of trash until she was "obscured from sight."

Police said they did not initially see Stanley's body.

"As soon as we opened the door, there was an infestation of insects," Cox said. "There was a pretty horrific odor, what we call dead body odor."

Tunnell said Grate made his way to Ashland from Richland County in June. The prosecutor said Grate burglarized two camps at Charles Mill Lake, staying in one and taking food and supplies from another.

He also reportedly set up a fort in the woods in Mifflin.

One of the campground owners discovered the burglary and called police. Tunnell said Grate was walking back to the site when he saw rangers.

"Just a few minutes later, they would have caught him," the prosecutor said.

mcaudill@gannett.com

419-521-7219

Twitter: @MNJCaudill

Case background

Shawn Grate, 41, is charged with 23 counts, including aggravated murder. If convicted of that charge, he could face the death penalty.

The main charges involve the deaths of Elizabeth Griffith, 29, and Stacey Stanley, 43, and the kidnapping of a woman prosecutors are calling Jane Doe. According to a previous news release, Doe was kidnapped and raped multiple times but escaped after calling 911 on Sept. 13, 2016.

After Doe's rescue and Grate's arrest, police found the bodies of Griffith and Stanley at a house at 363 Covert Court, near downtown Ashland. According to the preliminary autopsy, both women had been strangled.