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Richland County to pursue more charges against convicted killer Shawn Grate

Grate has already been convicted of two murders in Ashland.

MANSFIELD - Richland County Prosecutor Gary Bishop said Monday he plans to pursue a case against Shawn Grate.

"We've been following the Ashland trial," Bishop said. "We had an agreement with Mr. (Chris) Tunnell that we would hold off on our case until he finished his case. Now that the case is concluded, we're going to look at going forward with our case."

A jury recommended Friday that Grate, 41, receive the death penalty for the aggravated murders of Elizabeth Griffith and Stacey Stanley.

Jurors found Grate guilty of eight counts. He also pleaded guilty to 15 other counts midway through his trial.

Grate will be sentenced June 1 by Ashland County Common Pleas Judge Ron Forsthoefel.

MORE | Juror in Shawn Grate murder case speaks out on trial

In Richland County, Grate is a suspect in the deaths of two other women.

He was apprehended in Ashland on Sept. 13, 2016. Shortly thereafter, he told authorities about a third set of remains at 1027 Park Avenue East in Madison Township.

The remains were identified as Candice Cunningham. According to her former landlord, she had been staying with Grate on West Second Street until they were evicted.

Former County Prosecutor Bambi Couch Page said Grate confessed to killing Cunningham in June 2016 at the vacant Madison Township house, which was destroyed by a suspicious fire on June 20 or 21.

Cunningham's body was recovered at the rear of the house in a wooded area, down a ravine.

In addition, Grate has been linked to the 2015 death of Rebekah Leicy, of Mansfield, whose body was found in an Ashland County woods in March 2015.

If Grate is charged in Richland County, Bishop declined to say if he would pursue the death penalty.

"There's no hurry. The case is what it is," the prosecutor said. "We're going to be very thorough in reviewing our case before we make any decisions."

Grate also is a suspect in the death of a woman in Marion County. Her body was found in 2007.

Grate reportedly confessed to killing the woman, believed to be between ages 15 and 30, sometime between 2003 and 2005 and dumping her body at a site about 100 feet off the road, later returning to burn the evidence, Marion County Sheriff Tim Bailey has said.

Over the years, leads on the woman's identity have come and gone. But in January, investigators got back results from isotope testing, suggesting that the woman was from the southern United States and casting doubt on a previous theory that she may have been from outside the country, according to Bailey and the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation.

Pieces of the woman's bones were sent to the University of South Florida for isotope analysis, testing that can tell where someone is probably from, said Samantha Molnar, a forensic artist with BCI.

In other Grate news, his ex-wife is scheduled to appear on the Dr. Phil show on Friday.

According to the show's website, Amber Bowman says when she met Grate at church, he was loving, kind and attentive. She says sparks flew immediately, and they were married four months later. But shortly afterward, Bowman said Grate turned very dark.

She claims he became very angry, tried to isolate her from her family and would disappear. But Bowman said she had no idea Grate was a suspected serial killer.

mcaudill@gannett.com

419-521-7219

Twitter: @MNJCaudill

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