COLUMBUS — The Ohio Attorney General’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation and Marion County Sheriff’s Office are seeking help from authorities in the southern United States to identify a person whose skeletal remains were found in Marion, Ohio, in 2007.
Investigators are requesting this assistance after isotope testing conducted by the University of South Florida determined that the female, who is believed to be a victim of a suspected serial killer, likely spent much of her life in a state that borders the Gulf coast.
Oxygen isotope values found in the victim’s bones indicate that she was likely born in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, or Florida. The testing also revealed that she likely spent the last five years of her life in Texas, Florida, or the Caribbean (Bahamas, Puerto Rico, etc.).
A full DNA profile has been generated from her remains, however no matches have been made in the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) to date.
Shawn Grate, who was sentenced to death on June 1, 2018, for the murders of two other women, has confessed to the murder of the Marion County Jane Doe, according to a press release from the Ohio Attorney General’s Office.
Grate is also the suspect in two additional homicides. The suspect told investigators that he did not remember the Marion County Jane Doe’s name, but he stated that she was a magazine saleswoman. From his recollection, the murder may have occurred between 2004 and 2005.
Her remains were found off Victory Road in Marion on March 10, 2007.
An Ohio BCI forensic artist created the pictured facial reconstruction of the female, who was likely a Caucasian female between 15 and 30 years old at the time of her death. She had brown hair and likely stood between 5-foot-3 and 5-foot-9 and weighed between 100 to 150 pounds.
Her teeth were well cared for and had no obvious dental work or fillings.
Ohio BCI is encouraging law enforcement in the aforementioned states to search their missing persons reports for any potential matches. Members of the public are also encouraged to share this bulletin in hopes of developing leads for this case. Anyone with information should contact Ohio BCI at 740-845-2406 or Marion County Sheriff’s Detective Christy Utley at 740-382-8244 ext. 5120.
