ASHLAND – Jurors recommended two death sentences Friday for convicted murderer and suspected serial killer Shawn Grate.
After just over two hours of deliberations in the sentencing phase, the 12-member jury returned two unanimous death penalty verdicts — One for the aggravated murder of Elizabeth Griffith and the other for the aggravated murder of Stacey Stanley.
In returning those verdicts, the jury declared the aggravating circumstances with which Grate committed the murders outweighed any evidence presented by the defense in the mitigation or sentencing phase of the trial.
Grate showed little emotion as the judge read the death penalty verdicts.
Reactions from the gallery included a mix of tears, smiles and subdued cheers. Family members of the two murder victims were present in the courtroom, along with some of the witnesses for the prosecution.
Judge Ron Forsthoefel accepted the verdicts and scheduled sentencing for 10 a.m. June 1. Forsthoefel will determine the sentences on the remaining charges in the 23-count indictment.
Last week, the jury found Grate guilty of four counts of aggravated murder, three counts of kidnapping and one count of aggravated robbery.
Grate previously changed his not guilty pleas to guilty for each of the other 15 counts in the 23-count indictment, including four counts of rape, two counts of gross abuse of a corpse, four counts of burglary, tampering with evidence, unauthorized use of a vehicle, one of the kidnapping counts, robbery and breaking and entering.
Grate’s guilty pleas included all charges related to Jane Doe, the rape and kidnapping victim who escaped and called 9-1-1 on Sept. 13, 2016, which led to Grate’s arrest.
Attorneys in the case remain under a gag order and are prohibited from commenting to the media until the conclusion of sentencing. Several of the victims’ family members declined to comment.
