Sheriff: ‘Details only the killer would know’

MARION — Marion County Sheriff Tim Bailey said Monday that Shawn Michael Grate was polite, even nice, to investigators when he admitted to killing a woman in Marion County.

“He wanted to get it off his chest and he recently found God,” Bailey said.

The confession came moments before Ashland Police transported him to the county jail, Bailey said.

“They asked him if there was anything else he wanted to say and he said, ‘oh yeah, I killed another woman in Marion,'” he said. 

Bailey said he didn’t believe Grate when he heard the River Valley graduate had confessed to killing a woman in his jurisdiction. But Grate described the killing with details only the killer would have known, including that he burned the body one year after he stabbed her in the basement of his house, Bailey said. 

Grate told authorities he killed the woman in 2004 but could not remember the exact date. He thought her name was Diane or Dana.

According to Bailey, Grate said he killed the woman (believed to be in her mid-20s) because his mother had not received the magazines that were purchased from her. 

“A few months later, he saw the woman, she got into the car — because he said he would buy some magazines — and he took her south of the city (Marion), stabbed her and hid her in the basement,” Bailey said.

When Bailey showed Grate a sketch of the woman from 2007, he did not recognize the sketch.

“He said he remembered her as being thin and having nice teeth. And brown hair,” he said.

When Marion County sheriff deputies found the body on March 10, 2007, there were only remains, Bailey said. There were no clothes or any articles that might lead to an identification. 

“We collected some evidence like tooth remains and we entered it into the FBI computer (data base),” Bailey said. “We followed up on leads for nine years and got nowhere. Until last week.” 

Bailey said the sheriff’s department is still working on identifying the woman and are working with FBI to develop a profile for the victims who have been linked to Grate. He said he would not be surprised if more murders are linked to Grate. 

“He said she was the first woman he killed … It’s hard to believe there aren’t more bodies out there,” Bailey said.

Bailey encouraged the public to contact the sheriff’s department at 740-382-8244 if they have information on the woman Grate alleged to killing.