Police find 5th body tied to suspected Ohio serial killer

MARION, Ohio — Investigators have discovered the body of fifth person believed to be connected to an Ohio man already accused of killing two women and kidnapping another, reports CBS affiliate WOIO.

Shawn Grate, who entered a not guilty plea Monday on charges he murdered two women in Ashland, Ohio, was arrested Sept. 13 after a woman called 911 to report that she had been abducted.

While processing the scene at Grate’s home, police discovered two bodies, later identified as missing women Elizabeth Griffin and Stacey Stanley. Police said Grate led them to a third body buried in a wooded area behind a home in Mansfield, Ohio. The name of the female victim has not yet been released, but sources say she is from Canton and had not been reported missing.

On Saturday, the Marion County Sheriff’s Department confirmed that they were examining a fourth case possibly connected to Grate. According to the police, Grate confessed to murdering the woman and said she was his first kill.

Police say Grate killed her in 2005 after he became upset that she was delivering newspapers and magazines to everyone’s house but his. Her body was found March 10, 2007, and still has not been identified. 

Sources say the fifth body, which was found Monday, belonged to a woman who was killed in March 2015.

Grate’s bond was set at $1 million Monday. The Marion County Sheriff told WOIO that investigators believe Grate may be connected to more homicides.