Shawn Michael Grate (born August 8, 1976[4]) is an American serial killer and rapist who was sentenced to death for the murders of five young women in and around northern Ohio from 2006 to 2016.

Living with his father, he attended River Valley High School, where he excelled as a baseball player but never played again after breaking his arm, which required surgery following the discovery of a tumor.

A court psychiatrist described Grate as "kind of a depressed kid" despite his reputation as a happy youth, stating that his condition hailed from "neglect and emotional detachment" faced in childhood.

[6] After graduating from River Valley High School in 1995,[2] he broke into a house in Marion County with a juvenile accomplice on October 23, 1996, to steal jewelry and money.

Grate was given a felony burglary charge in January 1997 and sentenced to four years in prison before being released early in October 1997.

Grate was indicted on 23 counts, all first, second, or third-degree felonies; lesser charges include breaking and entering, burglary, and tampering with evidence.

[7] Grate was represented in court by court-appointed attorney Rolf Whitney,[8] who entered a plea of not guilty on all charges on his behalf.

[13][14][15] Ashland County prosecutor Christopher R. Tunnell said that given the "...depraved actions and the gruesome evidence", he would seek the death penalty.

In a settlement with the owner, the City of Ashland obtained ownership of the house where Grate was apprehended, two bodies were discovered, and police rescued a kidnapped woman.

[40] On September 11, 2019, Grate pleaded guilty to the murder of Dana Lowrey and was sentenced to life in prison without parole plus 16 years.

[10] Having seen Shawn as something of an "older brother," the 38-year-old Doe had first met Grate in the summer of 2016 at the Ashland Salvation Army Ray & Joan Kroc Corps Community Center.

There they would share lunch and go on long walks, frequently discussing the Bible and occasionally playing tennis at Brookside Park in Ashland.

Despite Grate's attempts to sexually engage her, her relationship with him was described as completely platonic, refusing to exchange phone numbers.

On Sept. 11, 2016, Grate persuaded Doe to walk with him to the Ashland house on 363 Covert Court to receive some clothes he had in his possession.

Grate then proceeded to bind her in various "weird positions", including one that would allegedly strangle her to death as she attempted to break free.

[10] Grate claims to have killed another woman who was found dead in Marion County, Ohio in 2006 and remained unidentified for 13 years.

[55] The victim was identified in June 2019 by the DNA Doe Project as Dana Nicole Lowrey, 23, of Minden, Louisiana.