Shawn Grate: 911 Call Saves Woman From Alleged Killer, Three Others Not Lucky

Shawn Grate, a 40-year-old man, was arrested in Ashland, Ohio after his alleged female victim managed to place a 911 as he was sleeping, CNN News is reporting. Responding officers rescued the distraught woman from an abandoned property and found two bodies. Shawn Grate allegedly led police officers to a third body close to the ruins of a burnt-out home.

The unidentified woman had managed to free herself and place a harrowing emergency phone call as her reputed abductor slept a few feet away. She had told the dispatcher that Shawn Grate had kidnapped her, and he was armed with a taser.

When the dispatcher told her to make a run for it or try to bolt herself in the bathroom, she said he would wake up, “I’m afraid he might hear me and catch me and he’s strong.”

The woman was rescued more than 20 minutes after she placed the call. Police had stormed the abandoned house where she was being held and arrested Shawn Grate. The 40-year-old man described as homeless by authorities had been allegedly raping the woman repeatedly since Sunday. He was arrested on Tuesday.

On the 911 call, which was released by the Ashland Ohio Police Department, the woman identified her captor as Shawn Grate and revealed she had known him for over a month. She said they were headed to “his place” when things went awry. The woman, who is stricken with terror, is heard telling the police officers to “please hurry” multiple times.

Captive woman's chilling 911 call leads to discovery of 3 bodies in Ohio https://t.co/vi4c7xRQJj https://t.co/6odMMTV6j0

— CNN (@CNN) September 16, 2016

According to a Daily Mail story, Shawn Grate’s ex-wife’s family describes him as an abusive “monster” and “deadbeat dad,” who left his daughter when she was just six-days-old.

An anonymous family member said Shawn Grate’s ex-wife, Amber Bowman, was lucky to escape with her life as the family had witnessed him going crazy on more than one occasion.

“It could have been her. We’re just so thankful that she and her daughter are both safe. God has had His hand on us. We pray for those poor women and their families.”

A Rolling Stone story has unearthed Shawn Grate’s lengthy criminal record. In 1996, he was accused of burglary. In 1999, he was accused of abduction when he allegedly held two women hostage with a carving knife as one of them was holding his newborn daughter.

Amber Nicole Bowman, Shawn Grate's ex-wife, released a statement through her family's attorney Thursday morning…. https://t.co/RQLOVPXpAA

— Crawford Source (@CrawfordSource) September 15, 2016

In 2007, he was indicted for identity theft, misdemeanor domestic violence, and drug paraphernalia possession. He was married to Amber Bowman for less than a year before Bowman filed a restraining order against him after he allegedly made multiple threats against her and her baby.

His former landlord, Jim Cristman said he offered his tenant, Shawn Grate work repeatedly so that Grate could pay child support, but that he was “always chasing women.” Cristman said when he kicked him off his property for unpaid rent, his truck was set on fire.

As news of the murders filtered through the community, several women have recalled seeing Shawn Grate in the area trying to befriend women and trying to lure them into the house where his latest alleged victim was found.

17yo said kidnapping suspect Shawn Grate tried to lure her in house where 1 woman was abducted, 2 others found dead. pic.twitter.com/wesj60f3uE

— Lisa Rantala (@rantalawsyx) September 14, 2016

Bailey Finley said that Shawn Grate had helped her carry laundry home and invited her to visit his house. The 17-year-old said she found it strange that the 40-year-old man repeatedly tried to invite her to a house people knew was abandoned.

“One thing that I really thought weird was that people have told me that the place was abandoned and he would always come through the side door, but everything was always so blocked off in front of the house.”

Lisa Zehner said 40-year old Shawn Grate had approached her as she sat on a bench and asked her if she did drugs and if he could buy her a beer. Zehner, 45, said Grate had given her his number, which she deleted as soon as he walked away.

According to CBS News, Stacey Stanley has been identified as one of the deceased. The 43-year-old woman had been declared missing September 8, after telling her son that she had a flat tire. Friends and family have set up a GoFundMe page to assist with burial costs. Another woman, who has not been identified yet by authorities, was said to have been killed between August 16 and September 13.

Shawn Grate has been charged with two counts of murder and kidnapping.

[Featured Image by Artem Furman/iStock]