Ohio Man Charged With Murders After Alleged Kidnapping Victim Calls 911 Held on $1M Bond

Shawn Grate, 40, was taken into custody in Ashland, Ohio, on Tuesday.

ByABC News
September 16, 2016, 3:56 PM

— -- A $1 million bond was set today for a man taken into custody in Ashland, Ohio, after the woman he was allegedly holding captive secretly called 911.

Shawn Grate, 40, was taken into custody early Tuesday following a woman's nervous call to 911 in which she reported that she was being held inside a home against her will, according to ABC affiliate WEWS-TV in Cleveland, Ohio.

"I've been abducted," she told the 911 dispatcher. "Please hurry!"

When officers responded to the scene, they found the woman and Grate. They also found the remains of two other people, police said.

PHOTO: Ashland County Police arrest Shawn Grate on murder and kidnapping charges on Sept. 13, 2016 in Ashland, Ohio.
Shawn Grate, who taken into custody in Ashland, Ohio, on Sept. 13, 2016. He was charged with two counts of murder and one count of kidnaping on Sept. 15, 2016.

Grate was charged Thursday with two counts of murder and one count of kidnapping.

Grate is accused of killing 43-year-old Stacey Hicks, also known as Stacey Stanley, and 29-year-old Elizabeth Griffith, Ashland County Prosecuting Attorney Christopher Tunnel said. Grate is accused of holding the surviving woman "against her will for the purpose of engaging in sexual activity," between Sept. 11 and 13, Tunnel said.

Grate remained in jail today as he appeared in court via Skype.

The prosecutor detailed Grate's past arrests dating back to 1994, including felony abduction, domestic violence, assault and multiple drug offenses.

Grate told the court he has no job, no known address, no money and receives no public assistance. His bond was set at $1 million.

He was appointed a public defender. He did not enter a plea. His next court appearance was set for Monday.

After Grate was taken into custody, he told officers he was involved in another woman's murder in Richland County, according to the prosecuting attorney for Richland County, Bambi Couch Page. Grate then led police to the remains in a wooded area behind a burned-out home, the prosecuting attorney said. The deceased person has not yet been identified. No charges have been filed at this time in the Richland County homicide, the prosecuting attorney said Thursday.

PHOTO: Ashland Police Department and Ohio BCI execute a search warrant on a home, Sept. 13, 2016, in Ashland, Ohio.
Ashland Police Department and Ohio BCI execute a search warrant on a home, Sept. 13, 2016, in Ashland, Ohio. Authorities say a woman reported being held captive, leading to the arrest of a kidnapping suspect, a murder confession and the discovery of three bodies.
PHOTO: Police tape cordons off the remains of a house, Sept. 14, 2016, in rural Richland County, near Mansfield, Ohio, where authorities say a woman's body was found nearby.
Police tape cordons off the remains of a house, Sept. 14, 2016, in rural Richland County, near Mansfield, Ohio, where authorities say a woman's body was found nearby. Police say a suspect in the abduction of a woman in neighboring Ashland confessed to killing a woman in the house in June, which was then destroyed in a fire.

ABC News' Ryan Smith contributed to this report.

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