ASHLAND, Ohio -- A jury has ruled that Shawn Grate, who was convicted earlier this month on multiple counts of aggravated murder and kidnapping in the deaths of Elizabeth Griffith and Stacey Stanley (Hicks), should receive the death penalty.
The 12 jurors reached their decision after just over two hours of deliberations.
Official sentencing has been set for June 1 at 10 a.m. The judge can overrule the jury's recommendation for a death sentence, but such cases are extremely rare.
After more than a week into the trial, Grate pleaded guilty to 15 charges, including rape, kidnapping, gross abuse of a corpse and burglary.
The prosecution’s closing arguments took the jury back to the beginning, showing just several of the more than 300 exhibits entered into evidence, including a pair of dates written in a notebook.