Trial slated to begin for Ohio man accused of killing women

ASHLAND >> The trial of an Ohio man charged with killing two women is scheduled to begin.

The Ashland Times-Gazette reports a judge in Ashland County in north-central Ohio says jury selection in the trial of 41-year-old Shawn Grate should be completed Monday, with opening statements to follow.

Grate has pleaded not guilty to charges including aggravated murder. He could be sentenced to death if convicted of killing 29-year-old Elizabeth Griffith and 43-year-old Stacey Stanley.

Grate was arrested in September 2016 after police found the women’s remains in what was supposed to be a vacant Ashland home where another woman said she had been held captive.

The newspaper reports Grate has been linked to the deaths of three other women in Richland and Marion counties, but hasn’t been charged in those slayings.