20/20 Podcast Summary

Episode: The Hand in the Window – “Follow the Flies”

Date: November 26, 2025 | Host: ABC News (featuring Debra Roberts, Detective Brian Evans, Detective Kim Major)

Brief Overview

This gripping episode of "The Hand in the Window" chronicles the unraveling investigation into notorious serial killer Shawn Grate, as Ashland detectives painstakingly piece together the fates of missing women in their small Ohio town. Through tense police interviews, emotional family accounts, and chilling on-the-scene discovery, listeners are taken deep inside a pivotal day—when Grate’s confessions led to the recovery of victims, the closure of multiple cases, and a community faced with incomprehensible loss.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Detectives’ Background and Dynamic

• Detectives Brian Evans and Kim Major’s History
  • Both started with the Ashland police force the same day in 1997 ([01:07]).
  • Developed deep trust and complemented each other's investigative skills.
  • Evans specialized in narcotics, Major excelled in interviewing suspects ([01:38]).

    “She’s a very good interviewer... she can be very relatable to the suspects and they find it very easy to talk with her.” — Detective Brian Evans [01:38]

2. Escalating Disappearances and Initial Search

• Unusual Pattern
  • Two adult females (Stacy Stanley and Elizabeth Griffith) disappeared within days ([02:08]).

    "I'd say it's very unusual to have two adult females missing... that doesn't happen." — Detective Evans [02:08]

• Evans at the Crime Scene
  • Tasked with securing and photographing the house, alert for signs of missing women ([02:16]).

3. Detective Major’s Interrogation of Shawn Grate

• The Interview Room
  • Major patiently draws confessions from Grate, starting with Jane Doe's case, then moving to other missing women ([04:19]).
• First Break: A New Name
  • Grate suddenly brings up another victim, Candace Cunningham, unreleased in the press ([08:04]-[08:24]).

    “She’s in the woods.” — Shawn Grate [08:04] “Candace Cunningham.” — Shawn Grate [08:24] “This came out of the blue.” — Detective Major [08:31]

• Confession to Murder
  • Grate details his relationship with Candace and describes her death by strangulation ([09:51]).

    “I just snapped.” — Shawn Grate [09:51]

  • Reveals body location:

    “Just follow the flies.” — Shawn Grate [10:30]

4. A Cascade of Confessions

• Number of Victims

  • Grate hints at his readiness for lethal injection, implying multiple murders ([10:39]).

    “I guess I'm ready to go ahead and get my lethal injection, but I'll tell you about it first, okay?” — Shawn Grate [10:39]

  • Major pushes for further details, describing the psychological push to confess ([11:16]).

    “It's like a sore that's festered inside that you have to rip a scab off to clean it... I'll be the conduit.” — Detective Major [11:16]

• Elizabeth Griffith’s Fate

  • Grate admits her body is in a closet upstairs, describes method of killing ([12:13]-[13:00]).

    “Upstairs.” — Shawn Grate [12:13] “The same way.” [13:00] (Referring to method—strangulation.)

5. The Physical Search and Horrific Discoveries

• Evans Finds the Hidden Closet ([18:17])
  • Clothing hid a taped-shut closet; telltale flies gave away the presence of decay.

    “As we started pulling away the clothes in that upstairs closet area, you could see the fly activity... you could start to get the odor of a decaying body.” — Detective Evans [18:47]

  • Elizabeth Griffith’s body described: bound, decomposed ([19:42]).

6. More Victims Surface: Stacy Stanley

• Major Extracts More Confessions
  • Grate reveals the presence of another victim in the basement ([22:40]).

    “One down in the basement.” — Shawn Grate [22:40]

  • Stacy Stanley identified through details matching the missing persons case ([22:55]).

    “She was a nice lady. He said he’d driven her car and still had her keys.” — Narrator [22:55]

• Crimes Described in Grate’s Words
  • He raped and killed Stacy, then hid her under trash in the basement ([24:10]-[25:01]).

    “Put her on the floor. Where? Where on the floor in the basement? Underneath all that stuff. Garbage.” — Shawn Grate [24:57]

  • Family and police heartbreak at recovery process and treatment of victims ([26:29], [26:44]).

7. Impact on the Community

• Family Recollection
  • "That's my mom's picture." — Curtis, Stacy Stanley’s son, after identifying rings and tattoos ([29:09]–[29:26]).
• Detective and Community Shock
  • Evans reflects on the magnitude of the case—beyond anything he’s experienced ([27:04]).

    “No. I've been on other homicides... not to this magnitude, no.” — Detective Evans [27:04]

8. Final Recovery: Candace Cunningham

• Route to the Scene
  • Major recounts how Grate led them to the location where he left Candace’s body ([30:38]–[32:17]).
• Personal Reflections
  • Major reflects on the lack of dignity and sense in the killings ([32:33], [32:52]).

    “She wasn’t killed because they were arguing...she was killed because he has a craving, a hunger...all it takes is you making a mistake, and you’re gone.” — Detective Major [32:52]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Grate’s Chilling Instructions:

  “Just follow the flies.” — Shawn Grate [10:30]

• On Facing His Crimes:

  “I guess I’m ready to go ahead and get my lethal injection, but I’ll tell you about it first, okay?” — Shawn Grate [10:39]

• Detective Major’s Empathy and Insight:

  “It’s like a sore that’s festered inside that you have to rip a scab off to clean it... I’ll be the conduit.” — Detective Kim Major [11:16]

• Grate’s Remorselessness:

  “She wasn’t killed because they were arguing... she was killed because he has a craving...all it takes is you making a mistake, and you’re gone.” — Detective Major [32:52]

• Family’s Heartbreak:

  “That was my mom.” — Curtis, Stacy Stanley’s son [29:26]

Important Segment Timestamps

• Start of Investigation and Detective Insights: [01:07]–[02:16]
• Jane Doe Escape and Securing Crime Scene: [02:16]–[02:54]
• Initial Interrogation with Shawn Grate: [04:19]–[05:27]
• First Mention of Candace Cunningham: [08:04]–[08:24]
• Confession and Directions to Body: [10:30]
• Elizabeth Griffith’s Body in the Closet: [12:13], [13:00], [18:17]–[19:58]
• Stacy Stanley in the Basement: [22:40]–[25:01], [26:29], [26:44]
• Family Learning the Truth: [29:09]–[29:26]
• Candace Cunningham’s Recovery and Reflections: [30:38]–[32:52]
• Major’s Reflection on Evil and Loss: [34:02]

Tone and Language

This episode is delivered in a sober, direct, and investigative tone, characteristic of ABC’s 20/20, interspersed with emotional first-person accounts by police and family members. The detectives’ humanity and fatigue, as well as the profound weight of violence and loss, are palpable throughout, giving both the facts and emotional aftershocks equal space.

Conclusion

“Follow the Flies” provides a detailed, minute-by-minute account of the harrowing day when Shawn Grate’s grim confessions brought answers to families and upended an entire community. The episode captures the painstaking work of law enforcement, the chilling psychology of a serial killer, and the enduring pain for those left behind. It closes with Detective Major’s reflections on senseless evil and the indelible scars left on Ashland, now the home of an unexpected and dreadful infamy.