Piece by Piece

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Hand in the Window

Episode 6: Piece by Piece

Podcast: The Hand in the Window (ABC News)
Date: December 9, 2025
Host: John Quiñones

---

Episode Overview

This episode concludes the six-part series on the Sean Grate case, focusing on the aftermath of his arrest and the emotionally charged process of uncovering the full extent of his crimes. It details the dogged work of Detective Kim Major, the revelations tying Grate to additional victims, the impact on the rural Ohio community, the tense trial, and ultimate sentencing. The episode captures the grief, anger, and ongoing trauma left in Grate’s wake, as well as the slow, painful journey toward justice.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Lingering Impact on Detective Kim Major and Her Family

• The episode opens with Detective Kim Major attempting to reclaim a night of normalcy with her family after grueling days interrogating Sean Grate.
• Major’s son, Corbin, a police academy hopeful, helps connect dots between a cold overdose case and Grate’s references to a “fort” in the woods, leading to a breakthrough in the Lacey case.
  [02:52] Detective Kim Major: “Sean Grate keeps talking about this fort he built. And my son said, where is it?...By the time we’re done, my son said, 'Mom, he did it.'”

Unveiling Another Victim: Rebecca Lacey

• With prompting from her son, Major questions Grate about Rebecca Lacey—a local woman previously thought to have died of an overdose.

• Grate nonchalantly confesses to Lacey’s murder during an interview.
  [07:17] Sean Grate: “Rebecca Lacey.”
  [07:28] Detective Kim Major: “We have another victim.”

• Grate describes meeting Lacey, assaulting her after accusing her of theft, and disposing of her body.
  [08:18] Detective Kim Major: “He said he had kneed her and punched her and that her face was bleeding. He said she fought him like a man, and he said he had strangled her... and taking her body out and dumping her in my county.”

Grate’s Mindset and Confessions

• Grate volunteers that Lacey was “number two” on his personal list of victims, confirming a broader pattern of violence.
• Detective Major repeatedly checks if Grate is hiding other crimes, seeking closure for the community.
  [09:47] Sean Grate: “This onion’s peeled all the way. I feel better now. I’m free.”
• Grate later requests more interviews with Major, leading to increased tension after a jailhouse rumor surfaces that Grate had considered killing her.
• In their final conversation, Major directly questions Grate’s ongoing desire to kill.
  [12:47] Sean Grate: “About that desire? … [13:00] Yeah, it’s probably worse.”

The Trial: Seeking Justice

• Grate is indicted on multiple charges, with the trial beginning in April 2018. Prosecutors seek the death penalty.
  [18:54] John Quiñones: “This is not a whodunit case. This is a he did it.”
• Despite confessions, the defense pleads not guilty.
• The prosecution calls 50+ witnesses; Jane Doe’s emotional testimony about surviving Grate’s attacks is a pivotal moment.
  [19:58] Bob Jones (Reporter): "The moment when Jane Doe testified was a pivotal moment in the trial... She said she tried multiple times to get away... sexually assaulted in every imaginable way..."
• Grate exhibits little reaction during testimony.

Plea Change & Sentencing

• Mid-trial, Grate changes his plea to guilty on multiple non-murder charges to spare the jury from viewing assault footage, but remains not guilty on murder charges.
  [21:35] John Quiñones: “Grate had requested to change his plea from not guilty to guilty for 15 of the 23 counts against him...”

• The jury quickly finds Grate guilty on all charges; the death penalty remains in question.

• Sentencing sees harrowing victim impact statements:
  [26:17] Curtis Stanley (Victim’s Son): “I had to go in there and pick a casket out. And he made it to where I couldn’t even have an open casket to say goodbye to her.” [26:42] Gina Stanley (Victim’s Sister): “This monster will pay for what he has done and I’m confident it will be with his life.”

• The judge sentences Grate to two death penalties (for the murders of Stacey Stanley and Elizabeth Griffith) and 90 additional years for related crimes.

• Family and community members erupt into applause upon hearing the death sentence.
  [28:11] Bob Jones: “The reaction from the courtroom was something I had never quite seen... The family erupted and clapped. And I’ve never seen that.”

Aftermath, Appeals, and Community Healing

• Additional counties charge Grate for other murders, leading to two life sentences without parole.
• Grate’s execution date is postponed due to appeals and a state moratorium on executions.
• Victims’ families express that only Grate’s execution will bring closure.
  [30:26] Gina Stanley: “I feel like justice is him not breathing anymore... That’s the only way I’m going to feel complete justice for my sister.”
  [30:46] Jessica Anderson: “I know he already has a death penalty, but him... actually being carried out, I would love to see it carried out.”

Demolition of the House on Covert Court

• The infamous “house of horrors” is torn down 11 days after the sentencing.
• Community views the demolition as symbolic closure, but Detective Major feels the pain lingers. [33:26] Detective Kim Major: “I stood there feeling almost like my community were so innocent... to actually think that tearing down that home is going to take this away. Because it doesn’t.” [33:55] Kim Major: “It’s leveled, it’s flat... But the weight of the situation is still here.”

Reflection and Legacy

• Major publishes a book, “A Hunger to Kill,” and retires from the force—but remains determined that the case is not forgotten. [34:37] Detective Kim Major: “I don’t want to forget this case. I don’t want anyone to forget it...I want more people to know.”
• Major urges the community, and listeners, to learn from the tragedy—to recognize the vulnerability of all potential victims and to strive for better protection and justice. [35:01] Detective Kim Major: “If people can’t realize that these women could have been anyone, this could have been me. If we can’t learn from that, then what is our purpose?”

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• [03:56] Corbin Major (Detective Kim Major’s Son): “Mom, he did it.”
• [07:19] Sean Grate (Confessing to murder): “Rebecca Lacey.”
• [09:48] Sean Grate: “This onion’s peeled all the way. I feel better now. I’m free.”
• [12:47] Sean Grate: “About that desire? … [13:00] Yeah, it’s probably worse.”
• [18:54] John Quinones: “This is not a whodunit case. This is a he did it.”
• [19:58] Bob Jones: “The moment when Jane Doe testified was a pivotal moment in the trial...”
• [26:17] Curtis Stanley: “I had to go in there and pick a casket out. And he made it to where I couldn’t even have an open casket to say goodbye to her.”
• [26:42] Gina Stanley: “This monster will pay for what he has done and I’m confident it will be with his life.”
• [28:35] Bob Jones: “The family erupted and clapped. And I’ve never seen that.”
• [33:26] Detective Kim Major: “I stood there feeling almost like my community were so innocent...to actually think that tearing down that home is going to take this away. Because it doesn’t.”
• [34:37] Detective Kim Major: “I don’t want to forget this case. I don’t want anyone to forget it...I want more people to know.”
• [35:01] Detective Kim Major: “If people can’t realize that these women could have been anyone, this could have been me. If we can’t learn from that, then what is our purpose?”

---

Important Segment Timestamps

• [00:31-04:21] – Detective Kim Major and her son discuss connections between Grate’s “fort” and unsolved deaths.
• [05:07-07:53] – Identification of Rebecca Lacey and Grate’s confession to her murder.
• [09:39-13:10] – Grate’s confessions, discussion about the “hunger to kill,” and psychological profile.
• [17:56-23:21] – Grate’s indictment, trial, plea changes, and the verdict.
• [24:25-28:48] – Sentencing, family impact statements, and community reaction.
• [31:05-33:44] – Demolition of the house and ongoing trauma in Ashland.
• [34:11-35:35] – Kim Major’s reflections on memory, justice, and learning.

---

Tone and Atmosphere

True to its 20/20 roots, the episode maintains a measured, empathetic, and investigative tone. The voices of victims, families, and law enforcement are treated respectfully, and their pain is given space without sensationalism. The reporting is thorough, balancing factual detail with personal emotion.

---

Conclusion

“Piece by Piece” is a powerful concluding chapter to The Hand in the Window, tying together the emotional and factual aftermath of Sean Grate’s crimes. The careful reconstruction of investigative threads, courtroom drama, and personal testimonies paint a picture of a community shattered but striving toward healing—a reminder of both the horror of violence and the tenacity of justice and memory.

Transcript

[Commercial Narrator]

Marshall's buyers are hustling hard to get amazing new gifts into stores right up to the last minute. Like a designer perfume for that friend who never RSVP'd wishlist topping toys for her kids who came too. Belgian chocolates for the neighbor. A cozy scarf for your boss. And a wool jacket for your husband that you definitely did not. Almost forget. Marshalls, we get the deals, you get the good stuff. Even at the last minute, find a Marshall's near you.

[Narrator/Host (John Quinones)]

To Kim Major, there is nothing more normal than a Friday night football game. That's true now, and it was true back in September 2016.

[Detective Kim Major]

On Friday night. My husband coaches football. He coached a football game. I actually took my younger kids to the football game.

[Narrator/Host (John Quinones)]

Major has three kids. At the time, her two youngest were under 8 years old. Even they knew something was going on at their mom's job. They noticed her working long hours, coming home after their bedtime. They even saw her on the news. Major had spent three days interviewing Sean Grate, hearing his horrific confessions. The weight of it all was seeping into her home life. Major sensed that her family needed a night that felt normal.

[Detective Kim Major]

I sat there, which was also surreal, seeing all the things around me and the lights and the people are happy. They're happy. They're cracking the helmets, the band watching my husband, hearing the whistles, just the whole thing.

[Narrator/Host (John Quinones)]

Friday Night Lights.

[Detective Kim Major]

It's Friday Night Lights. That's small town America.

[Narrator/Host (John Quinones)]

But while the crowd roared and the band played, Major couldn't stop thinking about Grade's case and something he kept mentioning in their interviews, Specifically the forts that he had built in the woods.

[Family Member or Victim's Relative]

You put her there?

[Sean Grate (Suspect/Perpetrator)]

I just recently built a fort.

[Detective Kim Major]

Did you build that fort there for a reason?

[Sean Grate (Suspect/Perpetrator)]

Well, I knew the area.

[Narrator/Host (John Quinones)]

Great. Kept bringing up one fort in particular. There was something about this fort that nagged at Major even when she was off the clock.

[Detective Kim Major]

I came home early, a little bit earlier, when the game was just ending, I brought my kids home, put them to bed. And then I was sitting in the living room and my oldest son came in. Corbin.

[Narrator/Host (John Quinones)]

Corbin Major was 19 at the time. He was getting ready to enter the police academy.

[Detective Kim Major]

He walks in and he's like, what's going on, Mom? I said.

Sean Gray keeps talking about this fort he built. And my son said, where is it? And I said, well, if you come up out of Mifflin and you take that first left. And my son cut me off and said, and then you take a hard right and there's a gas well up there. And they found a girl There a while back. And this desert crow flies is, I don't know, a mile, two miles from my home.

[Narrator/Host (John Quinones)]

Despite how close it was, Kim Major had never heard of the case her son was talking about. She worked in town and this was out in the countryside.

[Detective Kim Major]

So I said, what are you talking about? He said, yeah, there was a woman that died of an overdose and they dumped her body there.

[Narrator/Host (John Quinones)]

Corbin grabbed a laptop and brought up news reports about the case. A body had been found in March of the previous year at the base of a tree on a remote county road. Kim Major's son wondered, could Great's fort and this body be connected?

[Detective Kim Major]

And he said, where was the fort? I said, right there, right by there. And he's like, get something to write with. What's his target age? And I'm like, what are you doing? And we go through some things and we're talking. By the time we're done, my son said, mom, he did it.

[Narrator/Host (John Quinones)]

The town of Ashland was still reeling from the shock and horror of the previous days. But before a semblance of normality could return, all of Shaun Gray's crimes would have to be uncovered. Only then could the wheels of justice begin to turn. Normal wouldn't come back to Ashland for a long time.

From ABC Audio and 20 20, I'm John Quinones and this is the Hand in the window. Episode 6 Piece by Piece.

In March 2015, a maintenance worker was checking gas wells in a wooded area of Ashland County. As the worker was leaving, he saw something through the trees. He thought it might be a discarded Halloween decoration, but as he got closer, he realized it was a body, half naked, half resting against a tree. The worker called 911 and investigators soon realized that there were visible tattoos on the body that matched those of a person who had been reported missing. A local woman, 31 year old Rebecca Lacey. Her family, who called her Becky, had been searching for her for more than a month. Her father told a local journalist that Rebecca had a drug problem. He said that to earn money, she'd been doing sex work.

[Medical Examiner/Expert or Advertiser]

When the Richland county coroner's office examined Rebecca Lacey's body, they produced a toxicology report showing cocaine and opioids in her system.

[Narrator/Host (John Quinones)]

They ruled that the cause of death.

[Medical Examiner/Expert or Advertiser]

Was a drug overdose.

[Narrator/Host (John Quinones)]

That's why Detective Kim Major was hesitant about her son. Corbin's suggestion. With a cause of death determined, the case of Rebecca Lacey was all but wrapped up.

But Corbin seemed sure that Grate was somehow involved. So the next day, Major went down to the jail where Grate Was being held.

[Detective Kim Major]

How you doing, Sean?

[Sean Grate (Suspect/Perpetrator)]

I know how you do.

[Detective Kim Major]

All right.

[Narrator/Host (John Quinones)]

Major sat Great in an interview room and told him she was looking for clarification.

[Detective Kim Major]

There's a case from out in the county, meaning that we found a girl.

And we're trying to see if you'll be honest. If that's something you had something to do with. We're asking for that.

[Sean Grate (Suspect/Perpetrator)]

Rebecca Lacey.

[Narrator/Host (John Quinones)]

Great answered without hesitation.

[Detective Kim Major]

He said, rebecca Lacey. And I knew.

[Narrator/Host (John Quinones)]

We have another victim.

[Detective Kim Major]

We have another victim.

[Narrator/Host (John Quinones)]

With very little prompting, Great had revealed victim number six. And sure enough, Corbin Major's hunch had been right. Rebecca Lacey had not died of an overdose. Sean Grate had murdered her.

Major asked Grate how they'd met. Great said $20. He was implying that they met through her alleged sex work. After that, he said, they had become friends. Gray told Major that one day he and Rebecca were hanging out in Mansfield, the town in the county over from Ashland. They were at his place.

[Detective Kim Major]

He said she was there. I went to the restroom, and I looked out, and she had stolen a few dollars from him, less than $5. And he said he had kneed her and punched her and that her face was bleeding. He said she fought him like a man, and he said he had strangled her. He talks about borrowing a car and taking her body out and dumping her in my county.

[Narrator/Host (John Quinones)]

Great described Rebecca as number two on his list of victims.

[Medical Examiner/Expert or Advertiser]

Number one was the woman he knew only as Dana, the magazine seller murdered a decade before Candace Cunningham was third in the summer of 2016.

[Narrator/Host (John Quinones)]

Then he attacked Elizabeth Griffith, Stacey Stanley, and Jane Doe, all within a few weeks of each other. In the early fall of 2016, Great had confessed to brutally attacking six women and killing all but one of them. Major needed to make sure there were no more crimes that Grate was hiding.

[Detective Kim Major]

If I leave here and you think that there's another layer, I'm not gonna hold it against you. You know what I mean?

[Family Member or Victim's Relative]

Yeah.

[Sean Grate (Suspect/Perpetrator)]

This onion's peeled all the way.

[Narrator/Host (John Quinones)]

This onion is peeled all the way. Gray said, I feel better now.

[Family Member or Victim's Relative]

Okay.

[Sean Grate (Suspect/Perpetrator)]

I'm free.

[Narrator/Host (John Quinones)]

Once again, Major left the interview room with a confession from Sean Grate and a promise that there were no more crimes he needed to come clean about. But in the days that followed, Grade kept asking to see detective major. Before she could meet him again, she heard something troubling. A month after he's arrested, a fellow inmate tells you that Shawn Gray is targeting you, that he wants to kill you.

[Detective Kim Major]

Yeah, the inmate said he needed to talk to me. Needed it to be in secret. He didn't want anybody to see him talking to me, so I made that arrangement and I sat down in front of him. He said that Shawn Grate told him he was trying to find my gun on my body, couldn't figure out where I was keeping it, and that he thought it would be the ultimate to kill me as the female detective that was handling his case.

[Narrator/Host (John Quinones)]

Despite this allegation that Sean Grade was making a threat against her life, Major believed there was the chance that Grayd wanted to see her because he had more to confess. The information that Major received from the inmate didn't lead to any additional charges against Grayd. When Major next interviewed him, they met at the jail, where no weapons were allowed.

[Detective Kim Major]

Detective Major preparing to interview Sean Grate. Here's requested meeting at West County Sheriff's Office.

[Narrator/Host (John Quinones)]

During this interview, Gray's behavior was erratic. He was upset with the other inmates in the jail and at the staff.

[Sean Grate (Suspect/Perpetrator)]

I want to hurt him.

[Detective Kim Major]

You want to hurt who?

[Sean Grate (Suspect/Perpetrator)]

I don't know.

[Commercial Narrator]

It don't matter.

[Sean Grate (Suspect/Perpetrator)]

They're playing games with me. It's just hard to handle.

[Family Member or Victim's Relative]

Okay. How do you feel? Like they're playing games with me.

[Medical Examiner/Expert or Advertiser]

Sitting in front of him again, Major thought about the alleged threat that Grate had told an inmate he wanted to kill her.

[Detective Kim Major]

I wanted to ask, did you say this, and what did you mean by that? I didn't want to make it about me. So I said, are you still having that hunger that you talk about, the hunger to kill? Can I ask you something, to be honest?

Do you still.

Have thoughts.

[Sean Grate (Suspect/Perpetrator)]

About that desire?

[Narrator/Host (John Quinones)]

Yeah.

[Detective Kim Major]

And he said, yeah, it's probably worse. And I said, like you're having that right now? And he said, yeah, I didn't go any farther than that.

[Narrator/Host (John Quinones)]

Major questioned Grate for an hour and a half that day, but Grate gave her no more confessions. By now, Detective Major had spent around 33 hours with Sean Grate across eight interviews, but this one would be their last. Major's police captain had heard about Grate's alleged threat. He told Major to stop visiting him. The next time she saw Great in person would be in Court.

On 22 September 2016, Great was formally indicted for his crimes in Ashland County. The indictment included everything that had happened to Stacey Stanley, Jane Doe, Elizabeth Griffith. The other murders he'd confessed to were being handled by police departments in neighboring counties, and those indictments would come later. The case was officially out of Detective Major's hands. The details of Shawn Gray's crimes, which he'd confessed to in the quiet interview room were now going to be heard by everyone, a judge, jury and.

The victims families.

[Sponsor/Advertisement Voice]

This episode is brought to you by Rakuten. The holidays are here and that means it's the most wonderful time of the year. To save with Rakuten, use Rakuten to stack cash back at your favorite stores on top of holiday sales. That's savings on savings. With Rakuten, you can get cash back on gifts for everyone on your list, from toys for the kids to kitchen gear for the person who loves to cook to electronics for everyone. You can even save on something for yourself. Cash back is automatically added to your account as you shop and you can get paid with gift cards, PayPal or check or eligible American Express card members can choose to earn membership Rewards points, join for free today and get a new member bonus after minimum qualifying purchases. Just go to rakuten.com, download the app or install the browser extension. Turn the and conditions apply.

[Commercial Narrator]

Make their holiday unforgettable with a gift that says it all from Pandora Jewelry. A gift that tells a story and shows you know theirs, that doesn't just sparkle, but speaks. This season, give a gift that's perfectly theirs. Whether you're shopping for a shiny surprise for your significant other, matching bracelets to celebrate your friendship, or a heartfelt gift for a family member, say more this holiday season with pandora. [e-mail] or your local Pandora store.

[Sponsor/Advertisement Voice]

This episode is brought to you by cars.com on cars.com you can shop over 2 million cars. That means over 2 million new car possibilities. Like making space for your growing family, becoming the type of person who takes spontaneous weekend camping trips or upgrading your commute wherever life takes you next, or whoever you're looking to be. There's a car for that on cars.com visit cars.com to discover your next possibility.

Meet the computer you can talk to with Copilot on Windows. Working, creating and collaborating is as easy as talking. Got writer's block? Share your screen with Copilot Vision to help spark inspiration and use Copilot voice to have a conversation and brainstorm ideas. Or maybe you need some tech help with Copilot Vision. Copilot sees what you see. Let Copilot talk you through step by step guidance so you can master new apps, games and skills faster. Try [e-mail] copilot this episode is brought to you by Greenlight. Get this Adults with financial literacy skills have 82% more wealth than those who don't. From swimming lessons to piano classes, US parents invest in so many things to enrich our kids lives but are we investing in their future financial success? With Greenlight you can teach your kids financial literacy skills like earning, saving and investing and this investment costs less than that. After school treat start prioritizing their financial education and future today with a risk free [e-mail] Spotify greenlight.com Spotify.

Think your.

[Detective Kim Major]

Lashes have hit their limit? Discover limitless length and full volume with Maybelline Sky High Mascara. The Flex Tower Brush bends to volumize and extend every single lash from root to tip and the lightweight bamboo infused formula makes lashes feel weightless. Now in eight bold shades so you can take your lashes to new heights every day. Visit maybelline.com to shop Sky High Mascara Now.

[Narrator/Host (John Quinones)]

A year and a half after his indictment in April 2018, Grate's trial began. It was held in the Ashland County Court in the center of town, just a few blocks away from COVID Court. The courtroom was large and quiet. A scattered audience sat in wooden pews facing the judge's platform. Grate, then 41 years old, was sitting at his lawyer's table wearing glasses and a white button down shirt. In footage of the trial, his hair looks less dirty blonde and more gray. Prosecutor Chris Tennell addressed the jury first. In his opening statement, he told them he was seeking the death penalty for Sean Grate. This is not a whodunit case.

This is a he did it.

Grate's defense disagreed. Despite Grayz recorded confessions to Detective Major, his lawyers entered a plea of not guilty for all the charges against him.

[Reporter Bob Jones]

I think that the mood was was very somber. It was quiet.

[Narrator/Host (John Quinones)]

Bob Jones was a reporter covering the trial for local ABC News affiliate station WE W s. He would watch the next eight days of testim as it happened.

[Reporter Bob Jones]

It was sad because we were hearing all these terrible details.

[Narrator/Host (John Quinones)]

The prosecution presented more than 50 witnesses, from medical experts to police officers. Kim Major testified and parts of her interviews with Great were played in the courtroom. Bob Jones says that one witness really stood out to him.

[Reporter Bob Jones]

The moment when Jane Doe testified was a pivotal moment in the trial. It was probably the most crucial testimony in the case. She was very brave sitting up there on the stand talking about the terror that she went through. She said she was tied up. She said that she tried multiple times to get away. She talked about how she was sexually assaulted in every imaginable way and Sean even videotaped the sexual assault that took place on her. She testified about all of those things and it was very scary to hear.

[Narrator/Host (John Quinones)]

Bob wasn't just watching the witness's testimony he was also scrutinizing Sean Grate.

[Reporter Bob Jones]

He didn't have much of a reaction during most of the testimony. To my memory, he sat there quietly. He didn't really seem to have much of a feel one way or the other.

[Medical Examiner/Expert or Advertiser]

Great was silent during the witness's testimony. So what was going on inside Great's head was hard to know until the morning of the eighth day of the trial. That morning, Great stood not on the witness stand, but at his lawyer's table. The jury wasn't in the room. The judge wanted to ask Grate some questions about a very late and surprising change of strategy.

[Sean Grate (Suspect/Perpetrator)]

Okay, was this a decision you came to on your own, and then you advised your attorneys that at this point you wanted to?

[Narrator/Host (John Quinones)]

Grate had requested to change his plea from not guilty to guilty for 15 of the 23 counts against him. He hoped to now plead guilty to the rape charges, as well as a slew of others, including burglary, gross abuse of a corpse, and tampering with evidence. His lawyers told the court that Gray wanted to plead guilty in order to prevent the videos of him sexually assaulting his victims being shown in court. The videos were of Stacy Stanley and Jane Doe. And by pleading guilty, that evidence would not need to be seen by the jury. His lawyers claimed that Gray was changing his plea out of consideration for Jane Doe and the families of the other victims. The judge accepted Great's request.

This didn't mean the trial was over. Grate kept his not guilty plea for the murder charges he faced. The jury would still give their verdict on those crimes.

After his change of plea. There were closing statements for each side. Then the jury was seated, away for deliberation. They returned less than four hours later with their verdict. They found Great guilty on all charges.

Given Great's confessions to Detective Major, the verdict was not a total surprise. But sentencing was still very much up in the air. With 23 guilty counts, it looked likely that Grate would face years in prison. But he was also eligible for the death penalty. At an earlier hearing, Grate's lawyers told the court that they knew their client wouldn't walk out of the courtroom a free man. But would he walk out as a man condemned to death?

In deciding Great's punishment, the court would hear more evidence. Two more days of testimony. This testimony wasn't for the jury, but for the judge to help him decide if Great deserved the death penalty.

The day of the sentencing a few weeks later was on June 1, 2018. It was a warm and humid day with clouds overhead. Things looked different. Inside the courtroom than they had when the trial began. Now instead of a shirt and tie, Grade was in a yellow prison jumpsuit and the room was packed. On one side, the pews were filled with people wearing purple. Stacy, Stanley's favorite color. Stacy's cousin had gotten special purple T shirts made with slogans on them. Justice for Stacy and Stanley Strong. All of Stacy's loved ones were wearing them. Gray was given the opportunity to address the court filled with the loved ones of the women he'd murdered. Gray turned to look at the crowd.

Well.

[Sean Grate (Suspect/Perpetrator)]

Today'S a good day. Mainly for all of you guys and myself. I hope we can just move on from all this. You know I don't. No, exactly.

[Narrator/Host (John Quinones)]

Grate said he knew he wasn't normal, but that he knew right from wrong. He asked for forgiveness from the victims families and said that justice was the most important thing that could come from this day. Great wasn't the only person invited to give a statement. Curtis Stanley had been there every day of the trial. He wanted to make eye contact with the person who had killed his mother While he gave a statement. He stood facing Grate across the courtroom.

[Sean Grate (Suspect/Perpetrator)]

You ever bury your mother?

[Medical Examiner/Expert or Advertiser]

I did.

[Reporter Bob Jones]

What?

[Sean Grate (Suspect/Perpetrator)]

Picked a casket out. I didn't expect that this young. I had to go in there and pick a casket out. And he made it to where I couldn't even have an open casket to say goodbye to her.

[Narrator/Host (John Quinones)]

Elizabeth Griffith's mom, uncle and cousins spoke among a dozen people who stood to give their victim impact statement. Like Stacy's sister, Gina Stanley.

[Family Member or Victim's Relative]

Thank you to everyone who has supported our families today. This monster will pay for what he has done and I'm confident it will be with his life.

[Narrator/Host (John Quinones)]

Despite his plea for forgiveness, almost all of the people who spoke that day said they couldn't forgive Great for what he had done. Some of them seemed angry that he'd even asked them to try. Most of them told the court Great deserves to die.

But the final decision was up to the judge, Ronald P. Forstafl.

[Sean Grate (Suspect/Perpetrator)]

Mr. Great, when imposing sentence, the court must comply with the purposes and principles of Ohio's sentencing statutes which with regard to the non capital charges in this.

[Narrator/Host (John Quinones)]

Case for Stoffel, told Great he'd weighed up the evidence, the statements from the families and Grate's personal history. And he had made a sentencing decision.

[Sean Grate (Suspect/Perpetrator)]

The court therefore finds that a sentence of death by legal objection shall be imposed upon Mr. Great for the aggravated murder of Elizabeth Griffith. As stated in count one of the.

[Narrator/Host (John Quinones)]

Grate was given two death penalties. One for the murder of Stacy Stanley and one for the murder of Elizabeth Griffith. For the other charges in Ashland county, he was given prison sentences that added up to 90 years behind bars.

[Reporter Bob Jones]

The reaction from the courtroom was something that I had never quite seen in many years of covering trials in criminal cases.

[Sean Grate (Suspect/Perpetrator)]

Court further orders that each of the death penalties be carried out by appropriate authorities. On September 13, 2018, which would be the two year anniversary of Mr. GR's.

[Reporter Bob Jones]

Discovery.

When the judge said, I'm going to sentence Sean G.R. to death, the crowd in the courtroom, the family erupted and clapped. And I've never seen that.

[Medical Examiner/Expert or Advertiser]

Two other counties would also pursue murder charges against Grate. Marion county, where he killed the magazine seller he called Dana. Investigators would eventually identify her as Dana Lowry, a missing 23 year old from out of state. And then there was Richland county, where he killed Candace Cunningham and Rebecca Lacey. In these cases, Grate pleaded guilty to.

[Narrator/Host (John Quinones)]

All of the charges and was given.

[Medical Examiner/Expert or Advertiser]

Two more prison sentences, both life without parole.

Sean Grate is currently being held on death row at a medium security prison in Ohio. His scheduled execution date has come and gone. Two things have delayed it. First, he appealed his death penalty at the state level in 2020 and at the federal level in 2025. In his appeals, Grate argued he had ineffective counsel and that his case was too public to have an unbiased jury. The first appeal was denied, but the 2025 appeal is still in progress. The second reason grave remains on death row is that in 2020, the governor of Ohio, Mike DeWine, declared a moratorium on state executions.

[Narrator/Host (John Quinones)]

Stacey Stanley's sister Gina is still waiting for the case to end.

[Family Member or Victim's Relative]

I just want to say that I feel like justice is him not breathing anymore. And.

That'S the only way I'm going to feel complete justice for my sister.

[Narrator/Host (John Quinones)]

Elizabeth Griffith's friend Jessica Anderson is also waiting for Gray's execution date to arrive.

[Family Member or Victim's Relative]

I mean, I know he's coming to a point where he's running out of appeals and it's going to happen and I can't wait for the day to happen. I mean, I know he already has a death penalty, but him it actually being carried out, I would love to see it carried out.

[Narrator/Host (John Quinones)]

Jessica met Elizabeth Griffith while working at a mental health support service called LifeWorks. For Jessica and others in Ashland, the yellow house on Covert Court became an unwelcome reminder of what had happened in their town.

[Family Member or Victim's Relative]

You could literally look out lifeworks window and see that house, like that's how close it was. And.

There for a while after.

We found out that Elizabeth was one of the people in the house.

I went through a period where I would have nightmares about it, and I would see her in the window asking for help. I wanted them to tear it down so bad, and I was so happy the day that they did.

[Narrator/Host (John Quinones)]

The city of Ashland had taken ownership of the house, and 11 days after great sentencing, they authorized its demolition. Once again, a crowd gathered outside the house on covert court, this time to see it destroyed. Piece by piece, an excavator ripped down the house of horror.

[Reporter Bob Jones]

People were thrilled to see that house go away.

[Narrator/Host (John Quinones)]

Reporter Bob Jones says the house's destruction felt symbolic.

[Reporter Bob Jones]

That was like a day of cleansing for the community. It was not only demolishing the walls and the horror that happened inside, but it was demolishing the bad memories that affected this community for two years.

[Narrator/Host (John Quinones)]

Detective Kim Major was also there on covert court for the demolition. The day afterward, a local newspaper ran a picture of her crying while she watched the house come down. But her tears were not ones of relief or closure. You were there when you saw the house on covert court? Destroyed, demolished.

[Detective Kim Major]

I was.

[Narrator/Host (John Quinones)]

What did that feel like?

[Detective Kim Major]

I stood there feeling almost like my community were so innocent. Were so innocent. To actually think that tearing down that home.

Is going to take this away. Because it doesn't.

[Narrator/Host (John Quinones)]

Major told me it would take a lot more than one demolition to repair this town. Just because you can't see that house.

[Detective Kim Major]

Anymore doesn't mean exactly. It's leveled, it's flat. There. You go by, and it's flat. But the weight of the situation is still here.

[Narrator/Host (John Quinones)]

In 2022, Kim Major released a book about her experience on the great case. It's called A hunger to kill, and she dedicated it to the victims of Sean grate. That same year, she retired from the Ashland police department. She's not a detective anymore, but this case hasn't left her.

[Detective Kim Major]

I don't want to forget this case. I don't want anyone to forget it. As a matter of fact, I want more people to know.

[Narrator/Host (John Quinones)]

The case has hurt the town of Ashland deeply. Kim Major wants her community to heal but never lose sight of what this case taught them.

[Detective Kim Major]

I think if we can't learn from this, if we can't get it better, the things we do right, where we miss the mark. If people can't realize that these women could have been anyone, this could have been me. If we can't learn from that, then what is our purpose?

[Narrator/Host (John Quinones)]

The hand in the window is a production of ABC Audio and 20 20, hosted by me, John Quinones produced by Madeline Wood, Camille Peterson, Kiara Powell Edited by Gianna Palmer. Our supervising producer is Susie Lu. Music and mixing by Evan Viola. Special thanks to Katie Dendos, Janice Johnston, Michelle Margulis, Caitlin Schiffer, Rachel Walker, Annalisa Linder, Joseph Diaz, Jonathan Balthaser, Gail Deutschland, Gary Wynn, Stephanie McBee, Natalie Cardenas and Samantha Wanderer. Josh Cohan is our director of podcast programming.

[Medical Examiner/Expert or Advertiser]

Ella McKay coming to theaters this Friday.

[Detective Kim Major]

Your father's here.

[Sponsor/Advertisement Voice]

Why?

[Medical Examiner/Expert or Advertiser]

A heartwarming new comedy from James L. Brooks.

[Detective Kim Major]

I'm a different person. I have never in my life felt.

[Family Member or Victim's Relative]

This way about any other woman.

[Detective Kim Major]

Jesus, I wasn't counting your mother.

[Medical Examiner/Expert or Advertiser]

It's a perfect holiday comedy about an imperfect family.

[Narrator/Host (John Quinones)]

You can use a scream. Ella.

[Medical Examiner/Expert or Advertiser]

Starring Emma Mackey, Jamie Lee Curtis, Kamel Nanjiani, IA Debery. With Albert Brooks and Woody Harrelson.

[Sponsor/Advertisement Voice]

You should do that every afternoon.

[Narrator/Host (John Quinones)]

Ella McKay.

[Medical Examiner/Expert or Advertiser]

Rated PG 13.

[Detective Kim Major]

My name is Percy Jackson.

[Narrator/Host (John Quinones)]

Getting in trouble is like breathing for me.

[Medical Examiner/Expert or Advertiser]

The hit series returns to Disney and Hulu. The danger the camp is under is.

[Reporter Bob Jones]

Greater than you can possibly imagine.

[Sean Grate (Suspect/Perpetrator)]

For the key to our survival, three.

[Narrator/Host (John Quinones)]

Of you must quest to the Sea of Monsters. Let's go do the impossible.

[Sean Grate (Suspect/Perpetrator)]

Percy.

[Medical Examiner/Expert or Advertiser]

Percy Jackson and the Olympians new Season 2 episode premiere December 10th on Disney and Hulu Ridded TV PGV.