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Coroner identifies woman police say Shawn Grate admitted to killing in Richland County

Posted at 9:59 AM, Nov 01, 2016
and last updated 2016-11-01 11:56:17-04

The Richland County Coroner's Office officially identified Tuesday a woman police say ShawnGrate admitted to killing. 

The coroner identified remains found near a burned house on Park Avenue East in Madison Township in September as those of Candice Cunningham. 

Grate was arrested on Sept. 13, after a woman called 911 and said she was abducted. When officers arrived they found the remains of two other women — Stacey Stanley and Elizabeth Griffith. After he was arrested, police said Grate led officers to Cunningham's remains, confessing to murdering her in June. 

A few weeks later, a 23-count indictment was filed against Grate with charges ranging from aggravated murder to rape, burglary and breaking and entering. 

Following his arraignment, Gratetold News 5 in an exclusive letter "why" he killed the women. His trial date is scheduled for November 6, 2017.

More stories related to this case here.