MARION, OHIO -- Marion County Prosecuting Attorney Ray Grogan today announced that he and Marion County Sheriff, Tim Bailey, on Thursday, returned Dana Lowrey’s remains home to her family in Louisiana. Dana was Ohio serial killer Shawn Grate’s first known murder victim. Dana’s remains were discovered on Victory Road in Marion in March 2007, approximately ten months after she disappeared while working in Marion.
“Dana is home to be near her family, “ Prosecutor Grogan said. “She was a 23 year old mother of two small children. Dana’s children and family deserve to have her close by and I am hopeful that Sheriff Bailey and I were able to give them some measure of comfort from this nightmare tragedy. I want to thank Dr. Mark Davis’ staff at the Marion County Coroner’s Office, specifically Investigator April Short, as well as Snyder Funeral Home for all of their assistance to make Dana’s return possible. I also want to sincerely thank Sheriff Jason Parker and his team at the Webster Parish Sheriff’s Office for all of their help in facilitating Dana’s return.”
“Marion County Sheriff Tim Bailey and his team worked tirelessly to bring Dana’s killer to justice,” Grogan added. “Ultimately, it was the Sheriff’s relentless pursuit of both Dana’s identity, and Shawn Grate’s identity, a pursuit that lasted more than 12 years, that led to Grate’s prosecution,” he said.
Grate pleaded guilty in September of 2019 to Aggravated Murder, Kidnapping, Tampering with Evidence and Abuse of a Corpse in Marion County. He was sentenced to Life without the Possibility of Parole, plus 16 years.
Grate has also been sentenced to death for murdering two women in Ashland County. That sentence is being appealed. He also pled guilty to Aggravated Murder in Richland County