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Mansfield police reopen Rebekah Leicy case, investigate Shawn Grate's possible involvement

Posted at 11:29 AM, Sep 20, 2016
and last updated 2016-09-21 12:19:41-04

The Mansfield Police Department is officially looking into whether Shawn Grate was involved in the case of a missing woman whose body was found in Ashland County in March. 

Police confirmed Tuesday that they reopened the investigation into Rebekah Leicy's death.

Leicy, 31, was reported missing from Mansfield on Feb. 6, 2015. Her body was found on March 16, 2015 by a Columbia Gas worker who was checking gas wells on County Road 1908 just south of Route 30 in Mifflin Township.

The case was reopened "based on tips recently received from a couple of sources," according to press release from Mansfield police.

The police department is working with the  Richland County Prosecutor's Office to determine if Grate is involved in Leicy's disappearance or death. 

A source told newsnet5.com that Grate provided information to police, indicating that he killed her.

Grate, 40, is accused of killing Elizabeth Griffith, 29, and Stacey Stanley, 40. Their bodies were found Sept. 13 at a home in Ashland. A third woman, whose identity has not been released, was found alive at the home after she used Grate's phone to call police.

The Marion County Sheriff's Office also announced Monday that Grate is the suspect in the case of an unidentified woman whose body was found in 2007. Authorities said Grate admitted to his role in that woman's death.