By Bob Allen
A former Southern Baptist minister charged with murdering his wife appeared in court Aug. 19 in Birmingham, Ala.
Attorneys representing Richard Shahan, former children and families pastor and facilities director at First Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala., argued several motions during a Wednesday morning pre-trial hearing in Jefferson County Circuit Court.
Shahan, 55, is scheduled to stand trial next April for murder in the July 2013 stabbing death of 52-year-old Karen Louise Shahan, in the house in Homewood, Ala., the couple rented from First Baptist Church.
One of several motions filed in recent days by defense attorneys was a request to inspect the home, accompanied by Shahan, in order to take photos and measurements at the scene of the crime. Shahan, arrested Jan. 1, 2014, at an airport in Nashville, Tenn., is currently bonded out of jail but under house arrest with electronic monitoring.
According to NBC affiliate WVTM-13, Judge Laura Petro told lawyers to ask First Baptist Church, which owns the property.
Karen Shahan, an active member at First Baptist Church who sang in the choir, was found dead in the home on the morning of July 23, 2013, after failing to show up for work. Police say she was stabbed to death and also had several defensive wounds.
Richard Shahan, who had served on staff at First Baptist since 2009, was jailed briefly for “investigative purposes” in August 2013 but released without being charged. After his release, Shahan went on paid administrative leave before resigning Dec. 31, 2013, and announcing plans for a three-year mission trip to Europe.
Shahan was arrested at the Nashville International Airport while trying to board a flight to Germany. His attorney’s claimed he wasn’t trying to flee but didn’t know a warrant had been issued for his arrest until Homeland Security pulled him out of a line after his passport triggered a red flag on an airport computer.
Shahan waived extradition to return to Birmingham. He pleaded not guilty, claiming he was out of town when his wife was killed visiting the couple’s two sons in Tennessee and Kentucky. Police say he lived a secret double life and planned to marry his boyfriend in Europe and never return to the U.S.
Shahan’s attorneys said in court Aug. 19 they expect prosecutors to allege that the killer manipulated evidence to make it appear the crime scene was a botched burglary.
According to local media, Judge Petro granted a motion for prosecution to show the defense any PowerPoint presentation they plan to use in opening statements and set Nov. 6 as a deadline for the state to provide a list of expert scientific witnesses they plan to call at trial.
Defense lawyers also asked whether DNA samples tested by police still exist, but prosecutors were unable to give a definitive answer.
Two motions were reportedly discussed privately in the judge’s chambers, so it was unknown in the courtroom what they were about.
Previous stories:
Ala. minister’s wife slain in home
Service set for slain minister’s wife
Interim pastor consoles grieving church
Minister in custody in Ala. murder
Doubt not a sin, says pastor to church hit by murder
Minister held in wife’s death leaving U.S.
Baptist minister arrested in wife’s murder
Attorney: Minister wasn’t trying to flee
Interim pastor supports arrested minister
Pastor murder suspect waives extradition
Pastor charged with murder is on way to Alabama
Arrest affidavit says minister cut, stabbed his wife
Pastor: Church heartbroken by murder, arrest
Richard Shahan seeks $30,000 bond
State says murder suspect planned to wed boyfriend
Richard Shahan released on bond
Shahan murder case headed to grand jury
Former children’s minister pleads not guilty to murder
Evidence released against Baptist minister charged with murder