Pastor charged in wife's murder was headed to Europe to marry boyfriend, prosecutor says

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama - Bond for the former Homewood pastor charged with murder in his wife's stabbing is set at $100,000 after prosectors said he tried to leave the country to marry his boyfriend.
If Richard Lee Shahan makes bond, he must remain on house arrest, a judge ruled.

Shahan, 53, appeared for a hearing Thursday afternoon before Jefferson County District Judge Sheldon Watkins. Shahan is represented by Wendell Sheffield and John Lentine. Deputy Jefferson County District Attorneys Laura Poston and Leigh Gwathney are prosecuting the case.

Gwathney said that information obtained from more than 3,000 of Shahan's emails indicated that he was planning to leave the country and never return. He was heading to Kazakhstan via Germany and ultimately planned to move to the United Kingdom, she said.

"He planned to become a citizen there and begin a new life with his boyfriend... who he intended to marry," Gwathney said. "He had no intention of ever returning to the United States. He had no home to return to and he had said his goodbyes to his family."

Sheffield and Lentine contested prosecutors' claims that Shahan was leaving the country for good and questioned whether the state has "direct evidence" of Shahan's involvement in his wife's death.
"They are doing everything they can to try to manufacture a murder case," Lentine said.
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Shahan has been held in the Jefferson County Jail without bond since his Jan. 1 arrest. His attorneys a week ago filed several motions, including requesting that a judge set bond.

Watkins set Shahan's bond at $100,000, under the conditions that he must remain on house arrest and submit to electronic monitoring. A preliminary hearing is set for Feb. 5.
Shahan's attorneys requested a bond no higher than $30,000, while prosecutors adamantly requested that he remain in jail without bond, saying he is a flight risk.

Sheffield and Lentine disputed the representation of Shahan as a "fugitive from justice," saying he had announced his plans to travel and conduct mission work months earlier.

"Our client had made plans to go on a mission trip," Sheffield told the judge. "(Prosecutors) are wanting you to overlook the fact that he had told everyone of his plans."

"To argue that a person not told at the time they left that they were going to be arrested is a flight risk, their evidence doesn't even come close," Lentine said.

Shahan was arrested Jan. 1 at a Nashville airport while trying to board a plane to Germany, extradited and returned to the custody of Jefferson County last week.

His attorneys also requested that the possessions that were seized at the airport be returned to Shahan. Those items included luggage, $27,000 in U.S. and foreign currency, a phone and various hard drives and thumb drives.

Sheffield and Lentine specifically sought the return of the money, saying that it was personal money from his job. They argued that the state had no legitimate reason to hold the funds unless prosecutors could present evidence that it was contraband or was related to Karen Shahan's death.

Watkins ruled that the U.S. currency should be returned to Shahan, but the other money - pounds, euros and Kazakhstani currency - will not be turned over.

Watkins also agreed to write a motion preserving evidence after defense attorneys expressed concerns about evidence being misplaced and the number of agencies involved in the investigation.

Shahan made his initial court appearance Jan. 9 by video for a 48-hour hearing, during which a judge read the charge against Shahan and informed him of his right to a preliminary hearing.

Sheffield and Lentine have said that the statements implying that Shahan was fleeing the country are disingenuous because he had announced plans for a mission trip months earlier.

In December, several newsletters and prayer cards indicated that Shahan was planning a three-year mission trip with Bible Mission International in Frankfurt.

Karen Louise Shahan's body was discovered about 11:15 a.m. July 23 inside the family's Hugh Circle home. According to an affidavit filed Friday, she was stabbed to death.

Authorities said that Shahan told investigators that he was out of town visiting one of the couple's two sons when his wife's body was found.

Richard Shahan was jailed for "investigative purposes" in August, but was released without being charged.

Shortly after his release, the pastor took paid administrative leave from his post as Children and Families Pastor and the Facilities Director at First Baptist, and he resigned Dec. 31.

Exact details as to why Shahan was charged at this point in the investigation are still limited, but Homewood police confirmed that investigators were able to establish motive but are not able to elaborate at this point because the investigation is ongoing.