AL - Karen Shahan, 53, murdered, Homewood, 23 July 2013 #1

ClemiFern said:

You're welcome. Birmingham consists of many suburbs and Homewood is one of them.

The First Baptist Church location on Lakeshore Drive was built in 1986, according to the church website. I believe it was formed much earlier in the actual city of B'ham. It is a very large church but definitely not the largest church in the area. Birmingham and suburbs is home to many very large churches, hence this area being known as " the Bible Belt."

Valleydale Road, which is also located in Homewood, is home to a completely different type of residents. It is mostly apartments and condominiums and is located nearer to a less desirable part of the area. Birmingham is very diverse and this particular location (Lakeshore Drive) is only about a mile from very elaborate homes (some mansions) and it is also only a couple miles away from crime ridden areas. The area itself is simply upper middle class, not wealthy, not poor, an older and more established area.

I don't usually get interested in these stories but this one just made my radar go off. Hoping I'm wrong about my feelings. I probably watch too much true crime on tv...lol.

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BhamAdGal said:

Not to nit-pick bevause it's not really relvevant to this sad and mysterious story, but Valleydale Road is NOT in Homewood- its much farther South and mostly in Shelby Co. You are referring to Valley Avenue where once somehwat upscale apartments (and lots of students) have given way to a different demographic mix and there is a good bit of crime over there about 2-3 miles away.
The victim's home is one of about 6 on a quiet cul-de-sac, but it backs up to the 1st Bapt. church parking lot. An intruder could have easily come onto the property from the parking lot and not be seen by neighbors. The church is on a busy street- 4 lanes. Lakeshore Dr. as already mentioned. I work practically next door to there.
I am very curious as to time of death- that would explain a lot I think. No indication of cause- which is strange. But, police have not warned residents and nearby students of a killer on the loose so they must think they know who did this and that it is not a random event.

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ClemiFern said:

I stand corrected and apologize for my mistake. You are 100% correct in that Valleydale Rd is in Shelby Co and yes, I was thinking of Valley Avenue... just got a bit confused.

I have searched and searched for the article I read a few days ago where a neighbor mentioned hearing a loud sound coming from the Shahan house around 10:45 on Monday night. I have not be able to find it again but hopefully somebody else will print it before long. I haven't seen any other news on this other than the interim pastor (Dr. Carter) from the church who said in an article today that one of the policemen said it was one of the most brutal murders he had ever seen. Still haven't seen a time of death reported and yes that would be a good thing to know.

Thanks again for your correction. Have a good evening.

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BhamAdGal said:

Well, the police surely know how long Mrs. Shahan had been dead. If the murder was that brutal and they officially have no suspects, shouldn't the Homewood police have the community on high alert? It is frustrating not to be given any more information about this. Any idea of the manner of death? sounds like a personal situation vs. random stranger.

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kahne9 said:

I know that the detectives always have to question the spouse/family first...but I just wanted to say that I've gone to First Baptist of Birmingham church since it opened in the 1980's. Richard and Karen haven't been there that long but they've been here for years. I've known both of them very well. Richard is a wonderful man who loves God more than any I know. Karen also loved the Lord as much as her husband does. Richard led my son to the Lord when he was 9 years old, he also baptised my son. Our church is hurting so much. So if it's possible...please, please, please keep in mind that there are people who love websleuths and but we also love Richard and Karen. Thank you

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BrianInBirmingham said:

Thank you, wfgodot (Waiting For Godot?). There seems to be one thing that Homewood Police want everyone to know; that it was "brutal" and that the assailant entered the home and left it in disarray. Brutality implies a close, emotionally-driven murder. ...and if you read the Mayor's statement, one is left with the nothing more than a conflicting paradox that it was "brutal" and that "This doesn't happen in Homewood."

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BrianInBirmingham said:

The "brutal" nature of this murder is all that is being disseminated. It began with a reference by Homewood's Mayor, Scott McBrayer, and was reiterated by FBC interim pastor, Charles Carter, in a sermon this past Sunday where he said he was quoting a Homewood Police Officer. Why inform the public on the "brutal" nature of the murder and nothing else? The "brutality" description is starting to feel more like a "red herring" than a fact.

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kahne9 said:

I know that the detectives always have to question the spouse/family first...but I just wanted to say that I've gone to First Baptist of Birmingham church since it opened in the 1980's. Richard and Karen haven't been there that long but they've been here for years. I've known both of them very well. Richard is a wonderful man who loves God more than any I know. Karen also loved the Lord as much as her husband does. Richard led my son to the Lord when he was 9 years old, he also baptised my son. Our church is hurting so much. So if it's possible...please, please, please keep in mind that there are people who love websleuths and but we also love Richard and Karen. Thank you

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ClemiFern said:

http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2013/07/memorial_service_for_slain_wif.html

Quoting the above article below:



The above article does not say that the entire neighborhood is renters, just that particular street. On the contrary, I would say the majority of the neighborhood is homeowners in that part of town. Many of the homes in that area rent out basement or garage apartments because I've known several people who rented those (in my younger days).

Samford University (a private college) is right up the street from the church as is the large offices of Southern Progress, the company known as Southern Living, Cooking Light, Progressive Farmer as well as others. All these are within under a quarter of a mile from the church.

Mrs. Shahan worked at Hobby Lobby (a very large arts and crafts store...I think might be a national chain) at the location which would have been maybe a mile or two, at most, from her home. Lakeshore Rehab, a large and nationally acclaimed Rehab center, sits across the street from the church and very nearby Brookwood Medical Center, a major hospital is also located, again less than a mile away.

This is not a transient area. I assumed the church owned all the homes on that street so that church staff could rent and live near the church. The street is directly behind the church and the church sits on Lakeshore drive as does all of the businesses I mentioned other than the hospital.

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ClemiFern said:

I thought the same thing when I read all the articles. Her body was found at 11:15 am which is quite early. I don't know what time she was scheduled to be at work but I think Hobby Lobby opens at 10:00 am so I wouldn't think she was scheduled before 9 am. I just don't think I'd be that quick to sound an alarm if a co-worker couldn't be reached within a couple of hours or so. They could have had an emergency and been unable to call into work because of that.

To call the police and ask for a welfare check just seems odd when she had only been late showing up that same day. Usually people only ask for welfare checks on persons who they have been unable to reach for several days for over a week.

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ClemiFern said:

You're welcome. Birmingham consists of many suburbs and Homewood is one of them.

The First Baptist Church location on Lakeshore Drive was built in 1986, according to the church website. I believe it was formed much earlier in the actual city of B'ham. It is a very large church but definitely not the largest church in the area. Birmingham and suburbs is home to many very large churches, hence this area being known as " the Bible Belt."

Valleydale Road, which is also located in Homewood, is home to a completely different type of residents. It is mostly apartments and condominiums and is located nearer to a less desirable part of the area. Birmingham is very diverse and this particular location (Lakeshore Drive) is only about a mile from very elaborate homes (some mansions) and it is also only a couple miles away from crime ridden areas. The area itself is simply upper middle class, not wealthy, not poor, an older and more established area.

I don't usually get interested in these stories but this one just made my radar go off. Hoping I'm wrong about my feelings. I probably watch too much true crime on tv...lol.

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IHAVENOCLUE said:

:wagon: Clemifern! :welcome:

Thank you for joining us at WS!

:seeya:

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BhamAdGal said:

Not to nit-pick bevause it's not really relvevant to this sad and mysterious story, but Valleydale Road is NOT in Homewood- its much farther South and mostly in Shelby Co. You are referring to Valley Avenue where once somehwat upscale apartments (and lots of students) have given way to a different demographic mix and there is a good bit of crime over there about 2-3 miles away.
The victim's home is one of about 6 on a quiet cul-de-sac, but it backs up to the 1st Bapt. church parking lot. An intruder could have easily come onto the property from the parking lot and not be seen by neighbors. The church is on a busy street- 4 lanes. Lakeshore Dr. as already mentioned. I work practically next door to there.
I am very curious as to time of death- that would explain a lot I think. No indication of cause- which is strange. But, police have not warned residents and nearby students of a killer on the loose so they must think they know who did this and that it is not a random event.

Click to expand...

AzPistonsGirl said:

Hi Brian and welcome and thank you. Do you have any idea why the "brutality" is being stressed so? Are you saying that might not be the case? I am just trying to understand why. I agree that it seems over the top to keep reiterating that. Think there is a reason for that? Are they trying to provoke someone to defy that?

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BrianInBirmingham said:

I think It's VERY evident that they want anyone involved to believe it was Brutal. Whether it was or wasn't, I obviously have no idea. Purely as conjecture: If it was a "hit", they certainly want all involved in the agreement to be at odds about the nature of the murder.

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kahne9 said:

http://www.thealabamabaptist.org/print-edition-article-detail.php?id_art=28309&pricat_art=1

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