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

New Posts

Status
Not open for further replies.
Did RS get a decent insurance settlement from the tractor trailer insurance? I hope it was insured and not an uninsured driver.
 
txsvicki said:
The thing about leaving the country during a murder investigation is that it looks like an attempt to flee suspicion, and I'd think that cops would be able to use it against a person, especially if they advised against it. They are able to use anything a person says and does, it seems.
Click to expand...

Which you would think that his attorneys would want to do everything possible to avoid.

Not only for how LE might view it, but really knowing that there was a possibility that he may be charged w/ her murder (regardless of whether they thought there was evidence to support it or not) and thus that they (his attorneys) would probably realize that it could also very much appear that way to potential jurors.

And I would think that would (or should) have been something very concerning to his attorneys.
 
PastorPK

You stated that Richard is always tired and in need of time off after VBS, but as his helper, what about Karen? Did she not take off after VBS also? Why did she not go with RS when he left town to visit the children this last time? Was it common for him to take a vacation alone, w/o her?

Was it common knowledge that KS was going to be at home ,alone while RS was away?

Do you know what time that day that he actually left?
 
TravelingBug said:
Which you would think that his attorneys would want to do everything possible to avoid.

Not only for how LE might view it, but really knowing that there was a possibility that he may be charged w/ her murder (regardless of whether they thought there was evidence to support it or not) and thus that they (his attorneys) would probably realize that it could also very much appear that way to potential jurors.

And I would think that would (or should) have been something very concerning to his attorneys.
Click to expand...

Not sure how his attorney would know what LE has as evidence before his arrest. LE was not obligated to tell his attorney at that time, I would think. By LE's admission they knew RS was planning on leaving yet his attorney stated he was not notified by LE that RS was not permitted to leave. Obviously RS still had his passport and felt comfortable leaving because it was publicized. If RS were considered a suspect why wasn't his passport held?

It will be interesting to see what happens when RS goes before the judge. If LE had enough to arrest him on 12/31 they had to have had enough to arrest him on 12/30 or 12/29. What was the purpose of waiting until he was ready to board the plane? I'm not one usually to question LE's motives but this somehow does not sit right. Unless the only reason for the arrest was because he was attempting to leave the country. jmo
 
Let's try and keep those questions in line with what happened and why and not ask questions that had nothing to do with the crime. Thanks
 
LambChop said:
Not sure how his attorney would know what LE has as evidence before his arrest. LE was not obligated to tell his attorney at that time, I would think. By LE's admission they knew RS was planning on leaving yet his attorney stated he was not notified by LE that RS was not permitted to leave. Obviously RS still had his passport and felt comfortable leaving because it was publicized. If RS were considered a suspect why wasn't his passport held?

It will be interesting to see what happens when RS goes before the judge. If LE had enough to arrest him on 12/31 they had to have had enough to arrest him on 12/30 or 12/29. What was the purpose of waiting until he was ready to board the plane? I'm not one usually to question LE's motives but this somehow does not sit right. Unless the only reason for the arrest was because he was attempting to leave the country. jmo
Click to expand...
Actually... Per the MSM report in wkrn.com of 1-2-14... It is reported that:

"However, because of the open investigation into his wife's death detectives told him [the pastor] to stay put"...

Maybe the pastor did not reveal this to his attorney?

and.... Maybe LE waited until the time at the airport when they KNEW he was intending to physically leave... And they gave him time to change his mind up to that point?

Additionally... It is interesting to me that the airport had been sent an alert so that he was red-flagged as he was at the airport...

this sounds to me like LE was anticipating the pastor's trip to Germany (and then on to Russia) and LE may have just been waiting to see that he indeed was leaving... Giving him room to change his mind...

JMO
 
LambChop said:
Not sure how his attorney would know what LE has as evidence before his arrest. LE was not obligated to tell his attorney at that time, I would think. By LE's admission they knew RS was planning on leaving yet his attorney stated he was not notified by LE that RS was not permitted to leave. Obviously RS still had his passport and felt comfortable leaving because it was publicized. If RS were considered a suspect why wasn't his passport held?

It will be interesting to see what happens when RS goes before the judge. If LE had enough to arrest him on 12/31 they had to have had enough to arrest him on 12/30 or 12/29. What was the purpose of waiting until he was ready to board the plane? I'm not one usually to question LE's motives but this somehow does not sit right. Unless the only reason for the arrest was because he was attempting to leave the country. jmo
Click to expand...


I just have a feeling they really did not want to arrest him at this time unless they were pushed into doing so.so they waited until their absolute last minute. Again, MOO is that they would rather have continued to investigation until they had more evidence, but when faced with the choice of him leaving for a country where they would not be able to extradite him back to the states, or arresting him now, they chose to proceed. Of course, MOO, and I. Am thinking that because of all the true crime I have read in books and watched on ID.


,i think they'd rather take their chances in court with what evidence they have now, and what they might be able to get between now and the trial, rather than not be able to get him at all because he is in a Russian state.

I hope the questions I asked PastorPK are ok. I have my guess as to why KS stayed home, but would like to hear it from him, first. And it's not bad, just curious if I am correct. I would think LE has already asked these same questions early on.
 
I don't think Pastorpk will answer questions he does not feel comfortable with answering.

Plus we will find out more tomorrow. He is still in TN, right?
 
pastorpk said:
This is just some of pastor Richards and Karen's elaborate costumes they made, and the numerous hours leading up to this would always tire pastor Richard out so it was well known he always took a week off after the summer Vacation Bible School.
If you watch these, you can see the amount of effort and time it took and why he would take a mini-vacation to get away for a while to "recharge" his batteries.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=B4tGf9sytXQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=pj1jFlBRtGs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=dftGya3jn3Y

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=XV2U-uKFFyA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=X2bp9MhYjlw

Hope this helps!
Click to expand...
Thanks for posting those <modsnip>...I had no idea there were so many videos. As you know...I worked with Richard and Karen every year at vacation bible school. I know how hard they worked because I was there the Sat before. Painting and setting up. If I remember correctly...he was there 10 or 12 hours that day. Anyway, thanks again for posting this stuff. There is no possible way for anyone to know how beautiful it was unless they see videos or pictures. Do you remember how many kids gave their hearts to Christ? I looked back at my info but couldn't find the exact number.
 
Also another thing that bothers me, personally, anytime a reporter reports that the information they are reporting came from a "detective", a "source close to the investigation", etc. I don't have much confidence in their statement. They are suppose to be professional reporters who get the names of who they spoke to and can verify that information. Just because a reporter made that statement does not mean it is true.

I do not think an attorney would advise their client that it is okay to leave the country if they felt he was the main suspect. Since it was very much publicized that RS was leaving I find it hard to believe no one was aware of him leaving ahead of time. But that is just my opinion. As for myself, I'd want to hear from LE directly that RS was instructed not to leave the country. He may well have been told to stick around in August in case they had further questions, which he did, but I'm not all that certain RS was clear that LE considered him a suspect.

jmo
 
LambChop said:
Also another thing that bothers me, personally, anytime a reporter reports that the information they are reporting came from a "detective", a "source close to the investigation", etc. I don't have much confidence in their statement. They are suppose to be professional reporters who get the names of who they spoke to and can verify that information. Just because a reporter made that statement does not mean it is true.
Click to expand...
snip

I agree, it's always better to attach a name to a fact or purported fact, but this is just the way it's done - otherwise, we'd learn very little as many bits of info are released unauthorized by superiors. Law enforcement and, indeed, all of governing would become unnecessarily even more secretive if direct attribution had to be given for each bit of information.

We don't have to believe any reporter, yet MSM reporting is the basis for how we think about cases at WS.

The danger to the sleuth occurs if one becomes selectively biased against sources who do not support how one feels about the case, regardless of the apparent likelihood of their statements being true.
 
wfgodot said:
snip

I agree, it's always better to attach a name to a fact or purported fact, but this is just the way it's done - otherwise, we'd learn very little as many bits of info are released unauthorized by superiors. Law enforcement and, indeed, all of governing would become unnecessarily even more secretive if direct attribution had to be given for each bit of information.

We don't have to believe any reporter, yet MSM reporting is the basis for how we think about cases at WS.

The danger to the sleuth occurs if one becomes selectively biased against sources who do not support how one feels about the case, regardless of the apparent likelihood of their statements being true.
Click to expand...

Being objective is not being selective. How many times have we seen information from MSM that is incorrect. There is no reason for a detective to say, "don't use my name" if the information he is telling the reporter is public information. That is a fact. If the reporter does not get the name of his source I would consider the source unreliable. Detectives know what information they can discuss in public and what they cannot. Any detective not directly involved in the case could have told this reporter that RS "should" have been advised not to leave and the reporter used that statement as something he felt he could report. LE has not reported anything in this case and kept information from the public. Not logical that one of those detectives spoke to this particular reporter exclusively risking his job. It just does not make sense.

Everyone is entitled to their opinion as to the information they are receiving through MSM and what they feel they believe is true or not. All opinions provide a balance and in many cases answers to questions we all have that have not been answered. Being "selectively biased" swings both ways and I don't see that as an issue in this case. jmo
 
pastorpk said:
Sorry, two thoughts ran together.
glass blocks were instead of a regular window to allow light in and the glass windows in the back were for viewing.
The view from the back is peaceful and serene looking into the trees which blocked the view of the parking lot, but you could see the side and the top of the church.

Hope this helps!
Click to expand...

Just a quick question. Were these trees blocking the view from the parking lot enough so someone near the windows could not be seen? I know most burglars do not like to break windows and enter because of the broken glass but I know it's been done if no other access is available.
 
I haven't made any posts on WS in a while.....so can somebody please tell me what <modsnip> means? I just need to know what I did wrong so I won't make the same mistake again. Do I need to remove or edit my comment from pastorpk's last post? If so...I will.
 
kahne9 said:
I haven't made any posts on WS in a while.....so can somebody please tell me what <modsnip> means? I just need to know what I did wrong so I won't make the same mistake again. Do I need to remove or edit my comment from pastorpk's last post? If so...I will.
Click to expand...

It just means that a mod deleted a word, or phase, from your post. They put why under the post in italics. The rest of your post is OK.
 
LambChop said:
Just a quick question. Were these trees blocking the view from the parking lot enough so someone near the windows could not be seen? I know most burglars do not like to break windows and enter because of the broken glass but I know it's been done if no other access is available.
Click to expand...

Yes, there are many trees in that area providing privacy to the people in the houses.I believe the google pic is in an earlier page at the beginning would show you best.
 
If anyone wants to know the person or character of Richard or Karen I will fully answer to the best of my ability.
 
pastorpk said:
If anyone wants to know the person or character of Richard or Karen I will fully answer to the best of my ability. However if the answer would break clergy confidentiality or hinder the case, I WILL NOT AND CAN NOT ANSWER. Not being mean or mad, but this is a human being not some animal.
Click to expand...

Understand. WADR, we discuss cases here and I'm sorry if we discuss issues that may be uncomfortable to read. No disrespect intended.
 
CountryGirl said:
Understand. WADR, we discuss cases here and I'm sorry if we discuss issues that may be uncomfortable to read. No disrespect intended.
Click to expand...

Not firing shots at anyone just more of a personal update on how I felt.
been a rough day, and I only want to help and not hinder the case discussion.
Nothing I say on here will ever be personal at anyone.

Hope this helps!
 
Oh...ok....I missed the part where she put the reason. Thanks for explaining it to me. I haven't made that mistake before....now I know. Thanks RazTaz!
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

DNASolves

Who is Escambia County John Doe (1989)?

Members online

... and 170 more.
Total: 4,079 (members: 171, guests: 3,908)

Online statistics

Members online
171
Guests online
3,908
Total visitors
4,079
Totals may include hidden visitors.

Forum statistics

Threads
592,483
Messages
17,969,509
Members
228,782
Latest member
ChasF419
Back
Top