AL - Karen Shahan, 53, murdered, Homewood, 23 July 2013 #2

[LambChop]

Yes, i agree. But , they still could of elaborated on her special interests/hobbies. Or even mentioned where she met her husband and if they travelled together, ie: church missions, etc. ...imo

A funeral director would not have had that information. RS wasn't here when they found her body. When he returned I imagine he spent time with LE answering questions. Plus her sons were there. Some families prefer to do their own obits, especially if they know ahead of time their family member is dying, but most rely on the funeral director to place the add for them. This was not a normal death for this family and I'd say that the obit was a reflection of that fact. jmo

 

[DTLJ]

Well...I'm thinking that his motive was the mere fact that she might not have wanted to move to Russia...for three years. And with all of the writing and preparation that he did for this trip, he might have decided to go without her.

Question: because there is an affidavit signed with saying he is charged with the stabbing death of his wife...does that mean the next step is to make a plea bargain...guilty or not guilty?? I don't know that much about the "process" of convicting a person, so that's why I'm asking.
DTLJ

 

[CountryGirl]

Well...I'm thinking that his motive was the mere fact that she might not have wanted to move to Russia...for three years. And with all of the writing and preparation that he did for this trip, he might have decided to go without her.

Question: because there is an affidavit signed with saying he is charged with the stabbing death of his wife...does that mean the next step is to make a plea bargain...guilty or not guilty?? I don't know that much about the "process" of convicting a person, so that's why I'm asking.
DTLJ

http://www.cullmanda.com/anatomy_of_an_alabama_prosecutio.htm

This is the first court appearance for any misdemeanor or felony. Once charged and arrested, the suspect appears in District Court for arraignment. At arraignment, the defendant is told what the charge(s) is (are) and the maximum penalty if convicted, and is advised of his constitutional rights to a jury or bench trial, appointed attorney, presumption of innocence, etc. The charging document is called a Complaint. The conditions and amount of bond are determined. In some cases --- generally based on the nature of the charge --- the Judge imposes conditions on the bond, such as "no contact" with the victim. Bond is set in almost every case, but it is up to the defendant's own resources to post the bail money, which allows him to be released.

This was just done.

Next steps:


At a felony arraignment in District Court, the defendant does not plead guilty or not guilty. He is advised of his right to a preliminary hearing within 14 days of the arraignment. The court reviews requests for court-appointed attorneys at the arraignment.

Felony Preliminary Hearing --- A contested hearing before a District Court Judge, sometimes called a "probable cause hearing". The Prosecutor presents witnesses to convince the Judge that there is probable cause to believe that a crime was committed and that the defendant committed the crime. Because the burden of proof is much less than at a trial, the Prosecutor generally does not call all potential witnesses to testify at the "prelim"; generally, the victim and some eye witnesses plus some of the police witnesses testify. The defendant (usually) has an attorney, can cross examine the witnesses, and can present his own evidence (including witnesses). If probable cause is proven, the defendant is "bound over" (i.e., sent to) Grand Jury. If probable cause is not proven, the felony charge can be dismissed or reduced to a misdemeanor for trial in District Court. A defendant can decide not to have a Preliminary Hearing. Most felonies arrive in Grand Jury after such a "waiver".

 

[SouthAussie]

He was not an official suspect though. POI have no obligation to remain in town and LE have no authority to ask/demand that they do. They can't just arrest and charge them simply because they leave, it has to be backed up with evidence relevant to the case that is enough for probable cause to go to trial.

This comment made after Shahan had been held for 48 hours for questioning, says to me that Shahan was considered an official suspect.

August 09, 2013

Atkinson said no one has been ruled out as a suspect

http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2013/08/homewood_pastor_released_from.html


This statement, in many reports like this one, also says to me that Shahan was considered a suspect.

Homeland Security officials nabbed murder suspect Richard Shahan trying to leave the country at an airport in Nashville, Tenn.,
His arrest affidavit said a “customs lookout” was issued for Shahan in the event he tried to leave the state or country. He booked a flight from the Nashville International Airport to Frankfurt, Germany, that was red flagged in the computer system.

http://www.abpnews.com/ministry/peo...nister-arrested-in-wife-s-murder#.UtRQlfQW0eg

 

[SouthAussie]

No its not. In the case of the shoplifter you don't know they are not going to pay until the leave the store, that is why it is done like that.

I believe that purchasing an airline ticket does not necessarily mean a person will actually get on the flight, and that is why they waited till Shahan had checked in before he was detained.

Shahan was “shocked” when he was pulled out of line and detained after he had checked in at the airline desk and checked his luggage

http://www.abpnews.com/ministry/peo...nister-arrested-in-wife-s-murder#.UtRQlfQW0eg

 

[LambChop]

"No one has been ruled out as a suspect", is a board statement and tells us they have no one who is a primary suspect at that moment. It does not preclude anyone from going anywhere unless they are specifically told to "stick around we may have more questions." From what we know RS was never identified as a suspect by LE. We were never told there were inconsistencies in his statements, nor what those inconsistencies might be at that time up to the present. RS only became a suspect, as far as the public was concerned when the warrant was issued.

Was he told by LE to "stick around"? We don't know that either for sure because that was never mentioned during the press conference. If RS had been warned why didn't the Chief say RS knew he was not to leave the state. Chief only said they knew he was planning on leaving by reading the bulletins and blogs which stated RS was planning on leaving for Germany for the next 3 years.

I still don't understand why the warrant was issued the night before RS planned on leaving. jmo

 

[PatEl]

I still don't understand why the warrant was issued the night before RS planned on leaving. jmo

Just a guess on my part, but I think that LE had some stuff on RS, but maybe not enough to convict. They hear the rumors of RS leaving the country and know they need to act fast. If they can set up the situation such that it *appears* that RS is fleeing, they can hold him without bond for some time (nearly two weeks now). In the meantime, they could get search warrants to go through RS's computer, email, phone, etc. now all in LE's possession. By surprising RS at the airport, he would not have had an opportunity to delete anything incriminating from his computer, email, etc. If they get the search warrants at another time, maybe his attorneys are notified, and RS possibly has the opportunity to delete incriminating evidence.

 

[PatEl]

Well...I'm thinking that his motive was the mere fact that she might not have wanted to move to Russia...for three years. And with all of the writing and preparation that he did for this trip, he might have decided to go without her. DTLJ

I might be wrong, but I thought that the trip turned from a short term trip into a three year assignment only after the murder and RS was placed on leave by the church. Apparently, he's been to Kazakhstan once or twice in the past couple of years for a couple of weeks at a time.

 

[PatEl]

Yes, i agree. But , they still could of elaborated on her special interests/hobbies. Or even mentioned where she met her husband and if they travelled together, ie: church missions, etc. ...imo

What struck me as odd was the only mention of the church was the line about in lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Children's Ministry of the church. No mention that she was a member, that RS was a minister, not even described as a "loving mother" to her children and grandchildren. If the church members were so very involved in assisting RS around the time of the murder like cleaning the house and paying for the funeral, why wouldn't someone have taken on the task of writing a better obit?

 

[killarney rose]

What struck me as odd was the only mention of the church was the line about in lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Children's Ministry of the church. No mention that she was a member, that RS was a minister, not even described as a "loving mother" to her children and grandchildren. If the church members were so very involved in assisting RS around the time of the murder like cleaning the house and paying for the funeral, why wouldn't someone have taken on the task of writing a better obit?

The info for the obit is normally taken by the funeral home personnel who is sitting in the office with the family at the time the funeral arrangements are being made. Those church members are usually at the persons home helping out and greeting visitors or at their own home preparing food for the family at that time, not with the family at the funeral home. Writing of the obit is personal and usually the only ones who have an input are the people at the funeral home when the arrangements are being made. Can you tell I have had to be there too often?

 

[PatEl]

The info for the obit is normally taken by the funeral home personnel who is sitting in the office with the family at the time the funeral arrangements are being made. Those church members are usually at the persons home helping out and greeting visitors or at their own home preparing food for the family at that time, not with the family at the funeral home. Writing of the obit is personal and usually the only ones who have an input are the people at the funeral home when the arrangements are being made. Can you tell I have had to be there too often?

You're probably right. If it's important, LE can ask the funeral home if they wrote it. I would think they would keep something like that in their records for billing purposes at the very least. Still, it's sad that it is so brief.

 

[Kensie]

The obituary was very generic.

 

[Tugela]

This comment made after Shahan had been held for 48 hours for questioning, says to me that Shahan was considered an official suspect.

August 09, 2013


http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2013/08/homewood_pastor_released_from.html


This statement, in many reports like this one, also says to me that Shahan was considered a suspect.



http://www.abpnews.com/ministry/peo...nister-arrested-in-wife-s-murder#.UtRQlfQW0eg

"No one has been ruled out as a suspect" does not translate into "he is a suspect". In the US an official "suspect" carries a semi-legal status, it is not some one who is "possible". It is usually applied only after someone has been arrested or a warrant has been issued. Before that designation is used, some one might be described as a "person of interest". However, even as a POI your movements are not controlled.

 

[Tugela]

I believe that purchasing an airline ticket does not necessarily mean a person will actually get on the flight, and that is why they waited till Shahan had checked in before he was detained.



http://www.abpnews.com/ministry/peo...nister-arrested-in-wife-s-murder#.UtRQlfQW0eg

That is not relevant. They did not need to wait for him to board the plane. The arrest warrant was issued the day before, they could have arrested him any time after that, as soon as they found him. The problem was they did not know where he was because he had already left for his trip at that time. So, he was arrested at the airport because that was the first encounter they had with him. He was not arrested for leaving the country, or fleeing, he was arrested because they had issued a warrant for his arrest.

The question really is, why get the warrant then, when they already knew he was planning to leave for quite some time?

 

[Tugela]

Just a guess on my part, but I think that LE had some stuff on RS, but maybe not enough to convict. They hear the rumors of RS leaving the country and know they need to act fast. If they can set up the situation such that it *appears* that RS is fleeing, they can hold him without bond for some time (nearly two weeks now). In the meantime, they could get search warrants to go through RS's computer, email, phone, etc. now all in LE's possession. By surprising RS at the airport, he would not have had an opportunity to delete anything incriminating from his computer, email, etc. If they get the search warrants at another time, maybe his attorneys are notified, and RS possibly has the opportunity to delete incriminating evidence.

I doubt they heard "rumours". It sounds like his plans were pretty public, and in a small community it is hard to believe that LE would not have been aware of what the person they were focussed on was doing.

It seems to me that they were of two minds about if they should do something or not. On one hand some of them probably argued that the evidence was weak, and others probably argued that they had to move or lose him. Leaving it to the last 24 hours sounds a lot like indecision, which means their case is probably pretty weak.

 

[Tugela]

Just a guess on my part, but I think that LE had some stuff on RS, but maybe not enough to convict. They hear the rumors of RS leaving the country and know they need to act fast. If they can set up the situation such that it *appears* that RS is fleeing, they can hold him without bond for some time (nearly two weeks now). In the meantime, they could get search warrants to go through RS's computer, email, phone, etc. now all in LE's possession. By surprising RS at the airport, he would not have had an opportunity to delete anything incriminating from his computer, email, etc. If they get the search warrants at another time, maybe his attorneys are notified, and RS possibly has the opportunity to delete incriminating evidence.

If he had anything to do with it, I'm sure anything incriminating would be long gone by now. He would not wait until they issued a warrant before doing that.

They don't need to arrest someone to get a search warrant. All they would need is to convince a judge of probable cause (which is pretty easy in most cases since the bar is very low), something they would have had to do to get the arrest warrant anyway.

 

[PatEl]

If he had anything to do with it, I'm sure anything incriminating would be long gone by now. He would not wait until they issued a warrant before doing that.

Not necessarily. If the motive involves a new romantic interest for RS, there may be new communications (email, texts, etc.) between the two on his phone, computer, etc.

 

[IHAVENOCLUE]

Not necessarily. If the motive involves a new romantic interest for RS, there may be new communications (email, texts, etc.) between the two on his phoned, computer, etc.

Good point!

Continued communication on cells, computers, etc. Could be critical here...

:thumb:

 

[LaurelC]

I doubt they heard "rumours". It sounds like his plans were pretty public, and in a small community it is hard to believe that LE would not have been aware of what the person they were focussed on was doing.

It seems to me that they were of two minds about if they should do something or not. On one hand some of them probably argued that the evidence was weak, and others probably argued that they had to move or lose him. Leaving it to the last 24 hours sounds a lot like indecision, which means their case is probably pretty weak.

It's possible, though I would think unlikely, they did not get the physical evidence until the last minute.

 

[IHAVENOCLUE]

It's possible, though I would think unlikely, they did not get the physical evidence until the last minute.

Definitely a possibility... :thumb: