Pastor Murdered His Wife So He Could Marry His Boyfriend In England

An Alabama pastor accused of stabbing his wife
to death was on his way to marry his boyfriend in
England when he was arrested at an airport
earlier this month, according to prosecutors.
Richard Lee Shahan was arrested January 1 at
Nashville’s airport, approximately five months
after his wife was stabbed to death in the
couple’s home. After going through 3,000 of his
emails, prosecutors say they learned of Shahan’s
plan to meet his boyfriend in Europe, traveling
first to Kazakhstan—where he’d told relatives and
friends he was going on a three-year mission trip
—and then settling in the UK.
“He planned to become a citizen there and begin
a new life with his boyfriend… who he intended to
marry,” Deputy Jefferson County District Attorney
Leigh Gwathney told AL.com.“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.”
Shahan’s bond was set at $100,000, on the
condition that he remain under house arrest until
his trial.
“They are doing everything they can to try to
manufacture a murder case,” his attorney John
Lentine told AL.com.
Shahan was jailed for “investigative purposes”
after his wife’s death in July but was released
after 48 hours. Not long after his release, he took
a paid leave of absence from his job as Children
and Families Pastor and the Facilities Director at
First Baptist in Homewood, Alabama. He resigned
from the job on December 31.
It’s not clear what caused prosecutors to finally
press charges.