Richard
Shahan, a former Alabama, U.S., pastor, has been accused of stabbing
his wife to death so that he could leave the country to marry his
boyfriend.
A report by AL.com says prosecutors
leveled that theory against Shahan during a hearing in the case Thursday
in which the former pastor’s bond was set at $100,000.
“Prosecutors
contend information obtained from Shahan’s emails show he was planning
to leave the country and never return. They say he was intending to
travel to Kazakhstan via Germany and ultimately planned to reside in the
United Kingdom, reports the news site,” according to the report.
It
quoted Deputy Jefferson County District Attorney Leigh Gwathney as
telling the court: “He planned to become a citizen there and begin a new
life with his boyfriend… who he intended to marry. 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.”
Continuing, the report
quotes lawyers for the 53-year-old Shahan as saying that prosecutors are
trying to “manufacture a murder case” and that the pastor’s planned
travels were part of a three-year trip with a Bible mission group.
Karen
Shahan, according to reports AL.com, was found stabbed to death July
23, 2013 inside the family’s Birmingham home. Authorities reportedly
said that Richard Shahan told investigators that he was out of town
visiting one of the couple’s two sons when his wife was killed.
“Shahan
wasn’t charged in the case until Jan. 1 when he was arrested at a
Nashville, Tenn. airport while trying to board a plane to Germany,
according to the news site. He reportedly resigned from the church he
oversaw just a day before his arrest,” the report says, adding:
“If
Shahan makes bond, he must remain on house arrest and electronic
monitoring, reports CBS affiliate WIAT. He must also turn over his
passport until a final decision is made in the case.
“A preliminary hearing in the case is scheduled for Feb. 5.”
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