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

[i.b.nora]

Here is a good article that details some of Richard Shahan's work history as well as mentions a little more about the bankruptcy filing:

http://www.abpnews.com/ministry/peo...oned-in-wife-s-death-leaving-u-s#.UsmmU3-9KSM

"When they filed for bankruptcy Richard Shahan had been working as a minister at First Baptist Church of Birmingham for eight months and Karen Shahan had been working at Hobby Lobby for six months.

The couple listed two lawsuits they had been involved in within a year prior to filing. One was a collection lawsuit by American Express and the other was a personal injury lawsuit, Richard Shahan v. John Doe in the Circuit Court of Madison County, Tenn., that resulted in a settlement of $14,539, according to a court document."

 

[i.b.nora]

Here's the link to the article Clue.

There are a couple of inaccuracies in that reporting, and that is one of them. The police have never said publicly that they told him he couldn't leave the country. Even his own attorneys have acknowledged that he was never told he couldn't leave. His attorneys did, however, give him permission which is rather meaningless, IMO.

 

[CountryGirl]

There are a couple of inaccuracies in that reporting, and that is one of them. The police have never said publicly that they told him he couldn't leave the country. Even his own attorneys have acknowledged that he was never told he couldn't leave. His attorneys did, however, give him permission which is rather meaningless, IMO.

BBM

I can't believe the attorneys would think it was okay to leave the country in the midst of this investigation. Leave the state, okay (visit sons, etc), but to leave the country?

 

[txsvicki]

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.

 

[IHAVENOCLUE]

Bankruptcy details from al.com blog -- online site of Birmingham News:

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

Thank you, Wfgodot!

This article is chock full of information...

Richard's ministry history... His publication business... Bankruptcy... And Karen's work at the classical School...

May I suggest... If it hasn't been done yet... That it is placed in Karen Shahan's Media thread?

:seeya:

 

[Salem]

Thanks guys! All better now. I have restored the posts.

Salem

 

[enzeder]

Thank you, Wfgodot!

This article is chock full of information...

Richard's ministry history... His publication business... Bankruptcy... And Karen's work at the classical School...

May I suggest... If it hasn't been done yet... That it is placed in Karen Shahan's Media thread?

:seeya:

BBM - I posted the link to the article in the media thread earlier Clue.

 

[IHAVENOCLUE]

There are a couple of inaccuracies in that reporting, and that is one of them. The police have never said publicly that they told him he couldn't leave the country. Even his own attorneys have acknowledged that he was never told he couldn't leave. His attorneys did, however, give him permission which is rather meaningless, IMO.

This may be true... Or it may not... But...

-I imagine the LE has told Richard items we (public readers/citizens)have no privy to...(such as the above)...

-I still take the announcements of a defense attorney with a grain of salt...

JMO

 

[IHAVENOCLUE]

BBM - I posted the link to the article in the media thread earlier Clue.

Thanks! :seeya:

 

[LambChop]

No more name calling. You have been warned once already about this. There is no proof, only rumors, about RS and another life. Stop the references to his lifestyle and being a con artist.

 

[LambChop]

So it sounds like the gay talk is just rumor. Let's drop it for now. If something comes out in the media, we can revisit the issue.

Salem

Sorry, I was mistaken, you've been warned twice......

 

[pastorpk]

August 08, 2013

Bankruptcy filing

Richard L. Shahan and Karen L. Shahan filed a voluntary petition for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Alabama on Feb. 5, 2010.

The couple listed $443,350 in assets and $505,565 in liabilities, according to the bankruptcy court record.

The assets included a house in Franklin, Tenn., valued at $t415,000. The other $28,350 was personal property including: cash in checking accounts, $5,000 in an IRA, clothing, furniture, a riding lawnmower, interests in North American whole life insurance policies and State Farm term policy valued together at $700, a 2003 Mazda MX-3 co-signed with son, a 2002 GMC Jimmy owned jointly with Richard Shahan's mother, and mineral rights on land owned jointly with his mother.

The couple listed $388,649 in debt held by creditors holding secured claims, including two mortgages on the Franklin, Tenn., house totaling more than $379,000, and the remainder with a bank for the 2003 Mazda MX-3 car.

The couple listed also listed $116,916 in unsecured debt, most of it credit cards either jointly in their names or in Richard Shahan's name. The couple also listed $5,874 in monthly income, including a $2,516 housing allowance.

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


I hope that I am doing this quote properly.


It will be very interesting IMHO, to see how the money aspect plays out in court.

As far as RS returning to the Nashville area , its easy to see from this article that he had ties to the area(Franklin) before moving to B'ham. So its logical he would go back there. I see nothing suspect about that.

However..........


I am very interested in how the financial aspect will be revealed in court. How did a minister misuse his finances in such a way that he had to file bankruptcy? What was the unsecured debt ? Was there a particular type of purchases, or just mismanagement of money as a whole? Was Karen involved?

Then throw in the other rumors.......it all adds up again,MOO.


I'm just speculating, not saying it is true but from other cases, most of us know, where there is smoke, there is usually fire.....

My fingers are speculating, if they are violating anything....I get that this may go poof....not sure if I'm crossing a line here.

Prior to RS and Karen coming to Birmingham, he owned his own business. He was traveling and a tractor trailer hit him totaling his business van and breaking his back. Therefore he and Karen lost everything as he was the main source of income at the time. Lying flat on his back for 6mo and no steady income would cause anyone to lose their house and vehicle.
Hope this helps!

 

[pastorpk]

Most of the debt appears to be from their home. Obviously they couldn't sell their home in TN when they transferred to AL. I don't find that unusual since many people lost their homes during this time period. jmo

Lamb Chop-Prior to RS and Karen coming to Birmingham, he owned his own business. He was traveling and a tractor trailer hit him totaling his business van and breaking his back. Therefore he and Karen lost everything as he was the main source of income at the time. Lying flat on his back for 6mo and no steady income would cause anyone to lose their house and vehicle.
Hope this helps!

 

[pastorpk]

I would imagine RS was going to spend 3 years overseas because he was no longer married and may have felt by the time he returned this case would be resolved. It does not appear he ever planned to be there 3 years. jmo

The three years were as a trial and evaluation to see if the program would continue and continue to be funded after that period of time.

 

[LambChop]

The three years were as a trial and evaluation to see if the program would continue and continue to be funded after that period of time.

When was this program first proposed? Was it something on their long-range planning list?

 

[pastorpk]

Here is a good article that details some of Richard Shahan's work history as well as mentions a little more about the bankruptcy filing:

http://www.abpnews.com/ministry/peo...oned-in-wife-s-death-leaving-u-s#.UsmmU3-9KSM

"When they filed for bankruptcy Richard Shahan had been working as a minister at First Baptist Church of Birmingham for eight months and Karen Shahan had been working at Hobby Lobby for six months.

The couple listed two lawsuits they had been involved in within a year prior to filing. One was a collection lawsuit by American Express and the other was a personal injury lawsuit, Richard Shahan v. John Doe in the Circuit Court of Madison County, Tenn., that resulted in a settlement of $14,539, according to a court document."

Prior to him and Karen coming to Birmingham, he owned his own business. He was traveling and a tractor trailer hit him totaling his business van and breaking his back. Therefore he and Karen lost everything as he was the main source of income at the time. Lying flat on his back for 6mo and no steady income would cause anyone to lose their house and vehicle.
Hope this helps!

 

[pastorpk]

When was this program first proposed? Was it something on their long-range planning list?

Not sure of the exact date, it was first proposed however RS had worked with this missionary group many times prior and built a relationship with them to the point they wanted to hire him to live in Frankfurt and travel to deferent locations in the Former Soviet Union because he would not be able to receive a Visa as the FSU is not very supportive of missionaries.
Hope this helps!

 

[LambChop]

Not sure of the exact date, it was first proposed however RS had worked with this missionary group many times prior and built a relationship with them to the point they wanted to hire him to live in Frankfurt and travel to deferent locations in the Former Soviet Union because he would not be able to receive a Visa as the FSU is not very supportive of missionaries.
Hope this helps!

So this is something that was proposed to RS and not the other way around.

 

[pastorpk]

Yes they had heard about Karen and they were offering him a "fresh start" away from judgmental eyes. Which worked for the church allowing them a fresh start as well. As long as he was there, what happened to Karen was constantly in front of them. Both RS and FBC needed to start moving on as they both knew nothing would bring Karen back. Not to mention it is painful to see him and not her with him at the church.
She sang in the choir and he attended to the children but both were very active and appreciated.
So it was very difficult for RS or FBC to move on with him there. Hence the new ministry position was supported by FBC as a win win situation.

Hope this helps.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[i.b.nora]

Pastorpk - Welcome to Websleuths!

I see that you have become a verified insider but since we don't know exactly your connection, I would like to ask a couple of questions which you may or may not be able to answer.

When I looked on Google maps shortly after the 'event' it appeared that the Shahan home basically backed up to the church parking lot. Does it? And, does that part of the parking lot have cameras installed? If so, could they have captured someone sneaking into the home?

I hope you can answer, but if you can't that's okay.