Rev. Richard Lee Shanan was caught at a Nashville airport on New Year’s Day roughly five months after his wife was stabbed to death in their home. Prosecutors reportedly combed through 3,000 of the 53-year-old’s personal emails, where they learned that he planned to meet his boyfriend in Europe before eventually settling in the United Kingdom. He apparently told his family that he was embarking on a “three-year mission”:
“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.”
His bond remains at $100,000 as long as he stays under house arrest until the trial begins. Though Shanan was incarcerated for “investigative purposes” following his wife’s murder in July, Gawker said it’s immediately clear what led to him being charged for her murder.
via@Complex