Defiance woman loses custody of kids in murder case

The western Iowa woman who’s charged in the shotgun slaying of her abusive spouse is now fighting to get her kids back, following her release from jail Wednesday on 15-thousand dollars bail. The Defiance woman accused of murdering her husband and hiding his body in a bedroom for more than a year has not yet been re-united with her children. The state has called off a deal that would’ve allowed 36-year-old Dixie Shanahan to regain custody of her three children. The Department of Human Services says it stopped the deal because of concerns about “bad publicity.” Shanahan’s attorney is expected to ask a judge today to grant Shanahan temporary custody of her children. Shanahan’s children are ages seven-years-old, five-years-old and eight-months-old.