Judge could rule on Defiance case later this week

Attorneys argued in court yesterday (Tuesday) over a Defiance woman’s request to have key evidence excluded from her murder trial. The attorney for Dixie Shanahan says a search of Shanahan’s home in October was illegal because authorities had no reason to believe a crime had taken place there. But prosecutors say authorities had been investigating the disappearance of Shanahan’s husband for three months before they asked for a search warrant. Shanahan is accused of murdering her abusive husband, Scott Shanahan, and hiding his body in a bedroom for more than a year. She’s charged with first-degree murder. A judge is expected to rule on the request to exclude the evidence later this week.