Karen Shahan

The Rev. Richard Shahan, left, was arrested Jan. 1 while trying to board a plane in Nashville. His wife, Karen Louise Shahan, was found slain July 23 at the couple's Homewood home.

NASHVILLE, Tennessee - A Homewood pastor whose wife was found slain in July was arrested for murder on New Year's Day as he tried to board a plane for Germany, Homewood Police confirmed today.

Rev. Richard Shahan, 53, is being held without bond at the Davidson County (Tenn.) Sheriff's Department.

He was arrested by Homeland Security ICE agents at the Nashville airport on Jan. 1, 2014 while attempting to flee the country to Russia by way of Germany, according to Homewood Police Lt. Dan Smith.

Smith declined to say whether or not new evidence led to Shahan's arrest for the murder of his wife, but confirmed that a "lengthy investigation" is what led to the new charges.

"He's our only suspect," Smith told AL.com.

Shahan was booked into the jail at 10:53 p.m. Jan. 1 and is awaiting an extradition hearing on Jan. 7, 2014.

Karen Louise Shahan's body was discovered about 11:15 a.m. July 23 inside the family's Hugh Circle home. Police have not confirmed how she was killed, but sources have told AL.com she was stabbed to death. The house appeared to be in disarray, and a window was broken.

Her husband, an associate pastor at First Baptist Church of Birmingham, was jailed for "investigative purposes" in August, but was released without being charged with any crime.

According to an affidavit filed in Davidson County, Richard Shahan was arrested Jan. 1 because a "customs lookout" had been issued for him in case he tried to leave the state or the country.

The document states that Shahan had booked a flight from Nashville to Frankfurt, Germany. Department of Homeland Security Agents apprehended him after he was "red-flagged" in the computer system at Nashville International Airport.

Shahan was taken to the Criminal Justice Center in Davidson County, and Jefferson County confirmed extradition. He is scheduled to appear Jan. 7 before a judge in Tennessee, court records show.

In December, several newsletters and prayer cards indicated that Shahan was planning a three-year mission trip with Bible Mission International in Frankfurt.

In August, the pastor took paid administrative leave from his post as Children and Families Pastor and the Facilities Director at First Baptist to focus on his family and to heal following the slaying of his wife.

The Rev. Shahan, the Children and Families Pastor and the Facilities Director at First Baptist, was out of town visiting one of the couple's two sons when his wife's body was found, authorities said.