A former Homewood pastor, charged with murder in the 2013 death of his wife, will no longer be prosecuted.

According to the Alabama Attorney General's office, there is not enough evidence to prosecute Richard Shahan in his wife Karen's slaying.

The Attorney General's Office filed a motion today in Jefferson County Circuit Court to nolle prosequi the murder charge, which means the prosecution will not pursue the case. Because the charges were dropped without prejudice, Shahan can be recharged at a later date if new evidence implicating him is discovered.

Karen Shahan was found dead in the couple's Hugh Circle home in 2013. Investigators said she was stabbed to death and had several small defensive wounds.

"We appreciate the Attorney General's Office thorough and comprehensive review of the case," Shahan's attorney John Lentine said to AL.com. "...in reaching the same conclusion we knew from the beginning."

Lentine said Shahan can now begin to "put together" his life, after being involved in legal issues regarding the case since 2014.

55-year-old Shahan was jailed and released without being charged after Karen's slaying. Shortly after his release, he resigned from his position as Children and Families Pastor and the Facilities Director at First Baptist Church of Birmingham.

He was arrested New Years Day of 2014 in Nashville while trying to board a plane to Germany. According to statements and numerous emails from the former pastor, he was involved in multiple romantic relationships with men in both Nashville and in Europe.

The trial, continued several times, was scheduled to begin in January before Jefferson County Circuit Judge Laura Petro continued the case and set it for trial the week of May 15. According to court documents, defense attorneys Wendell Sheffield and Lentine asked for a continuance because of evidence collected and provided to them by the prosecution. The evidence was "voluminous," documents said, and contained several hundred pages of witness statements. Extra time before trial allowed the defense to thoroughly review the statements and conduct more interviews.

In Oct. 2016, Deputy Jefferson County District Attorney Patrick Lamb disclosed more evidence investigators had found to the defense. Court documents showed that finding filled 18 blank DVD's and 7 blank CD's.

In December, the Jefferson County District Attorney's Office recused itself from the case and requested that the AG's office assume the prosecution.

A team of attorneys from the office's Criminal Trials Division began investigating the case and preparing for the May trial. According to the AG's office, the team of attorneys said Monday the evidence "currently in the State's possession was insufficient to move forward with prosecution."

In August 2015, prosecutors said samples from Karen Shahan's body were still available for testing at a lab if the defense wanted an independent test done. The attorneys asked at an Aug. 19 hearing if the evidence regarding sperm found in Karen Shahan was destroyed, and at the time prosecutors couldn't say for sure whether any samples remained. Lamb later stated in a court document that samples were available to the defense for independent testing.

The Jefferson County District Attorney's office and Homewood police declined to comment on the case Monday. A message left for the senior pastor of First Baptist Church was not returned by time of publication.

This post is being updated.