On Monday, Allen Warner, 51-year-old Rockland man, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the September 2018 slaying of his estranged wife Shana Warner, according to the Associated Press.
Shana Warner called Marshfield police shortly before 6 p.m. on Sept. 24, 2018 to report she was being chased by her husband. She said Allen Warner had jumped into her car and she was “very hurt,” the district attorney’s office said. Police found Shana Warner in her car off the road on Main Street with life-threatening injuries. She died about 45 minutes later.
Allen Warner stabbed Shana Warner six times and shot her once, reports indicate. The Marshfield woman died of blunt force injuries, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner determined, according to prosecutors.
Shana Warner’s death set off a manhunt for Allen Warner, who fled into the woods. Numerous state, local and federal law enforcement agencies were involved in the search, authorities said. Allen Warner was named a person of interest, and Massachusetts State Police issued a BOLO alert for him and his car, a 2013 gray Toyota Corolla.
By the next afternoon, Allen Warner was arrested after driving a ramp truck into a local business, according to officials.
On March 4, after a seven-day trial in Plymouth Superior Court, the Rockland man was convicted on a first-degree murder charge. Allen Warner was also found guilty of kidnapping, possession of a rifle, possession of a loaded firearm, possession of ammunition, theft of a motor vehicle and leaving the scene of a crash involving property damage, according to a statement.
At the time of the manhunt, Marshfield Police Chief Phillip Tavares called the incident a “cowardly” act of domestic violence.
The murder of Shana Warner followed years of a tumultuous relationship she had with Allen Warner. Months before her slaying, in April 2018, she had filed for divorce, a decision she feared would lead to violence, according to her family.
Prosecutors said only hours before Shana Warner’s murder, she received a series of concerning text messages from Allen Warner, who she was separated from. He had said he planned to see her later that day.
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