Part 1: Author Ferak explains newly obtained crime photos from DIXIE’s murder case

Iowa bedroom of Dixie and Scott Shanahan, late October 2003.

CAPTION: Author’s perspective: Study this photo carefully. What do you see? On the wall, there’s a portrait of Jesus Christ. The drapes are drawn shut. Two lamps on each side of the bed. A blue pillow. But did you notice the lump in the bed? This photo was taken in late October 2003 by crime lab specialists for the state of Iowa. When they walked into this bedroom, they were overcome by the smell. The odor was rancid. The authorities knew right away why there was the lump in the bed. That lump was Scott Shanahan. He had been dead in his bed, with the covers pulled over his body, for the previous fourteen months.

Loaded shotgun of Scott Shanahan later found hidden in the closet of his small children. 

CAPTION: Author’s perspective: Initially, authorities in Iowa did not discover this 16-gauge shotgun formerly belonging to homicide victim Scott Shanahan. This weapon was hidden in a bedroom closet of Scott’s young children, down the hallway from the master bedroom where Scott’s remains were found. His wife,  Dixie, had hid the shotgun there after shooting him. Eventually, this weapon was turned over to the authorities thanks to the intervention of Greg Steensland, who was Dixie Shanahan’s court-appointed public defender. Steensland, who was a highly ethical lawyer and is now a state of Iowa judge, notified the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office after his client’s arrest that the shotgun had been hidden in the closet of Dixie’s children.

Shotgun used to kill Scott Shanahan, mixed ammunition contained inside the firearm.

CAPTION: Author’s perspective: What do you see? A shotgun. A red shotgun shell. A yellow shell. Different ammunition rounds were found by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation once they took apart this weapon. This was the 16-gauge shotgun previously owned by Scott Shanahan of Defiance, Iowa. One shell in this photo was a .12-gauge. The other shell was a .20-gauge. Pellets from one shell were lodged into the back of Scott Shanahan’s skull, causing him to die. The other shell was jammed inside this weapon. Authorities had to take this weapon apart to remove the stuck ammunition round. Read DIXIE’S LAST STAND dev.wildbluepress.com/dixie for the full story behind this weapon, the person who fired it and the importance of the mixed shotgun shells.