Estranged husband captured in killing of Marshfield woman, facing murder charge

WHITMAN, Mass. — The man who sparked a statewide hunt after Monday's fatal shooting of a woman in Marshfield was finally captured Tuesday after a hit-and-run.

Allen Warner, 47, the estranged husband of 48-year-old Shana Warner, was arrested in Whitman and was taken back to the Marshfield Police Department. He is now facing a murder charge. He was scheduled to be arraigned on Wednesday in Plymouth District Court but an attorney for Allen Warner asked the court for an evaluation to determine whether he is competent to stand trial.

The judge then ordered a competency evaluation for "as soon as possible," and said a new hearing would be scheduled once he reviewed the findings.

In a news conference on Tuesday night officials described how they finally tracked down Warner. An officer responding to a reported hit-and-run around 12:30 p.m. in the drive-thru of a Whitman Dunkin' Donuts checked the surveillance video and saw the vehicle in question was a tow truck from T&K Asphalt Services on Industrial Way in Whitman.

The officer then went to the asphalt business where he was told the truck seen in the video wasn't supposed to be out. Soon after, Warner was seen driving by in the truck. He was stopped and placed into custody, officials said.

>>RELATED: Family grieving after loss of mother of three in Marshfield killing

"All of a sudden, we had a tow truck come in through a private entrance," Hailey Holmes, a Dunkin' Donuts employee said. "They come through and they drag our flower pots."

Holmes said the suspect was a regular at the Dunkin' Donuts, and employees said they learned a lesson to "never judge a book by its cover" when meeting customers.

"I'm just thankful that I'm alive, he didn't come inside," Holmes said.

Police said Allen Warner stole the truck from the business and then drove to the Dunkin' Donuts. Employees called 911 after the hit-and-run. Investigators said at some point between the Marshfield killing and his capture Allen Warner dumped the Toyota Corolla he was reportedly driving and that police had issued an alert to be on the lookout for.

Earlier Tuesday, as officials provided more information on the investigation they appealed to Allen Warner to turn himself in.

Police said he was in Marshfield within the past week where Shana lived and they had contact with him after a caller reported a man walking in the rain wearing camouflage. Police said when they approached him he said he was collecting cans.

Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz confirmed Shana Warner called 911 just before 6 p.m. and told dispatchers her ex-husband was chasing her car.

Police found her SUV off the road in the area of 758 Main St. on Route 3A with her inside. She appeared to have been shot in the face, officials said, and later died at South Shore Hospital.

The hunt for Allen Warner prompted a lockdown Monday night in the wooded area off Route 3A where the victim was found in her car. Planned events at Marshfield High School were canceled and residents were told to shelter in place.

MORE: Woman killed in Marshfield shooting

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