Allen Warner, 51, at Plymouth Superior Court. Pool photo: Joe Difazio, The Patriot Ledger.
A jury found a Rockland man guilty of murder and six other charges in connection to the 2018 killing of his soon-to-be ex-wife in Marshfield.
At Plymouth Superior Court, a jury deliberated for two hours before they found 51-year-old Allen Warner guilty of first-degree murder. Jurors found the murder was committed with deliberate premeditation and extreme atrocity.
Warner was found guilty of stabbing, shooting, and striking 48-year-old Shana Warner with her vehicle along Route 3A in Marshfield.
“I have to say, I really miss my daughter. She was the best mom,” said Diane DeFilippo. “She loved her kids. When she was young, that’s all she wanted was children, and she was the best mom to her children. What he did was he took away their life, with all the things we used to do together.”
Family members described Shana Warner as a person who cared for others, loved to travel, and touched many lives. She worked with her father, Thomas DeFilippo at his landscaping business.
“There’s so much to tell about my daughter. How much we loved each other, and close bond we had. I was only 19 years old when I had her. Basically, we grew up together,” said DeFilippo. “I taught her how to swim, I taught her how to play chess, I taught her how to dance. I taught her everything. We were very close together, and then we worked together for 13 years.
She was going to take over my company, probably the next year after this incident happened, I was going to retire … It’s a shame. I worked for a few years after that, I had to retire. I couldn’t do it anymore without her. I needed her help, her strength. She’s a strong woman, dedicated, sweetheart, always helped everybody.”
Victoria Taylor, Shana’s daughter, said they would often go on camping trips together. But it was a long four years to get justice. Some family members were unable to attend the trial due to the nature of the case.
“I feel like it’s closure, we don’t have to worry about what’s going to happen with the case anymore now that it’s over,” said Taylor. “I know I’ve let a lot of family members know after we got the verdict and they’re really glad that the jury had found him guilty on all those charges. I think it’s going to help a lot of our family to kind of rest easy with it.”
The trial took place over two weeks, including about 40 witnesses and 140 exhibits. Testimony included people who were driving along Route 3A when the murder occurred.
“I feel like the DA’s Office did such an amazing, spectacular job of representing the family of Shana,” said Kat Bartlett, who founded Kat’s Kastle Foundation in honor of Shana. “For us to be able to keep her voice heard, and to step forward as survivors helping other survivors in her honor is just something that we all want to keep going forward.”
Jurors deliberated for about 30 minutes on Thursday. Jurors received instructions on second-degree murder on Friday, and started their deliberations over. They reached a verdict after two hours.
“We offer our condolences to Shana’s family. I’m hopeful that today’s verdict brings some measure of peace to her family,” said Marshfield Police Chief Phil Tavares. “I am thankful to the jury for their efforts during this trial and spending so much time away from their families. Mr. Warner believed he had committed the perfect crime. It is clear in all of the evidence that was presented during the trial and uncovered during the investigation that Warner had spent significant time and effort in planning this horrific extreme murder. What Mr. Warner failed to prepare for, was the dedication and effort put forth by so many police officers and prosecutors. He thought he was going to get away with this heinous crime but he was wrong. He can now spend the rest of his miserable existence in a prison cell realizing how wrong he was in thinking he was going to get away with it.”
According to Plymouth County District Attorney Tim Cruz, Marshfield Police received two calls reporting a carjacking or domestic violence incident on September 24, 2018.
A third 9-1-1 call was from Shana Warner, saying her ex-husband jumped into the car and she was very hurt. Police located her suffering from numerous life-threatening injuries, she was transported to South Shore Hospital, where she was pronounced dead. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner determined that she was shot, stabbed six times, and had blunt-force injuries.
Jurors heard testimony from one witness who followed a vehicle fleeing from the scene, and turned a license plate number to police back at the scene.
Allen Warner was identified as a person of interest that night, and a manhunt ensued.
Around 12:30 the next day, Whitman Police responded to a hit-and-run at a Dunkin’ Donuts. While the incident was under investigation, Warner drove by police in a ramp truck that was stolen from a business in town. He was arrested without further incident.
Allen Warner was located driving a stolen flat-bed truck in Whitman on September 25, 2018. Photo credit: Lenny Rowe.
Warner was found guilty of First-Degree Murder, Kidnapping, Possession of a Rifle, Loaded Firearm, and Ammunition, Theft of a Motor Vehicle, and Leaving the Scene of an Accident with Property Damage.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys Jessica Elumba and Kathleen Kramer, and was investigated by Massachusetts State Police Detectives assigned to the Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office and Marshfield Police.
Sentencing was scheduled for 9:30 a.m. on Monday at Plymouth Superior Court.
