Jim Axelrod

You take Nick out of this, you don't have the incident. You take Jackie out, it still happens. That's a really important point. Let's underscore that, Emery. You take Nick out of it, it doesn't happen. Take Jackie out of it, it still happens. So yes, disparity, sure, maybe. But this much disparity, I think that's the frustration and anger of Corey and others.

You take Nick out of this, you don't have the incident. You take Jackie out, it still happens. That's a really important point. Let's underscore that, Emery. You take Nick out of it, it doesn't happen. Take Jackie out of it, it still happens. So yes, disparity, sure, maybe. But this much disparity, I think that's the frustration and anger of Corey and others.

It's not that she was treated differently. It's like we're not even in the same universe of sentencing.

It's not that she was treated differently. It's like we're not even in the same universe of sentencing.

Do you think he believes it, what he's saying?

Do you think he believes it, what he's saying?

Paul Salo and James Moore of the Travis County Sheriff's Department say bullet casings were scattered on the floor. We had .40 caliber and .380. It was a hell of a gunfire. At first, Corey Shaughnessy thought it was a botched robbery. The family business had made them wealthy.

Paul Salo and James Moore of the Travis County Sheriff's Department say bullet casings were scattered on the floor. We had .40 caliber and .380. It was a hell of a gunfire. At first, Corey Shaughnessy thought it was a botched robbery. The family business had made them wealthy.

And Corey says there is no point responding to an apology. She was never meant to hear.

And Corey says there is no point responding to an apology. She was never meant to hear.

You heard Nick's bloodless, almost pulseless tone when he was apologizing to his mom. It's like robotic. And then Corey, who's working hard to keep it all together all these years later, still, you could hear the emotion in her voice as she's, you know, sort of, I'm not even going to respond because I'm supposed to be dead.

You heard Nick's bloodless, almost pulseless tone when he was apologizing to his mom. It's like robotic. And then Corey, who's working hard to keep it all together all these years later, still, you could hear the emotion in her voice as she's, you know, sort of, I'm not even going to respond because I'm supposed to be dead.

Like, she has to still, every day of her life, try to make sense of the absolute senseless.

Like, she has to still, every day of her life, try to make sense of the absolute senseless.

I mean...

I mean...

And no tears, no emotion, no. If those signs matter to you in terms of judging authenticity, did I feel like I was talking to somebody bereft? Nah.

And no tears, no emotion, no. If those signs matter to you in terms of judging authenticity, did I feel like I was talking to somebody bereft? Nah.

I thought about this a lot afterward. Like, as in my particular case as a parent, at the end of the day, as you get to be older, really what else matters? Your relationship with your kids, with your family, with what you're going to leave behind. Those are your fingerprints and footprints. And I just kept thinking about Corey.

I thought about this a lot afterward. Like, as in my particular case as a parent, at the end of the day, as you get to be older, really what else matters? Your relationship with your kids, with your family, with what you're going to leave behind. Those are your fingerprints and footprints. And I just kept thinking about Corey.

As she gets older, she will not have the luxury of being able to fold in even more, grasp even tighter to her kid. She has to do just the opposite, which is figure out emotionally how she can forget him.

As she gets older, she will not have the luxury of being able to fold in even more, grasp even tighter to her kid. She has to do just the opposite, which is figure out emotionally how she can forget him.

Do you still love your son?

Do you still love your son?

But Ted Shaughnessy didn't have any known enemies. And then-assistant DA Amy Meredith says it didn't look like a robbery. There were still valuables all over the house. There was nothing stolen. But there was something missing from the Shaughnessy's house. A handgun from a bedroom once belonging to their son, Nick.

But Ted Shaughnessy didn't have any known enemies. And then-assistant DA Amy Meredith says it didn't look like a robbery. There were still valuables all over the house. There was nothing stolen. But there was something missing from the Shaughnessy's house. A handgun from a bedroom once belonging to their son, Nick.

You love that eight-year-old boy racing cars with his dad. Yes.

You love that eight-year-old boy racing cars with his dad. Yes.

Yeah. You know, Corey's got a life sentence of her own, if you think about it. She's got this uphill emotional climb. I feel for her.

Yeah. You know, Corey's got a life sentence of her own, if you think about it. She's got this uphill emotional climb. I feel for her.

You know, you asked about how do you interview Nick in prison. I got to be honest with you. I thought more that that was easy in a sense. Like I knew where the lines were. I knew what my objectives and goals were. It was more complicated to sit down with Corey because I had to also establish a safe sort of interview space. I've interviewed murderers before.

You know, you asked about how do you interview Nick in prison. I got to be honest with you. I thought more that that was easy in a sense. Like I knew where the lines were. I knew what my objectives and goals were. It was more complicated to sit down with Corey because I had to also establish a safe sort of interview space. I've interviewed murderers before.

I've never interviewed somebody whose kids or son and prospective daughter-in-law were plotting to kill her. Like I had never done that before. And I didn't quite know where the lines were or how to get Corey to be able to talk about some of this stuff. But I was much more intimidated trying to get Corey's story out of her than Nick's out of him.

I've never interviewed somebody whose kids or son and prospective daughter-in-law were plotting to kill her. Like I had never done that before. And I didn't quite know where the lines were or how to get Corey to be able to talk about some of this stuff. But I was much more intimidated trying to get Corey's story out of her than Nick's out of him.

I've never heard of it, Jenna.

I've never heard of it, Jenna.

It is brilliant. It is. However, there are the other 364 nights of the year.

It is brilliant. It is. However, there are the other 364 nights of the year.

Thanks for having us.

Thanks for having us.

He and his high school sweetheart, Jackie Edison, rushed to Austin from the home where they were then living two hours away.

He and his high school sweetheart, Jackie Edison, rushed to Austin from the home where they were then living two hours away.

Corey says the family only armed the alarm when they were away, though Nick had access to the settings through a phone app. Police suspected he and Jackie were involved in the murder, but in the following days, the couple moved in with Corey.

Corey says the family only armed the alarm when they were away, though Nick had access to the settings through a phone app. Police suspected he and Jackie were involved in the murder, but in the following days, the couple moved in with Corey.

She had a good marriage. Like you go to bed and you've got somebody next to you in the bed who you love. You have a gorgeous home. You have a thriving business. That guy, that husband of yours is beloved in the community. So as you close your eyes, you're thinking, you know what?

She had a good marriage. Like you go to bed and you've got somebody next to you in the bed who you love. You have a gorgeous home. You have a thriving business. That guy, that husband of yours is beloved in the community. So as you close your eyes, you're thinking, you know what?

Life's a heavy lift and we're making it happen. You're awakened a few hours later and there is a hail of gunfire in your house and your husband's dead. Like, think about how you have to fold all of that into your reality. Just that.

Life's a heavy lift and we're making it happen. You're awakened a few hours later and there is a hail of gunfire in your house and your husband's dead. Like, think about how you have to fold all of that into your reality. Just that.

Moore says he noticed something about one of the men that made him freeze the video. Something he was wearing. A green Anderson t-shirt. Window company. A window company. This feels like a break and it only happens because you isolated a frame of the video from the security camera? Yeah. He and Salo drove to the window company where their hard work ran into more good luck.

Moore says he noticed something about one of the men that made him freeze the video. Something he was wearing. A green Anderson t-shirt. Window company. A window company. This feels like a break and it only happens because you isolated a frame of the video from the security camera? Yeah. He and Salo drove to the window company where their hard work ran into more good luck.

By sheer coincidence, an employee's daughter said she'd actually met the man in the freeze frame. Apparently, he'd only worked there for a few days, four years earlier. And this woman still remembered his name. Sergeant, what are the odds of a hit like this on the identity?

By sheer coincidence, an employee's daughter said she'd actually met the man in the freeze frame. Apparently, he'd only worked there for a few days, four years earlier. And this woman still remembered his name. Sergeant, what are the odds of a hit like this on the identity?

Yeah. You know, this is sort of one of the controlling principles of police work. But this case in particular, luck is the residue of design. Right? The harder you work, the luckier you get.

Yeah. You know, this is sort of one of the controlling principles of police work. But this case in particular, luck is the residue of design. Right? The harder you work, the luckier you get.

I mean, you can say luck all day long, but unless Detective Moore is staying on this to the degree he did and kept this behind in the chair in front of the screen and went over and over, they would have missed it.

I mean, you can say luck all day long, but unless Detective Moore is staying on this to the degree he did and kept this behind in the chair in front of the screen and went over and over, they would have missed it.

It still makes my hair stand up in the back of my neck. That's how they broke this case.

It still makes my hair stand up in the back of my neck. That's how they broke this case.

OK, but but even let's take it one step further. They managed to find someone who remembered the guy while he was working there for the brief number of hours he was. Yeah. And they remember that. I mean, that is a stroke of luck, but again, it's only enabled by an incredible amount of hard work.

OK, but but even let's take it one step further. They managed to find someone who remembered the guy while he was working there for the brief number of hours he was. Yeah. And they remember that. I mean, that is a stroke of luck, but again, it's only enabled by an incredible amount of hard work.

Nick Shaughnessy had everything. He had two parents doting on him. He had every material comfort, anything he wanted. So he was indulged and people might say, well, he was overindulged. But that doesn't create somebody who launches this kind of plot, right?

Nick Shaughnessy had everything. He had two parents doting on him. He had every material comfort, anything he wanted. So he was indulged and people might say, well, he was overindulged. But that doesn't create somebody who launches this kind of plot, right?

Thanks for having us.

Thanks for having us.

Let me just hop in here for a second. This needs to be said. The degree of difficulty of walking up to someone who you know doesn't want to talk to you and you approach them and not only get them to talk as opposed to just clamming up or running away or... but then tell you things that become helpful in understanding the scope of the story. No one understands how hard that actually is.

Let me just hop in here for a second. This needs to be said. The degree of difficulty of walking up to someone who you know doesn't want to talk to you and you approach them and not only get them to talk as opposed to just clamming up or running away or... but then tell you things that become helpful in understanding the scope of the story. No one understands how hard that actually is.

You see the final product on TV sometimes. You're like, oh, you know, Jenna really needs to be called out for what a top shelf job that was.

You see the final product on TV sometimes. You're like, oh, you know, Jenna really needs to be called out for what a top shelf job that was.

The biggest impediment in a situation like that is most of the time when you interview someone you've never met before about something sensitive, you want to establish a sense of trust. And that's done before the lights go on and the camera goes on by, you know, how you doing? I just want you to understand this is what I'm going to talk to you about. All that's out the window.

The biggest impediment in a situation like that is most of the time when you interview someone you've never met before about something sensitive, you want to establish a sense of trust. And that's done before the lights go on and the camera goes on by, you know, how you doing? I just want you to understand this is what I'm going to talk to you about. All that's out the window.

when you have to walk in and some public information officer from the prison is saying, all right, you got five minutes to sit down and let's get going, tweak the camera and let's, and then you have an hour. And this is my one shot. The first thought in the front of my mind was look in his eyes, make sure he knows you are listening to him because that is crucial.

when you have to walk in and some public information officer from the prison is saying, all right, you got five minutes to sit down and let's get going, tweak the camera and let's, and then you have an hour. And this is my one shot. The first thought in the front of my mind was look in his eyes, make sure he knows you are listening to him because that is crucial.

And I said to him, I'm like, look, Nick, you know, I'm going to ask you questions that are not going to be comfortable. But this is your chance to actually explain to a lot of people who are wondering what kind of guy would do this. So if you have something to say, now's the time to say it.

And I said to him, I'm like, look, Nick, you know, I'm going to ask you questions that are not going to be comfortable. But this is your chance to actually explain to a lot of people who are wondering what kind of guy would do this. So if you have something to say, now's the time to say it.

That doesn't mean I have suspended my own sense as a human being of, oh my God, I'm sitting across a guy from trying to have his parents killed.

That doesn't mean I have suspended my own sense as a human being of, oh my God, I'm sitting across a guy from trying to have his parents killed.

Were you at all thinking, what am I doing?

Were you at all thinking, what am I doing?

The back of your head? Why not the front of your head?

The back of your head? Why not the front of your head?

Somebody said to me, and this is the highest compliment I think I've ever received. They said, man, that was disappointed dad vibe.

Somebody said to me, and this is the highest compliment I think I've ever received. They said, man, that was disappointed dad vibe.

That is such a great observation on your part.

That is such a great observation on your part.

We won't, but there was a woman who survived the murder of her husband and she was a target too. And after the entire process has been completed, she is feeling a sense of not just sadness and frustration, but rage about the system not protecting her because she feels the people who are responsible for this were not dealt with properly. And it plagues her.

We won't, but there was a woman who survived the murder of her husband and she was a target too. And after the entire process has been completed, she is feeling a sense of not just sadness and frustration, but rage about the system not protecting her because she feels the people who are responsible for this were not dealt with properly. And it plagues her.

Before dawn on March 2nd, 2018, intruders entered the home of Ted and Corey Shaughnessy, killing him and one of the family's Rottweilers, Bart. Corey says she shot back and called 911. I'm in the closet.

Before dawn on March 2nd, 2018, intruders entered the home of Ted and Corey Shaughnessy, killing him and one of the family's Rottweilers, Bart. Corey says she shot back and called 911. I'm in the closet.

A district attorney spokesperson sent us a statement saying, quote, our office takes acts of violence seriously and is committed to holding people who commit violent crimes accountable. The statement also said Edison is on 10 years probation. And if she violates the terms, she could face 20 years in prison.

A district attorney spokesperson sent us a statement saying, quote, our office takes acts of violence seriously and is committed to holding people who commit violent crimes accountable. The statement also said Edison is on 10 years probation. And if she violates the terms, she could face 20 years in prison.

Corey Shaughnessy says a full explanation from authorities would have helped her make sense of something that has always struck her as impossibly wrong. So no one's ever explained to you why this enormous disparity in sentence?

Corey Shaughnessy says a full explanation from authorities would have helped her make sense of something that has always struck her as impossibly wrong. So no one's ever explained to you why this enormous disparity in sentence?

So this is why sometimes DAs simply issue a statement, because I can tell you if that was done at a news conference, the first question that I'd be asking is, hang on, you do not answer the question, why the disparity? So appreciate the statement, but could you please tell me why the disparity?

So this is why sometimes DAs simply issue a statement, because I can tell you if that was done at a news conference, the first question that I'd be asking is, hang on, you do not answer the question, why the disparity? So appreciate the statement, but could you please tell me why the disparity?

Was this important to have?

Was this important to have?

Police also saw something that seemed important in Jackie Edison's behavior.

Police also saw something that seemed important in Jackie Edison's behavior.

In questioning later that day, Nick and Jackie reminded police they'd been at their home in College Station when the shooting happened.

In questioning later that day, Nick and Jackie reminded police they'd been at their home in College Station when the shooting happened.

A few days later, investigators got a search warrant.

A few days later, investigators got a search warrant.

Though common among gun owners, the ammunition was the same brand and caliber that was found at the crime scene. And investigators were about to find proof the couple was keeping secrets. We find a marriage certificate for Nick and Jacqueline.

Though common among gun owners, the ammunition was the same brand and caliber that was found at the crime scene. And investigators were about to find proof the couple was keeping secrets. We find a marriage certificate for Nick and Jacqueline.

you discovered that nick and jackie were married by searching nick's apartment in all of the conversation you were having they never said that they were married a teenage friend of nick's named spencer patterson spencer patterson who'd been certified as a minister online had married them eight months earlier police weren't the only ones surprised you and ted never knew no

you discovered that nick and jackie were married by searching nick's apartment in all of the conversation you were having they never said that they were married a teenage friend of nick's named spencer patterson spencer patterson who'd been certified as a minister online had married them eight months earlier police weren't the only ones surprised you and ted never knew no

Corey Shaughnessy says Nick and Jackie didn't tell her about their clandestine marriage until after the murder.

Corey Shaughnessy says Nick and Jackie didn't tell her about their clandestine marriage until after the murder.

Trying to be a good mom, she says she promised to help them plan a proper wedding.

Trying to be a good mom, she says she promised to help them plan a proper wedding.

Corey had ample opportunity to make sure it happened because over the next few days, Nick and Jackie moved back into her house.

Corey had ample opportunity to make sure it happened because over the next few days, Nick and Jackie moved back into her house.

That's especially chilling because while police initially had looked at all three for the murder, they now suspected just two, and that Nick and Jackie had also targeted Corey. But it was still only a working theory. You can't say anything to Corey. No. That's a hard line to walk. If you have two people who planned her killing now living with her, are you worried about Corey's safety? Of course.

That's especially chilling because while police initially had looked at all three for the murder, they now suspected just two, and that Nick and Jackie had also targeted Corey. But it was still only a working theory. You can't say anything to Corey. No. That's a hard line to walk. If you have two people who planned her killing now living with her, are you worried about Corey's safety? Of course.

Of course. But Corey Shaughnessy says what worried her was the possibility authorities were trying to frame her son, who by now was working in his father's place at the jewelry store.

Of course. But Corey Shaughnessy says what worried her was the possibility authorities were trying to frame her son, who by now was working in his father's place at the jewelry store.

On March 10th, 2018, she hired her son the best defense attorney she could find.

On March 10th, 2018, she hired her son the best defense attorney she could find.

Corey Shaughnessy knew police were suspicious of Nick and Jackie, but she says she had no reason to think they were right. After all, she says, they've been wrong about her.

Corey Shaughnessy knew police were suspicious of Nick and Jackie, but she says she had no reason to think they were right. After all, she says, they've been wrong about her.

But the closer police looked, the more incriminating evidence they seemed to find that Nick and Jackie had planned to have both Shaughnessys killed. While phone records showed Nick had been more than 100 miles away at the time of the murder, they also showed he was lying when he said he hadn't been to Austin for a month.

But the closer police looked, the more incriminating evidence they seemed to find that Nick and Jackie had planned to have both Shaughnessys killed. While phone records showed Nick had been more than 100 miles away at the time of the murder, they also showed he was lying when he said he hadn't been to Austin for a month.

Investigators wondered if he had been in town making final preparations. there were text messages on Nick and Jackie's phones that police say showed a suspicious conversation. How important was the text message that he sent out February 23, 24? Nick is saying he's working on it.

Investigators wondered if he had been in town making final preparations. there were text messages on Nick and Jackie's phones that police say showed a suspicious conversation. How important was the text message that he sent out February 23, 24? Nick is saying he's working on it.

In another exchange, Nick asks her to withdraw money from her account. Quote, so if it happens, cash in hand. They do make this withdrawal. Jackie withdrew $1,000 from the bank just days before the murder. Authorities suspected it was no coincidence. Then, in May of 2018, they talked to the man who had officiated Nick and Jackie's wedding. that high school friend, Spencer Patterson.

In another exchange, Nick asks her to withdraw money from her account. Quote, so if it happens, cash in hand. They do make this withdrawal. Jackie withdrew $1,000 from the bank just days before the murder. Authorities suspected it was no coincidence. Then, in May of 2018, they talked to the man who had officiated Nick and Jackie's wedding. that high school friend, Spencer Patterson.

At first, investigators believed Patterson might be a suspect. But when they finally reached him, he proved to be a critical witness instead. He told them just before the murder, Nick had talked about coming into $8 million with Ted and Corey gone. Nick had put a dollar sign on the lives of his parents. Yes. That's chilling. It is. Patterson showed them text messages that were even more chilling.

At first, investigators believed Patterson might be a suspect. But when they finally reached him, he proved to be a critical witness instead. He told them just before the murder, Nick had talked about coming into $8 million with Ted and Corey gone. Nick had put a dollar sign on the lives of his parents. Yes. That's chilling. It is. Patterson showed them text messages that were even more chilling.

Just walk in and shoot a family, writes Nick. Steal all their . No mask needed, because they'll all be dead.

Just walk in and shoot a family, writes Nick. Steal all their . No mask needed, because they'll all be dead.

Police cleared Patterson, and on May 29, 2018, they arrested Nick Shaughnessy and Jackie Edison for criminal solicitation. Corey couldn't believe it.

Police cleared Patterson, and on May 29, 2018, they arrested Nick Shaughnessy and Jackie Edison for criminal solicitation. Corey couldn't believe it.

For months, Corey had stood by Nick. But she told us when she read the arrest affidavits and saw the evidence, her rock solid belief in his innocence. began to crumble.

For months, Corey had stood by Nick. But she told us when she read the arrest affidavits and saw the evidence, her rock solid belief in his innocence. began to crumble.

But as a mother, she says she still couldn't convince herself they deliberately tried to kill anyone.

But as a mother, she says she still couldn't convince herself they deliberately tried to kill anyone.

Confident Nick and Jackie were behind the attack, Police hope some time in jail might make them come clean about who had actually pulled the trigger. For the moment, though, neither one was talking.

Confident Nick and Jackie were behind the attack, Police hope some time in jail might make them come clean about who had actually pulled the trigger. For the moment, though, neither one was talking.

The evidence trail had essentially run cold. So we kind of hit a stall point. When in early July, four months after the murder, Detective Moore decided to review some security video from Nick and Jackie's porch, recorded just two days before the attack.

The evidence trail had essentially run cold. So we kind of hit a stall point. When in early July, four months after the murder, Detective Moore decided to review some security video from Nick and Jackie's porch, recorded just two days before the attack.

Moore says he noticed something about one of the men that made him freeze the video. Something he was wearing. A green Anderson T-shirt. Window company. A window company. This feels like a break and it only happens because you isolated a frame of the video from the security camera? Yeah. He and Salo drove to the window company where their hard work ran into more good luck.

Moore says he noticed something about one of the men that made him freeze the video. Something he was wearing. A green Anderson T-shirt. Window company. A window company. This feels like a break and it only happens because you isolated a frame of the video from the security camera? Yeah. He and Salo drove to the window company where their hard work ran into more good luck.

By sheer coincidence, an employee's daughter said she'd actually met the man in the freeze frame. Apparently, he'd only worked there for a few days, four years earlier.

By sheer coincidence, an employee's daughter said she'd actually met the man in the freeze frame. Apparently, he'd only worked there for a few days, four years earlier.

His name was Cameron Vozmek, and he wasn't home that day. But his wife answered the door. and quickly got their attention.

His name was Cameron Vozmek, and he wasn't home that day. But his wife answered the door. and quickly got their attention.

Hang on. She doesn't know who you guys are. You identify yourselves as detectives and she says, I know why you're here? Yes. She said a few months earlier, a man named Johnny Leon had asked her husband to commit murder for money. but he turned him down. Police ruled out Vosmec as a suspect, but Leon turned out to be the other person in the security video from Nick and Jackie's porch.

Hang on. She doesn't know who you guys are. You identify yourselves as detectives and she says, I know why you're here? Yes. She said a few months earlier, a man named Johnny Leon had asked her husband to commit murder for money. but he turned him down. Police ruled out Vosmec as a suspect, but Leon turned out to be the other person in the security video from Nick and Jackie's porch.

When they brought him in for questioning, he told them he was no murderer, but he admitted Nick had tried to hire him.

When they brought him in for questioning, he told them he was no murderer, but he admitted Nick had tried to hire him.

Police were convinced that Leone had taken the bait.

Police were convinced that Leone had taken the bait.

Leone was arrested for a capital murder, and on his phone, police found evidence he may not have acted alone. There was a flurry of contacts around the time of the killing with a Fort Worth man named Arian Smith. They also discovered both men had arrest records. In fact, the two had been arrested together for drugs a year earlier.

Leone was arrested for a capital murder, and on his phone, police found evidence he may not have acted alone. There was a flurry of contacts around the time of the killing with a Fort Worth man named Arian Smith. They also discovered both men had arrest records. In fact, the two had been arrested together for drugs a year earlier.

Smith opened up about the details of that night and broke down in the process.

Smith opened up about the details of that night and broke down in the process.

prosecutors were closer than ever to having everything they needed to make their case. We've got enough. Now let's go to trial. Something Nick Shaughnessy told us he'd wanted to avoid. Did you pay these two men to go kill your parents? After police arrested the last of their four suspects, Arian Smith, Detective Salo says Smith told them he wasn't just there for Ted's murder. Yes, I was there.

prosecutors were closer than ever to having everything they needed to make their case. We've got enough. Now let's go to trial. Something Nick Shaughnessy told us he'd wanted to avoid. Did you pay these two men to go kill your parents? After police arrested the last of their four suspects, Arian Smith, Detective Salo says Smith told them he wasn't just there for Ted's murder. Yes, I was there.

He acknowledged firing the fatal shot and then made a stunning request.

He acknowledged firing the fatal shot and then made a stunning request.

The death penalty.

The death penalty.

He also told police where to find the murder weapon. It was the .40 caliber pistol missing from that box they'd found in Nick's old bedroom. The .40 caliber gun that killed Ted was Ted's. Yes. For a mother who'd struggled for months to keep faith in her son, it felt like the last straw.

He also told police where to find the murder weapon. It was the .40 caliber pistol missing from that box they'd found in Nick's old bedroom. The .40 caliber gun that killed Ted was Ted's. Yes. For a mother who'd struggled for months to keep faith in her son, it felt like the last straw.

And Corey was horrified to realize she'd spent months sheltering the very people who'd planned to have Ted and her murdered that night. What a chilling thought. Two people who tried to have you killed, and they're living in your home.

And Corey was horrified to realize she'd spent months sheltering the very people who'd planned to have Ted and her murdered that night. What a chilling thought. Two people who tried to have you killed, and they're living in your home.

This is diabolical.

This is diabolical.

But after their arrest, it took just a couple of weeks for Jackie to blame Nick. Did Nicholas hire somebody to kill his parents?

But after their arrest, it took just a couple of weeks for Jackie to blame Nick. Did Nicholas hire somebody to kill his parents?

And Jackie seemed to know why he'd done it. She says Nick was in desperate financial straits with a failing day trading business and thousands in overdue loans, including at least one from Corey.

And Jackie seemed to know why he'd done it. She says Nick was in desperate financial straits with a failing day trading business and thousands in overdue loans, including at least one from Corey.

After her cooperation, authorities released Jackie on a reduced bond, and prosecutor Amy Meredith resolved to go after Nick for the maximum.

After her cooperation, authorities released Jackie on a reduced bond, and prosecutor Amy Meredith resolved to go after Nick for the maximum.

At this point, were you prepared to testify against Nick? Yes. Nick Shaughnessy and the two alleged hitmen were charged with capital murder. But by the spring of 2021, Amy Meredith had left her job as assistant district attorney. And there was a new DA, Jose Garza, whose office made the men an offer.

At this point, were you prepared to testify against Nick? Yes. Nick Shaughnessy and the two alleged hitmen were charged with capital murder. But by the spring of 2021, Amy Meredith had left her job as assistant district attorney. And there was a new DA, Jose Garza, whose office made the men an offer.

Avoid a possible death sentence by pleading guilty to a reduced charge of murder and serve 35 years with the possibility of parole. Leone and Smith agreed, and Corey wrote to Nick to suggest he do the same.

Avoid a possible death sentence by pleading guilty to a reduced charge of murder and serve 35 years with the possibility of parole. Leone and Smith agreed, and Corey wrote to Nick to suggest he do the same.

Nick Shaughnessy accepted the deal. He could be released when he's 36. In the summer of 2023, we visited him in prison near Houston. Did you hire people to go kill your parents?

Nick Shaughnessy accepted the deal. He could be released when he's 36. In the summer of 2023, we visited him in prison near Houston. Did you hire people to go kill your parents?

Never mind participated in multiple aspects, did you pay these two men to go kill your parents?

Never mind participated in multiple aspects, did you pay these two men to go kill your parents?

Nick, at the end of the day, are you sorry for what you did, or are you sorry that you got caught?

Nick, at the end of the day, are you sorry for what you did, or are you sorry that you got caught?

And Nick told us he never would have done it if not for Jackie. It was a very toxic relationship. Although he stood to inherit his parents' money eventually, he told us he wasn't prepared to wait. Were you at all thinking, what am I doing?

And Nick told us he never would have done it if not for Jackie. It was a very toxic relationship. Although he stood to inherit his parents' money eventually, he told us he wasn't prepared to wait. Were you at all thinking, what am I doing?

The back of your head?

The back of your head?

Why not the front of your head?

Why not the front of your head?

It is hard to know how much Jackie Edison should be blamed or what punishment she deserves. And jurors won't get to decide. She too got a deal from the office of the new DA for pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit capital murder by terror threat or other felony. A jail sentence of 120 days and 10 years probation.

It is hard to know how much Jackie Edison should be blamed or what punishment she deserves. And jurors won't get to decide. She too got a deal from the office of the new DA for pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit capital murder by terror threat or other felony. A jail sentence of 120 days and 10 years probation.

She began serving her time in June of 2023.

She began serving her time in June of 2023.

Three are doing 35 years. One is doing 120 days. Corey says that's outrageous. What are your thoughts?

Three are doing 35 years. One is doing 120 days. Corey says that's outrageous. What are your thoughts?

Amy Meredith was working elsewhere before prosecutors offered the plea deals. Corey's feelings aren't lost on her. Do you understand her rage?

Amy Meredith was working elsewhere before prosecutors offered the plea deals. Corey's feelings aren't lost on her. Do you understand her rage?

Corey is so upset that when the new prosecutors asked her to appear at Jackie's 2023 plea hearing, she refused, instead recording this video at home to be played in court.

Corey is so upset that when the new prosecutors asked her to appear at Jackie's 2023 plea hearing, she refused, instead recording this video at home to be played in court.

We wanted to ask Jackie Edison about that and other things, but she declined our request for an interview. On the day she was released from jail, our producer, Jenna Jackson, approached her.

We wanted to ask Jackie Edison about that and other things, but she declined our request for an interview. On the day she was released from jail, our producer, Jenna Jackson, approached her.

Corey and Nick Shaughnessy haven't spoken directly since his 2018 arrest.

Corey and Nick Shaughnessy haven't spoken directly since his 2018 arrest.

In fact, there may be only one thing they do agree on.

In fact, there may be only one thing they do agree on.

This is a 50-50 thing? Most definitely. Did Jacqueline Edison get away with murder?

This is a 50-50 thing? Most definitely. Did Jacqueline Edison get away with murder?

On October 17th, 2023, Jackie Edison walked out of an Austin-area jail after serving her four-month sentence.

On October 17th, 2023, Jackie Edison walked out of an Austin-area jail after serving her four-month sentence.

We'd been asking for an interview for months.

We'd been asking for an interview for months.

But our producer, Jenna Jackson, had some questions for her anyway.

But our producer, Jenna Jackson, had some questions for her anyway.

But investigators say there is no evidence Jackie ever tried to stop the murder. She's no princess in this. And according to what Nick told authorities, Jackie had been making plans for spending the Shaughnessy's money.

But investigators say there is no evidence Jackie ever tried to stop the murder. She's no princess in this. And according to what Nick told authorities, Jackie had been making plans for spending the Shaughnessy's money.

Though she did eventually help them make their case against the person they identified as the key culprit.

Though she did eventually help them make their case against the person they identified as the key culprit.

Still happens. Do you understand Corey's frustration? I do. Absolutely. We empathize with her. But Moore and Salo say Jackie's plea deal wasn't their call.

Still happens. Do you understand Corey's frustration? I do. Absolutely. We empathize with her. But Moore and Salo say Jackie's plea deal wasn't their call.

We wanted to ask DA Jose Garza exactly why Jackie Edison got 120 days after the other three got 35 years. But he wouldn't agree to an interview. A district attorney's spokesperson sent us a statement saying, quote, our office takes acts of violence seriously and is committed to holding people who commit violent crimes accountable. The statement also said Edison is on 10 years probation.

We wanted to ask DA Jose Garza exactly why Jackie Edison got 120 days after the other three got 35 years. But he wouldn't agree to an interview. A district attorney's spokesperson sent us a statement saying, quote, our office takes acts of violence seriously and is committed to holding people who commit violent crimes accountable. The statement also said Edison is on 10 years probation.

And if she violates the terms, she could face 20 years in prison. Corey Shaughnessy says a full explanation from authorities would have helped her make sense of something that has always struck her as impossibly wrong. So no one's ever explained to you why this enormous disparity in sentence?

And if she violates the terms, she could face 20 years in prison. Corey Shaughnessy says a full explanation from authorities would have helped her make sense of something that has always struck her as impossibly wrong. So no one's ever explained to you why this enormous disparity in sentence?

True or not, Nick Shaughnessy told us he hopes someday Corey will agree to speak with him. What would you say to her?

True or not, Nick Shaughnessy told us he hopes someday Corey will agree to speak with him. What would you say to her?

Do you think he believes it, what he's saying?

Do you think he believes it, what he's saying?

And Corey says there is no point responding to an apology. She was never meant to hear.

And Corey says there is no point responding to an apology. She was never meant to hear.

But even after a betrayal no mother should ever have to see, Corey still can't bring herself to condemn her son altogether. Do you still love your son?

But even after a betrayal no mother should ever have to see, Corey still can't bring herself to condemn her son altogether. Do you still love your son?

You love that eight-year-old boy racing cars with his dad?

You love that eight-year-old boy racing cars with his dad?

She knows that boy is gone forever, and so is the life she and Ted tried to build around him.

She knows that boy is gone forever, and so is the life she and Ted tried to build around him.

But now, living out of state under a different name, Corey is determined to make the most of every day.

But now, living out of state under a different name, Corey is determined to make the most of every day.

When Travis County Sheriff's detectives Paul Salo and James Moore arrived to investigate a shooting at Ted and Corey Shaughnessy's Austin, Texas home, early on March 2nd, 2018, they first thought it might be a robbery gone wrong.

When Travis County Sheriff's detectives Paul Salo and James Moore arrived to investigate a shooting at Ted and Corey Shaughnessy's Austin, Texas home, early on March 2nd, 2018, they first thought it might be a robbery gone wrong.

Inside the sprawling suburban home, it looked like a battlefield. 55-year-old Ted Shaughnessy lay dead in a pool of blood near the kitchen table.

Inside the sprawling suburban home, it looked like a battlefield. 55-year-old Ted Shaughnessy lay dead in a pool of blood near the kitchen table.

One of the family's two pet Rottweilers, Bart, had been shot to death as well. There was broken window glass everywhere, bullets lodged in the walls, casings all over the floor. Authorities noticed they were not all the same type. We had .40 caliber and .380.

One of the family's two pet Rottweilers, Bart, had been shot to death as well. There was broken window glass everywhere, bullets lodged in the walls, casings all over the floor. Authorities noticed they were not all the same type. We had .40 caliber and .380.

Corey would tell police she and Ted kept about 20 guns in the home and said she'd used her .357 revolver to shoot back at the attacker.

Corey would tell police she and Ted kept about 20 guns in the home and said she'd used her .357 revolver to shoot back at the attacker.

Investigators had noticed a single wide open ground floor window around the side of the house and wondered if the intruders had used it to get in.

Investigators had noticed a single wide open ground floor window around the side of the house and wondered if the intruders had used it to get in.

That open window led into an unoccupied bedroom. And there, inside a drawer, police found what seemed like an unlikely coincidence.

That open window led into an unoccupied bedroom. And there, inside a drawer, police found what seemed like an unlikely coincidence.

Well, hang on. .40 caliber is one of the caliber that you were just describing. Yes. It meant that Shaughnessy's empty gun box could have held a pistol that one of the intruders used and had ejected bullet casings near the victim.

Well, hang on. .40 caliber is one of the caliber that you were just describing. Yes. It meant that Shaughnessy's empty gun box could have held a pistol that one of the intruders used and had ejected bullet casings near the victim.

Outside, near Detective Moore, first responders were looking after Corey Shaughnessy. Corey's hysterical. Corey would tell police she had not seen the attacker's faces, but she did have a hunch about why they'd come.

Outside, near Detective Moore, first responders were looking after Corey Shaughnessy. Corey's hysterical. Corey would tell police she had not seen the attacker's faces, but she did have a hunch about why they'd come.

When you hear they own a jewelry store, what does that prompt in your minds? Automatically a motive. Someone figuring there was some safe with a bunch of jewelry. Absolutely. Yes, that's right. Corey broke the news by phone to the Shaughnessy's son, Nick, then 19, who lived two hours away with his girlfriend, Jackie, in College Station, Texas.

When you hear they own a jewelry store, what does that prompt in your minds? Automatically a motive. Someone figuring there was some safe with a bunch of jewelry. Absolutely. Yes, that's right. Corey broke the news by phone to the Shaughnessy's son, Nick, then 19, who lived two hours away with his girlfriend, Jackie, in College Station, Texas.

They immediately drove to Austin, arriving about 8 a.m.,

They immediately drove to Austin, arriving about 8 a.m.,

He asks me what happened. Nick, Jackie, and Corey all agreed to help the investigation in any way possible. Corey allowed police to search her phone, and though Nick said he hadn't been in Austin for about a month, he and Jackie did the same. All three also agreed to answer questions at the station.

He asks me what happened. Nick, Jackie, and Corey all agreed to help the investigation in any way possible. Corey allowed police to search her phone, and though Nick said he hadn't been in Austin for about a month, he and Jackie did the same. All three also agreed to answer questions at the station.

But Corey says the more police questioned her in the coming days, the more a traumatic situation went from bad to worse.

But Corey says the more police questioned her in the coming days, the more a traumatic situation went from bad to worse.

She says they were not treating her like a victim.

She says they were not treating her like a victim.

Investigators still weren't sure if the murder was part of a random attack, a jewel heist gone bad, or whether it was a targeted assassination. They weren't finding any relevant unidentified prints at the scene, so they had to wonder if their sole surviving victim, Corey Shaughnessy, was actually a suspect.

Investigators still weren't sure if the murder was part of a random attack, a jewel heist gone bad, or whether it was a targeted assassination. They weren't finding any relevant unidentified prints at the scene, so they had to wonder if their sole surviving victim, Corey Shaughnessy, was actually a suspect.

They called her in for a series of interviews. For the last one, she brought a lawyer who is seated on the left.

They called her in for a series of interviews. For the last one, she brought a lawyer who is seated on the left.

You got a distraught wife. You got a dead husband. You have to ask about the marriage, don't you? Yes.

You got a distraught wife. You got a dead husband. You have to ask about the marriage, don't you? Yes.

Investigators learned Corey and Ted had met in the early 80s at a video arcade in Phoenix. They'd quickly discovered they had a lot in common, including a love of jewelry and eventually of each other. They married and opened gallery jewelers.

Investigators learned Corey and Ted had met in the early 80s at a video arcade in Phoenix. They'd quickly discovered they had a lot in common, including a love of jewelry and eventually of each other. They married and opened gallery jewelers.

As the jewelry business grew, Ted and Corey had decided to grow their family too. In 2000, they adopted Nick at 16 months old from an orphanage in Ukraine. It was just instant love. It was. Yeah, instant. Corey says they all bonded even before bringing him home.

As the jewelry business grew, Ted and Corey had decided to grow their family too. In 2000, they adopted Nick at 16 months old from an orphanage in Ukraine. It was just instant love. It was. Yeah, instant. Corey says they all bonded even before bringing him home.

Skillful distribution of animal crackers?

Skillful distribution of animal crackers?

She says Ted had a knack for helping people express their love with a sparkle. Everybody loved Ted. Didn't have any enemies. By the time of the murder, the Shaughnessys were worth millions. But maybe even more valuable to them, they counted some of their customers as close friends.

She says Ted had a knack for helping people express their love with a sparkle. Everybody loved Ted. Didn't have any enemies. By the time of the murder, the Shaughnessys were worth millions. But maybe even more valuable to them, they counted some of their customers as close friends.

For Corey, being a parent was worth its weight in gold. Nicholas had everything a kid could want.

For Corey, being a parent was worth its weight in gold. Nicholas had everything a kid could want.

What was he into?

What was he into?

Especially fast ones. His father drove race cars for fun and often took him to the track.

Especially fast ones. His father drove race cars for fun and often took him to the track.

In high school, she says, her son found another love. Her name was Jackie Edison. After her parents' divorce, Jackie had moved from New Jersey to Austin to live with her father. Nick brought her to meet his parents in 2016.

In high school, she says, her son found another love. Her name was Jackie Edison. After her parents' divorce, Jackie had moved from New Jersey to Austin to live with her father. Nick brought her to meet his parents in 2016.

But Corey says Jackie eventually won them over. And before long, she was spending so much time in the Shaughnessy's house, they actually let her move in. Did you settle into a, okay, a serious girlfriend seems to be part of Nick's life, and she's okay?

But Corey says Jackie eventually won them over. And before long, she was spending so much time in the Shaughnessy's house, they actually let her move in. Did you settle into a, okay, a serious girlfriend seems to be part of Nick's life, and she's okay?

In August of 2017, Nick and Jackie moved out to start a new life in College Station. She in school, he as a day trader with his parents' financial backing. Ted and Corey would have less than a year to enjoy their empty nest, before that horrible night in March. Police stayed on the scene for hours trying to process all the evidence.

In August of 2017, Nick and Jackie moved out to start a new life in College Station. She in school, he as a day trader with his parents' financial backing. Ted and Corey would have less than a year to enjoy their empty nest, before that horrible night in March. Police stayed on the scene for hours trying to process all the evidence.

Amy Meredith was an assistant district attorney. and says police asked her to come help them process and preserve the scene, an unusual request. She arrived around 11 a.m. and, after looking around, began to believe, as they did, that Ted Shaughnessy probably knew whoever had attacked him.

Amy Meredith was an assistant district attorney. and says police asked her to come help them process and preserve the scene, an unusual request. She arrived around 11 a.m. and, after looking around, began to believe, as they did, that Ted Shaughnessy probably knew whoever had attacked him.

Meredith was sure the home was just too big and too dark for a pair of random robbers or jewel thief wannabes to find their way around. Maybe even more importantly... There was nothing stolen. Nothing from that safe. No valuables missing from the rest of the house. So everything for you pointed to inside jobs. Yes, without a doubt.

Meredith was sure the home was just too big and too dark for a pair of random robbers or jewel thief wannabes to find their way around. Maybe even more importantly... There was nothing stolen. Nothing from that safe. No valuables missing from the rest of the house. So everything for you pointed to inside jobs. Yes, without a doubt.

Corey Shaughnessy's frustration with investigators was growing. Thank you. All right. Well, again, I appreciate you guys coming in. She says she'd known from the start that she was a suspect in her husband's murder. She says she needed money for the business in the following weeks, and it didn't help when she tried to cash in his million-dollar life insurance policy.

Corey Shaughnessy's frustration with investigators was growing. Thank you. All right. Well, again, I appreciate you guys coming in. She says she'd known from the start that she was a suspect in her husband's murder. She says she needed money for the business in the following weeks, and it didn't help when she tried to cash in his million-dollar life insurance policy.

Let me just ask, did you have anything to do with this?

Let me just ask, did you have anything to do with this?

But Amy Meredith says Corey had started raising red flags immediately after leaving the scene. Within hours of the murder, she reportedly stated there would be no funeral and inquired about having the house cleaned. We had to make sure that she did not have any involvement. But Corey wasn't the only member of Ted's family who was raising suspicion.

But Amy Meredith says Corey had started raising red flags immediately after leaving the scene. Within hours of the murder, she reportedly stated there would be no funeral and inquired about having the house cleaned. We had to make sure that she did not have any involvement. But Corey wasn't the only member of Ted's family who was raising suspicion.

The Shaughnessy son, Nick, had been more than 100 miles away at the time of the murder. At the scene that morning, he'd been emotional. But what struck Detective Salo was one of Nick's first questions.

The Shaughnessy son, Nick, had been more than 100 miles away at the time of the murder. At the scene that morning, he'd been emotional. But what struck Detective Salo was one of Nick's first questions.

Even more so, police say, because as the morning wore on, Nick became much less interested in speaking with police than with the reporters who had started showing up.

Even more so, police say, because as the morning wore on, Nick became much less interested in speaking with police than with the reporters who had started showing up.

And then Nick did something really odd, says Detective Moore. He walked directly over to examine that ground floor, wide open side window. The room it led to had once been his.

And then Nick did something really odd, says Detective Moore. He walked directly over to examine that ground floor, wide open side window. The room it led to had once been his.

How does he know the entry point unless he was involved in creating the entry point?

How does he know the entry point unless he was involved in creating the entry point?

get super suspicious but it was catching my attention something on nick's phone had caught their attention as well an app that gave him access to his parents alarm corey told them the family often chose not to arm the system and that it had been switched off that night but authorities noticed something in the account history there was an activation for an open window

get super suspicious but it was catching my attention something on nick's phone had caught their attention as well an app that gave him access to his parents alarm corey told them the family often chose not to arm the system and that it had been switched off that night but authorities noticed something in the account history there was an activation for an open window

It could be the justice two families have long been waiting for, the arrest of Dana Chandler in the 2002 killings of Karen Hartness and Michael Sisko.

It could be the justice two families have long been waiting for, the arrest of Dana Chandler in the 2002 killings of Karen Hartness and Michael Sisko.

You have a trial where she's found guilty.

You have a trial where she's found guilty.

And then the Kansas Supreme Court comes and says, this is prosecutorial misconduct, and it's so bad that we're going to go ahead and overturn her conviction. You have a new trial. The jury is unable to reach a unanimous verdict. And now they've had a hung jury, and they're going to try her again. That just is almost unheard of.

And then the Kansas Supreme Court comes and says, this is prosecutorial misconduct, and it's so bad that we're going to go ahead and overturn her conviction. You have a new trial. The jury is unable to reach a unanimous verdict. And now they've had a hung jury, and they're going to try her again. That just is almost unheard of.

And that is just a blatant misstatement.

And that is just a blatant misstatement.

I went through the whole case. I went and looked for every possible order I could find, and there wasn't one that she was referring to.

I went through the whole case. I went and looked for every possible order I could find, and there wasn't one that she was referring to.

I think that Ms. Chandler never had an opportunity at a fair trial from the get-go.

I think that Ms. Chandler never had an opportunity at a fair trial from the get-go.

The Kansas Supreme Court held that it's so bad that we're going to go ahead and overturn her conviction.

The Kansas Supreme Court held that it's so bad that we're going to go ahead and overturn her conviction.

I knew it was different. I just didn't know what was gonna happen. I could never have predicted it.

I knew it was different. I just didn't know what was gonna happen. I could never have predicted it.

They just kind of hypothesized, well, she must have went up and went over from Nebraska. There was no evidence of that at all.

They just kind of hypothesized, well, she must have went up and went over from Nebraska. There was no evidence of that at all.

We argued insufficiency of evidence as an issue for appeal.

We argued insufficiency of evidence as an issue for appeal.

Jurors didn't have enough evidence before them if you took out all the evidence that should have never been presented or told to them incorrectly.

Jurors didn't have enough evidence before them if you took out all the evidence that should have never been presented or told to them incorrectly.

When a case gets reversed, like a case like this, we essentially have an innocent woman who's been convicted of crime because of the prosecutor, or we have a family that has now a reverse conviction that has to go through the system again.

When a case gets reversed, like a case like this, we essentially have an innocent woman who's been convicted of crime because of the prosecutor, or we have a family that has now a reverse conviction that has to go through the system again.

Right. So that conduct is going to affect someone.

Right. So that conduct is going to affect someone.

I don't think it was 48 hours. 2009 is a lot different than when they arrested her. They arrested her three or four years, three years later. I think the family was what kept it going. They believed that Ms. Chandler did this. It was the new prosecutor, and it was the family probably saying, hey, we need justice done in this.

I don't think it was 48 hours. 2009 is a lot different than when they arrested her. They arrested her three or four years, three years later. I think the family was what kept it going. They believed that Ms. Chandler did this. It was the new prosecutor, and it was the family probably saying, hey, we need justice done in this.

I'm bothered by the prosecutor. I'm bothered by the district attorney showing up at an arrest and having that arrest filmed.

I'm bothered by the prosecutor. I'm bothered by the district attorney showing up at an arrest and having that arrest filmed.

I think they wanted then the public to see that. That to me was, it seemed like such a production for a case. That prosecutor should never have done that.

I think they wanted then the public to see that. That to me was, it seemed like such a production for a case. That prosecutor should never have done that.

It could be the justice two families have long been waiting for, the arrest of Dana Chandler in the 2002 killings of Karen Hartness and Michael Sisko.

You have a trial where she's found guilty.

And then the Kansas Supreme Court comes and says, this is prosecutorial misconduct, and it's so bad that we're going to go ahead and overturn her conviction. You have a new trial. The jury is unable to reach a unanimous verdict. And now they've had a hung jury, and they're going to try her again. That just is almost unheard of.

And that is just a blatant misstatement.

I went through the whole case. I went and looked for every possible order I could find, and there wasn't one that she was referring to.

I think that Ms. Chandler never had an opportunity at a fair trial from the get-go.

The Kansas Supreme Court held that it's so bad that we're going to go ahead and overturn her conviction.

I knew it was different. I just didn't know what was gonna happen. I could never have predicted it.

They just kind of hypothesized, well, she must have went up and went over from Nebraska. There was no evidence of that at all.

We argued insufficiency of evidence as an issue for appeal.

Jurors didn't have enough evidence before them if you took out all the evidence that should have never been presented or told to them incorrectly.

When a case gets reversed, like a case like this, we essentially have an innocent woman who's been convicted of crime because of the prosecutor, or we have a family that has now a reverse conviction that has to go through the system again.

Right. So that conduct is going to affect someone.

I don't think it was 48 hours. 2009 is a lot different than when they arrested her. They arrested her three or four years, three years later. I think the family was what kept it going. They believed that Ms. Chandler did this. It was the new prosecutor, and it was the family probably saying, hey, we need justice done in this.

I'm bothered by the prosecutor. I'm bothered by the district attorney showing up at an arrest and having that arrest filmed.

I think they wanted then the public to see that. That to me was, it seemed like such a production for a case. That prosecutor should never have done that.

You take Nick out of this, you don't have the incident. You take Jackie out, it still happens. That's a really important point. Let's underscore that, Emery. You take Nick out of it, it doesn't happen. Take Jackie out of it, it still happens. So yes, disparity, sure, maybe. But this much disparity, I think that's the frustration and anger of Corey and others.

It's not that she was treated differently. It's like we're not even in the same universe of sentencing.

Do you think he believes it, what he's saying?

Paul Salo and James Moore of the Travis County Sheriff's Department say bullet casings were scattered on the floor. We had .40 caliber and .380. It was a hell of a gunfire. At first, Corey Shaughnessy thought it was a botched robbery. The family business had made them wealthy.

And Corey says there is no point responding to an apology. She was never meant to hear.

You heard Nick's bloodless, almost pulseless tone when he was apologizing to his mom. It's like robotic. And then Corey, who's working hard to keep it all together all these years later, still, you could hear the emotion in her voice as she's, you know, sort of, I'm not even going to respond because I'm supposed to be dead.

Like, she has to still, every day of her life, try to make sense of the absolute senseless.

I mean...

And no tears, no emotion, no. If those signs matter to you in terms of judging authenticity, did I feel like I was talking to somebody bereft? Nah.

I thought about this a lot afterward. Like, as in my particular case as a parent, at the end of the day, as you get to be older, really what else matters? Your relationship with your kids, with your family, with what you're going to leave behind. Those are your fingerprints and footprints. And I just kept thinking about Corey.

As she gets older, she will not have the luxury of being able to fold in even more, grasp even tighter to her kid. She has to do just the opposite, which is figure out emotionally how she can forget him.

Do you still love your son?

But Ted Shaughnessy didn't have any known enemies. And then-assistant DA Amy Meredith says it didn't look like a robbery. There were still valuables all over the house. There was nothing stolen. But there was something missing from the Shaughnessy's house. A handgun from a bedroom once belonging to their son, Nick.

You love that eight-year-old boy racing cars with his dad. Yes.

Yeah. You know, Corey's got a life sentence of her own, if you think about it. She's got this uphill emotional climb. I feel for her.

You know, you asked about how do you interview Nick in prison. I got to be honest with you. I thought more that that was easy in a sense. Like I knew where the lines were. I knew what my objectives and goals were. It was more complicated to sit down with Corey because I had to also establish a safe sort of interview space. I've interviewed murderers before.

I've never interviewed somebody whose kids or son and prospective daughter-in-law were plotting to kill her. Like I had never done that before. And I didn't quite know where the lines were or how to get Corey to be able to talk about some of this stuff. But I was much more intimidated trying to get Corey's story out of her than Nick's out of him.

I've never heard of it, Jenna.

It is brilliant. It is. However, there are the other 364 nights of the year.

Thanks for having us.

He and his high school sweetheart, Jackie Edison, rushed to Austin from the home where they were then living two hours away.

Corey says the family only armed the alarm when they were away, though Nick had access to the settings through a phone app. Police suspected he and Jackie were involved in the murder, but in the following days, the couple moved in with Corey.

She had a good marriage. Like you go to bed and you've got somebody next to you in the bed who you love. You have a gorgeous home. You have a thriving business. That guy, that husband of yours is beloved in the community. So as you close your eyes, you're thinking, you know what?

Life's a heavy lift and we're making it happen. You're awakened a few hours later and there is a hail of gunfire in your house and your husband's dead. Like, think about how you have to fold all of that into your reality. Just that.

Moore says he noticed something about one of the men that made him freeze the video. Something he was wearing. A green Anderson t-shirt. Window company. A window company. This feels like a break and it only happens because you isolated a frame of the video from the security camera? Yeah. He and Salo drove to the window company where their hard work ran into more good luck.

By sheer coincidence, an employee's daughter said she'd actually met the man in the freeze frame. Apparently, he'd only worked there for a few days, four years earlier. And this woman still remembered his name. Sergeant, what are the odds of a hit like this on the identity?

Yeah. You know, this is sort of one of the controlling principles of police work. But this case in particular, luck is the residue of design. Right? The harder you work, the luckier you get.

I mean, you can say luck all day long, but unless Detective Moore is staying on this to the degree he did and kept this behind in the chair in front of the screen and went over and over, they would have missed it.

It still makes my hair stand up in the back of my neck. That's how they broke this case.

OK, but but even let's take it one step further. They managed to find someone who remembered the guy while he was working there for the brief number of hours he was. Yeah. And they remember that. I mean, that is a stroke of luck, but again, it's only enabled by an incredible amount of hard work.

Nick Shaughnessy had everything. He had two parents doting on him. He had every material comfort, anything he wanted. So he was indulged and people might say, well, he was overindulged. But that doesn't create somebody who launches this kind of plot, right?

Thanks for having us.

Let me just hop in here for a second. This needs to be said. The degree of difficulty of walking up to someone who you know doesn't want to talk to you and you approach them and not only get them to talk as opposed to just clamming up or running away or... but then tell you things that become helpful in understanding the scope of the story. No one understands how hard that actually is.

You see the final product on TV sometimes. You're like, oh, you know, Jenna really needs to be called out for what a top shelf job that was.

The biggest impediment in a situation like that is most of the time when you interview someone you've never met before about something sensitive, you want to establish a sense of trust. And that's done before the lights go on and the camera goes on by, you know, how you doing? I just want you to understand this is what I'm going to talk to you about. All that's out the window.

when you have to walk in and some public information officer from the prison is saying, all right, you got five minutes to sit down and let's get going, tweak the camera and let's, and then you have an hour. And this is my one shot. The first thought in the front of my mind was look in his eyes, make sure he knows you are listening to him because that is crucial.

And I said to him, I'm like, look, Nick, you know, I'm going to ask you questions that are not going to be comfortable. But this is your chance to actually explain to a lot of people who are wondering what kind of guy would do this. So if you have something to say, now's the time to say it.

That doesn't mean I have suspended my own sense as a human being of, oh my God, I'm sitting across a guy from trying to have his parents killed.

Were you at all thinking, what am I doing?

The back of your head? Why not the front of your head?

Somebody said to me, and this is the highest compliment I think I've ever received. They said, man, that was disappointed dad vibe.

That is such a great observation on your part.

We won't, but there was a woman who survived the murder of her husband and she was a target too. And after the entire process has been completed, she is feeling a sense of not just sadness and frustration, but rage about the system not protecting her because she feels the people who are responsible for this were not dealt with properly. And it plagues her.

Before dawn on March 2nd, 2018, intruders entered the home of Ted and Corey Shaughnessy, killing him and one of the family's Rottweilers, Bart. Corey says she shot back and called 911. I'm in the closet.

A district attorney spokesperson sent us a statement saying, quote, our office takes acts of violence seriously and is committed to holding people who commit violent crimes accountable. The statement also said Edison is on 10 years probation. And if she violates the terms, she could face 20 years in prison.

Corey Shaughnessy says a full explanation from authorities would have helped her make sense of something that has always struck her as impossibly wrong. So no one's ever explained to you why this enormous disparity in sentence?

So this is why sometimes DAs simply issue a statement, because I can tell you if that was done at a news conference, the first question that I'd be asking is, hang on, you do not answer the question, why the disparity? So appreciate the statement, but could you please tell me why the disparity?

Was this important to have?

Police also saw something that seemed important in Jackie Edison's behavior.

In questioning later that day, Nick and Jackie reminded police they'd been at their home in College Station when the shooting happened.

A few days later, investigators got a search warrant.

Though common among gun owners, the ammunition was the same brand and caliber that was found at the crime scene. And investigators were about to find proof the couple was keeping secrets. We find a marriage certificate for Nick and Jacqueline.

you discovered that nick and jackie were married by searching nick's apartment in all of the conversation you were having they never said that they were married a teenage friend of nick's named spencer patterson spencer patterson who'd been certified as a minister online had married them eight months earlier police weren't the only ones surprised you and ted never knew no

Corey Shaughnessy says Nick and Jackie didn't tell her about their clandestine marriage until after the murder.

Trying to be a good mom, she says she promised to help them plan a proper wedding.

Corey had ample opportunity to make sure it happened because over the next few days, Nick and Jackie moved back into her house.

That's especially chilling because while police initially had looked at all three for the murder, they now suspected just two, and that Nick and Jackie had also targeted Corey. But it was still only a working theory. You can't say anything to Corey. No. That's a hard line to walk. If you have two people who planned her killing now living with her, are you worried about Corey's safety? Of course.

Of course. But Corey Shaughnessy says what worried her was the possibility authorities were trying to frame her son, who by now was working in his father's place at the jewelry store.

On March 10th, 2018, she hired her son the best defense attorney she could find.

Corey Shaughnessy knew police were suspicious of Nick and Jackie, but she says she had no reason to think they were right. After all, she says, they've been wrong about her.

But the closer police looked, the more incriminating evidence they seemed to find that Nick and Jackie had planned to have both Shaughnessys killed. While phone records showed Nick had been more than 100 miles away at the time of the murder, they also showed he was lying when he said he hadn't been to Austin for a month.

Investigators wondered if he had been in town making final preparations. there were text messages on Nick and Jackie's phones that police say showed a suspicious conversation. How important was the text message that he sent out February 23, 24? Nick is saying he's working on it.

In another exchange, Nick asks her to withdraw money from her account. Quote, so if it happens, cash in hand. They do make this withdrawal. Jackie withdrew $1,000 from the bank just days before the murder. Authorities suspected it was no coincidence. Then, in May of 2018, they talked to the man who had officiated Nick and Jackie's wedding. that high school friend, Spencer Patterson.

At first, investigators believed Patterson might be a suspect. But when they finally reached him, he proved to be a critical witness instead. He told them just before the murder, Nick had talked about coming into $8 million with Ted and Corey gone. Nick had put a dollar sign on the lives of his parents. Yes. That's chilling. It is. Patterson showed them text messages that were even more chilling.

Just walk in and shoot a family, writes Nick. Steal all their . No mask needed, because they'll all be dead.

Police cleared Patterson, and on May 29, 2018, they arrested Nick Shaughnessy and Jackie Edison for criminal solicitation. Corey couldn't believe it.

For months, Corey had stood by Nick. But she told us when she read the arrest affidavits and saw the evidence, her rock solid belief in his innocence. began to crumble.

But as a mother, she says she still couldn't convince herself they deliberately tried to kill anyone.

Confident Nick and Jackie were behind the attack, Police hope some time in jail might make them come clean about who had actually pulled the trigger. For the moment, though, neither one was talking.

The evidence trail had essentially run cold. So we kind of hit a stall point. When in early July, four months after the murder, Detective Moore decided to review some security video from Nick and Jackie's porch, recorded just two days before the attack.

Moore says he noticed something about one of the men that made him freeze the video. Something he was wearing. A green Anderson T-shirt. Window company. A window company. This feels like a break and it only happens because you isolated a frame of the video from the security camera? Yeah. He and Salo drove to the window company where their hard work ran into more good luck.

By sheer coincidence, an employee's daughter said she'd actually met the man in the freeze frame. Apparently, he'd only worked there for a few days, four years earlier.

His name was Cameron Vozmek, and he wasn't home that day. But his wife answered the door. and quickly got their attention.

Hang on. She doesn't know who you guys are. You identify yourselves as detectives and she says, I know why you're here? Yes. She said a few months earlier, a man named Johnny Leon had asked her husband to commit murder for money. but he turned him down. Police ruled out Vosmec as a suspect, but Leon turned out to be the other person in the security video from Nick and Jackie's porch.

When they brought him in for questioning, he told them he was no murderer, but he admitted Nick had tried to hire him.

Police were convinced that Leone had taken the bait.

Leone was arrested for a capital murder, and on his phone, police found evidence he may not have acted alone. There was a flurry of contacts around the time of the killing with a Fort Worth man named Arian Smith. They also discovered both men had arrest records. In fact, the two had been arrested together for drugs a year earlier.

Smith opened up about the details of that night and broke down in the process.

prosecutors were closer than ever to having everything they needed to make their case. We've got enough. Now let's go to trial. Something Nick Shaughnessy told us he'd wanted to avoid. Did you pay these two men to go kill your parents? After police arrested the last of their four suspects, Arian Smith, Detective Salo says Smith told them he wasn't just there for Ted's murder. Yes, I was there.

He acknowledged firing the fatal shot and then made a stunning request.

The death penalty.

He also told police where to find the murder weapon. It was the .40 caliber pistol missing from that box they'd found in Nick's old bedroom. The .40 caliber gun that killed Ted was Ted's. Yes. For a mother who'd struggled for months to keep faith in her son, it felt like the last straw.

And Corey was horrified to realize she'd spent months sheltering the very people who'd planned to have Ted and her murdered that night. What a chilling thought. Two people who tried to have you killed, and they're living in your home.

This is diabolical.

But after their arrest, it took just a couple of weeks for Jackie to blame Nick. Did Nicholas hire somebody to kill his parents?

And Jackie seemed to know why he'd done it. She says Nick was in desperate financial straits with a failing day trading business and thousands in overdue loans, including at least one from Corey.

After her cooperation, authorities released Jackie on a reduced bond, and prosecutor Amy Meredith resolved to go after Nick for the maximum.

At this point, were you prepared to testify against Nick? Yes. Nick Shaughnessy and the two alleged hitmen were charged with capital murder. But by the spring of 2021, Amy Meredith had left her job as assistant district attorney. And there was a new DA, Jose Garza, whose office made the men an offer.

Avoid a possible death sentence by pleading guilty to a reduced charge of murder and serve 35 years with the possibility of parole. Leone and Smith agreed, and Corey wrote to Nick to suggest he do the same.

Nick Shaughnessy accepted the deal. He could be released when he's 36. In the summer of 2023, we visited him in prison near Houston. Did you hire people to go kill your parents?

Never mind participated in multiple aspects, did you pay these two men to go kill your parents?

Nick, at the end of the day, are you sorry for what you did, or are you sorry that you got caught?

And Nick told us he never would have done it if not for Jackie. It was a very toxic relationship. Although he stood to inherit his parents' money eventually, he told us he wasn't prepared to wait. Were you at all thinking, what am I doing?

The back of your head?

Why not the front of your head?

It is hard to know how much Jackie Edison should be blamed or what punishment she deserves. And jurors won't get to decide. She too got a deal from the office of the new DA for pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit capital murder by terror threat or other felony. A jail sentence of 120 days and 10 years probation.

She began serving her time in June of 2023.

Three are doing 35 years. One is doing 120 days. Corey says that's outrageous. What are your thoughts?

Amy Meredith was working elsewhere before prosecutors offered the plea deals. Corey's feelings aren't lost on her. Do you understand her rage?

Corey is so upset that when the new prosecutors asked her to appear at Jackie's 2023 plea hearing, she refused, instead recording this video at home to be played in court.

We wanted to ask Jackie Edison about that and other things, but she declined our request for an interview. On the day she was released from jail, our producer, Jenna Jackson, approached her.

Corey and Nick Shaughnessy haven't spoken directly since his 2018 arrest.

In fact, there may be only one thing they do agree on.

This is a 50-50 thing? Most definitely. Did Jacqueline Edison get away with murder?

On October 17th, 2023, Jackie Edison walked out of an Austin-area jail after serving her four-month sentence.

We'd been asking for an interview for months.

But our producer, Jenna Jackson, had some questions for her anyway.

But investigators say there is no evidence Jackie ever tried to stop the murder. She's no princess in this. And according to what Nick told authorities, Jackie had been making plans for spending the Shaughnessy's money.

Though she did eventually help them make their case against the person they identified as the key culprit.

Still happens. Do you understand Corey's frustration? I do. Absolutely. We empathize with her. But Moore and Salo say Jackie's plea deal wasn't their call.

We wanted to ask DA Jose Garza exactly why Jackie Edison got 120 days after the other three got 35 years. But he wouldn't agree to an interview. A district attorney's spokesperson sent us a statement saying, quote, our office takes acts of violence seriously and is committed to holding people who commit violent crimes accountable. The statement also said Edison is on 10 years probation.

And if she violates the terms, she could face 20 years in prison. Corey Shaughnessy says a full explanation from authorities would have helped her make sense of something that has always struck her as impossibly wrong. So no one's ever explained to you why this enormous disparity in sentence?

True or not, Nick Shaughnessy told us he hopes someday Corey will agree to speak with him. What would you say to her?

Do you think he believes it, what he's saying?

And Corey says there is no point responding to an apology. She was never meant to hear.

But even after a betrayal no mother should ever have to see, Corey still can't bring herself to condemn her son altogether. Do you still love your son?

You love that eight-year-old boy racing cars with his dad?

She knows that boy is gone forever, and so is the life she and Ted tried to build around him.

But now, living out of state under a different name, Corey is determined to make the most of every day.

When Travis County Sheriff's detectives Paul Salo and James Moore arrived to investigate a shooting at Ted and Corey Shaughnessy's Austin, Texas home, early on March 2nd, 2018, they first thought it might be a robbery gone wrong.

Inside the sprawling suburban home, it looked like a battlefield. 55-year-old Ted Shaughnessy lay dead in a pool of blood near the kitchen table.

One of the family's two pet Rottweilers, Bart, had been shot to death as well. There was broken window glass everywhere, bullets lodged in the walls, casings all over the floor. Authorities noticed they were not all the same type. We had .40 caliber and .380.

Corey would tell police she and Ted kept about 20 guns in the home and said she'd used her .357 revolver to shoot back at the attacker.

Investigators had noticed a single wide open ground floor window around the side of the house and wondered if the intruders had used it to get in.

That open window led into an unoccupied bedroom. And there, inside a drawer, police found what seemed like an unlikely coincidence.

Well, hang on. .40 caliber is one of the caliber that you were just describing. Yes. It meant that Shaughnessy's empty gun box could have held a pistol that one of the intruders used and had ejected bullet casings near the victim.

Outside, near Detective Moore, first responders were looking after Corey Shaughnessy. Corey's hysterical. Corey would tell police she had not seen the attacker's faces, but she did have a hunch about why they'd come.

When you hear they own a jewelry store, what does that prompt in your minds? Automatically a motive. Someone figuring there was some safe with a bunch of jewelry. Absolutely. Yes, that's right. Corey broke the news by phone to the Shaughnessy's son, Nick, then 19, who lived two hours away with his girlfriend, Jackie, in College Station, Texas.

They immediately drove to Austin, arriving about 8 a.m.,

He asks me what happened. Nick, Jackie, and Corey all agreed to help the investigation in any way possible. Corey allowed police to search her phone, and though Nick said he hadn't been in Austin for about a month, he and Jackie did the same. All three also agreed to answer questions at the station.

But Corey says the more police questioned her in the coming days, the more a traumatic situation went from bad to worse.

She says they were not treating her like a victim.

Investigators still weren't sure if the murder was part of a random attack, a jewel heist gone bad, or whether it was a targeted assassination. They weren't finding any relevant unidentified prints at the scene, so they had to wonder if their sole surviving victim, Corey Shaughnessy, was actually a suspect.

They called her in for a series of interviews. For the last one, she brought a lawyer who is seated on the left.

You got a distraught wife. You got a dead husband. You have to ask about the marriage, don't you? Yes.

Investigators learned Corey and Ted had met in the early 80s at a video arcade in Phoenix. They'd quickly discovered they had a lot in common, including a love of jewelry and eventually of each other. They married and opened gallery jewelers.

As the jewelry business grew, Ted and Corey had decided to grow their family too. In 2000, they adopted Nick at 16 months old from an orphanage in Ukraine. It was just instant love. It was. Yeah, instant. Corey says they all bonded even before bringing him home.

Skillful distribution of animal crackers?

She says Ted had a knack for helping people express their love with a sparkle. Everybody loved Ted. Didn't have any enemies. By the time of the murder, the Shaughnessys were worth millions. But maybe even more valuable to them, they counted some of their customers as close friends.

For Corey, being a parent was worth its weight in gold. Nicholas had everything a kid could want.

What was he into?

Especially fast ones. His father drove race cars for fun and often took him to the track.

In high school, she says, her son found another love. Her name was Jackie Edison. After her parents' divorce, Jackie had moved from New Jersey to Austin to live with her father. Nick brought her to meet his parents in 2016.

But Corey says Jackie eventually won them over. And before long, she was spending so much time in the Shaughnessy's house, they actually let her move in. Did you settle into a, okay, a serious girlfriend seems to be part of Nick's life, and she's okay?

In August of 2017, Nick and Jackie moved out to start a new life in College Station. She in school, he as a day trader with his parents' financial backing. Ted and Corey would have less than a year to enjoy their empty nest, before that horrible night in March. Police stayed on the scene for hours trying to process all the evidence.

Amy Meredith was an assistant district attorney. and says police asked her to come help them process and preserve the scene, an unusual request. She arrived around 11 a.m. and, after looking around, began to believe, as they did, that Ted Shaughnessy probably knew whoever had attacked him.

Meredith was sure the home was just too big and too dark for a pair of random robbers or jewel thief wannabes to find their way around. Maybe even more importantly... There was nothing stolen. Nothing from that safe. No valuables missing from the rest of the house. So everything for you pointed to inside jobs. Yes, without a doubt.

Corey Shaughnessy's frustration with investigators was growing. Thank you. All right. Well, again, I appreciate you guys coming in. She says she'd known from the start that she was a suspect in her husband's murder. She says she needed money for the business in the following weeks, and it didn't help when she tried to cash in his million-dollar life insurance policy.

Let me just ask, did you have anything to do with this?

But Amy Meredith says Corey had started raising red flags immediately after leaving the scene. Within hours of the murder, she reportedly stated there would be no funeral and inquired about having the house cleaned. We had to make sure that she did not have any involvement. But Corey wasn't the only member of Ted's family who was raising suspicion.

The Shaughnessy son, Nick, had been more than 100 miles away at the time of the murder. At the scene that morning, he'd been emotional. But what struck Detective Salo was one of Nick's first questions.

Even more so, police say, because as the morning wore on, Nick became much less interested in speaking with police than with the reporters who had started showing up.

And then Nick did something really odd, says Detective Moore. He walked directly over to examine that ground floor, wide open side window. The room it led to had once been his.

How does he know the entry point unless he was involved in creating the entry point?

get super suspicious but it was catching my attention something on nick's phone had caught their attention as well an app that gave him access to his parents alarm corey told them the family often chose not to arm the system and that it had been switched off that night but authorities noticed something in the account history there was an activation for an open window