Dateline NBC: Where are Nicolas Shaughnessy and Jaclyn Edison now?

The murder of Ted Shaughnessy in 2018, orchestrated through a murder-for-hire plot laid down by his son, Nicolas Shaughnessy, and his then-wife, Jaclyn Edison, brought the town of Austin to a standstill. The cold-blooded scheme involved two other men, Johnny Leon and Arieon Smith, who were hired to put the Shaughnessy couple to death in the early hours of March 2.

Ted Shaughnessy's son Nicolas and his wife were struggling with financial issues, and the fact that Nicolas was entitled to his parent's $2 million insurance payout fueled the motive behind the attempt. Nicolas is presently serving 35 years in prison, while Jaclyn has been put on 10 years of probation.

The Dateline NBC episode's synopsis reads,

"When deadly gunfire erupts in an Austin, Texas, home in the middle of the night, detectives wonder if the homeowners' jewellery business is a possible motive; an investigation uncovers a suspect that no one saw coming."

The Dateline NBC episode Ghosts Can’t Talk aired on January 12, 2024, at 9 p.m. EST and will be available for streaming on Peacock and NBC.

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Who are Nicolas Shaughnessy and Jaclyn Edison?

Ted and Corey Shaughnessy adopted Nicolas Shaughnessy from Russia when he was 18 months old. Throughout his upbringing, Ted and Corey supported Nicolas in all ways possible and provided him with a stable home.

Nick Shaughnessy studied at Texas A&M University and met Jaclyn Edison, whom his parents welcomed with an open heart. Jaclyn allegedly stayed in an abusive household before she was taken in by the Shaughnessy couple. Corey Shaughnessy shared in her statement,

“Ted and I took you when you said you had nowhere to go, that your father beat you and you were afraid to go home. I guess after you and Nick shared all those Sunday dinners with me, Ted, Nick’s grandparents, uncle [and] are family friends, you’d go and plot some more to kill us.”

In the same statement, Corey mentioned gifting Jaclyn a half-carat diamond solitaire pendant for her birthday and as a way to welcome her into the family, per KXAN News. On the same note, Corey defended her son even when he was suspected of killing her husband.

The 19-year-olds, Nicolas and Jaclyn, had recently gotten married and moved into their Capital Station home when Ted Shaughnessy was found dead on the kitchen floor with multiple gunshot wounds on March 2, 2018. Caleb Miller, a neighbor at Capital Station, spoke to KBTX News, saying,

"He was just a weird guy, a weird character. Really out of place with the college setting. He made a lot of, he made sure to make a lot of points on his family's wealth and stuff like that which is weird. And just some of the things he would say kind of and so it's not really surprising at all."

Nicolas Shaughnessy and Jaclyn Edison moved out of their Capital Station home in the spring and moved in with their mother, Corey Shaughnessy, in Austin. Nicolas was to take over his father's position at Gallerie Jewellers in May 2018.

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Nicolas Shaughnessy and Jaclyn Edison's whereabouts

Nicolas Shaughnessy and Jaclyn Edison were charged with solicitation to commit capital murder on May 29, 2018. Nicolas pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 35 years in prison with no possibility of parole for 20 years. Currently, he is incarcerated at the Clemens Unit in Brazoria, Texas.

Jaclyn Edison received a lighter punishment due to her aid in solving the case. She pleaded guilty on June 20, 2023, to charges of conspiracy to attempt to commit capital murder and received 10 years of probation. According to court documents, Edison is not eligible to reduce the duration of her probation.