Dateline NBC: Who killed Ted Shaughnessy?

55-year-old Texas jeweler Ted Shaughnessy was shot to death when an intruder invaded his home in the early hours of March 2, 2018. While the murder was made to look like a botched burglary, the investigators soon found out about the murder-for-hire plot laid down by the son, Nicolas Shaughnessy, and his then-wife, Jaclyn Edison.

Nicolas and Edison allegedly approached 21-year-old Johnny Roman Leon III, promising him $10,000. Leon allegedly approached Arieon Oneal Smith and assured him $5,000 for each murder. Both Leon and Smith stormed into the Shuaghnessy's Austin home armed with guns around 4 a.m. The perpetrators shot Ted Shaughnessy multiple times, leading to his death, while his wife, Corey, survived the attack and hid in the closet.

Dateline NBC's upcoming episode Ghosts Can’t Talk is based on the 2018 murder-for-hire of the Texas jeweler and the subsequent convictions of the four accused: Nicolas Shaughnessy, Jaclyn Edison, Johnny Leon, and Arieon Smith. The synopsis reads,

"A quiet night in Texas turns deadly when gunfire erupts at the home of local business owners."

The episode airs on January 12, 2024, at 9 p.m. EST on NBC and will be available for streaming on Peacock later.

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Who killed Ted Shaughnessy? Details explored

Ted and Corey Shaughnessy were asleep in their southwestern Travis County home when they were awakened by intruders in their home. Ted was shot multiple times as he entered the hallway from his bedroom around 4:45 a.m. Corey shot back with a spare handgun and hid in the closet as she ran out of ammunition.

Corey dialed 911, who responded to the scene within minutes to find Ted Shaughnessy lying in a pool of blood on the kitchen floor. He was pronounced dead at 5:14 a.m., per the Austin American-Statesman. Corey Shaughnessy survived the shooting and lived with her son, Nicolas Shaughnessy, and his then-wife, Jaclyn Edison, who moved to Austin from Capital Station, Texas.

However, as the investigations into the incident of gun violence began, officials from the Travis County Sheriff's Office found that Nicolas and Jaclyn were behind the murder of Ted Shaughnessy and had also conspired to kill Corey Shaughnessy.

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Nicolas Shaughnessy, Johnny Leon, and Arieon Smith sentenced to capital murder of Ted Shaughnessy

As officials from the Travis County Sheriff's Office probed into the murder of Ted Shaughnessy, they realized that the Austin home was the target of double murder instead of a home invasion.

The investigators found that Nicolas Shaughnessy's cellphone was used to disable the security system of the Austin home moments before Smith and Leon entered the house. Moreover, the surveillance footage from Nicolas Shaughnessy's home revealed that he had been in contact with two men, one of whom was Johnny Leon.

The police tracked down the other man, who remained unnamed in the reports. He identified Leon and confirmed his presence in the footage. Per ABC News, the arrest affidavit of Nicolas Shaughnessy read,

"At first, Nick and Johnny would not tell the source what they actually wanted him to do, but they eventually told him they needed two people to kill two people, by shooting them. The source said he was offered $2,500 to do it, another $2,500 after it was done, and then another $5,000 later on."

With a search warrant, the police found extensive amounts of incriminating evidence in the young couple's messages and internet history, along with the ammunition that made a match to the evidence from the crime scene. Nicolas and Jaclyn were in financial distress and aspired to gain their parents' popularity in society. Moreover, Nicolas stood to gain $2 million in insurance payouts in the event of his parents' untimely deaths.

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Nicolas Shaughnessy, Johnny Leon, and Arieon Smith were subsequently tried and sentenced to 35 years in prison for capital murder, while Jaclyn pleaded guilty to her charges and received 10 years of probation.