Texas teen accused of hiring hit man to kill jeweler father
AUSTIN, Texas — The son of an Austin-area jeweler and the teen’s girlfriend are charged with hiring someone to kill his father, who was gunned down in March during a home break-in, authorities said Wednesday.
Nicolas Patrick Shaughnessy and Jaclyn Alexa Edison, who are 19 years old and live together in College Station, were arrested Tuesday on a count of criminal solicitation to commit capital murder, Travis County sheriff’s officials said. They remained in jail Wednesday, with Shaughnessy’s bond set at a $3 million and Edison’s at $1 million. Neither had an attorney listed in online jail records.
According to investigators, Shaughnessy’s mother, Corey Shaughnessy, called 911 in the early morning hours of March 2 to report an intruder in the home of her and her husband, Theodore Shaughnessy. Deputies sent to the home found Theodore Shaughnessy dead of multiple gunshot wounds. A family dog was also killed. Authorities say the plot called for Corey Shaughnessy to be killed as well, but she was physically unharmed.
The shooter hasn’t been caught, but sheriff’s spokeswoman Kristen Dark said in a statement that detectives “are following new leads in the case.” She declined to elaborate when later reached by phone.
Theodore Shaughnessy was the owner of Gallerie Jewelers in Austin. The company had posted on its Facebook page in late April that, “We are happy to announce that Nicolas, Ted’s son, will be carrying on his legacy here at Gallerie.”
An obituary for the elder Shaughnessy published in the Austin American-Statesman said he was “a proud father to his son, Nicolas.”
In the months before the shooting, Nicolas Shaughnessy approached multiple people asking if they were willing to be paid to kill someone, investigators allege in an arrest affidavit. He estimated that he’d receive some $8 million from the life insurance policies for his parents, from the sale of their home and sale of the jewelry store.
Authorities say they found ammunition in the defendants’ home that matched casings found at the crime scene.