The son on a jewelry store owner and his girlfriend have been arrested and charged for allegedly hiring someone to murder his parents.
Nicolas Patrick Shaughnessy, 19, of College Station, and Jaclyn Alexa Edison, 19, were arrested and booked into the Travis County Jail on Tuesday. Both are facing one charge of soliciting to commit capital murder. Shaughnessy is being held on a $3 million bond and Edison is being held on a $1 million bond.
Shaughnessy and Edison are accused of conspiring to hire someone to murder Shaughnessy’s parents, Theodore and Corey Shaughnessy.
In the early morning hours of Friday, March 2, 2018, Corey Shaughnessy called 911 and reported that an intruder had entered her home and that multiple shots had been fired. When deputies arrived on scene they discovered the body of Theodore Shaughnessy with multiple gunshot wounds.
In the affidavit, detectives spoke with a female employee at the housing complex where Shaughnessy and Edison live. The employee told them Shaughnessy contacted her through social media telling her if she ever wanted to make extra cash to let him know. When she asked him what he means he responded “illegal activities.” When she asked him to explain further, he said “anything from strippers to murders” and told her that he would pay her $20,000 a head with a $15,000 incentive.
A search warrant was obtained to search Shaughnessy and Edison’s phones as well as the Ipad and cell phone of Shaughnessy’s friend Spencer Patterson. On Jan. 30, Shaughnessy texted Patterson asking if he wanted to make $20,000. Nicholas further stated is would be $50,000 total, with $20,000 for each and $10,000.
According to the affidavit, detectives met with a confidential informant who said Shaughnessy asked to kill his parents in exchange for a monetary payment. The confidential informant said Shaughnessy said he offered to pay him $10,000 per month. The informant also described a conversation inside a vehicle with both Shaughnessy and Edison. During the conversation, the informant told detectives Shaughnessy mentioned a plan for financial gain and then said if that didn't work there was “Plan B.”
Theodore Shaughnessy was the owner of Gallerie Jewelers in central Austin, which opened in 1995.
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