Dateline NBC: Details of messages from Nicolas Shaughnessy's phone explored

19-year-olds Nicolas Shaughnessy and Jaclyn Edison had arranged for a murder-for-hire plot that resulted in the death of Nicolas's father, Austin-based jeweler, Ted Shaughnessy, in 2018. Nicolas and his then-wife Jaclyn had spent months looking for a person who would execute Ted and his wife, Corey Shaughnessy, and offered up to $50,000 for the same.

As investigations followed after Ted's murder, the authorities from the Travis County Sheriff's Office found incriminating messages to and from Nicolas Shaughnessy and Jaclyn Edison's phone and home computer. This led to their arrest on May 29, 2018.

The Dateline NBC episode revisits the 2018 murder of Ted Shaughnessy. The 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 episode, titled Ghosts Can’t Talk, aired on January 12, 2024, at 9 pm EST and will be available for streaming on Peacock and NBC.

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Nicolas Shaughnessy and Jaclyn Edison discussed details of payments over text messages

After the suspicions of a botched burglary were removed due to no missing items or forced entry at the crime scene, Nicolas Shaughnessy and Jaclyn Edison soon became the suspects.

Nicolas Shaughnessy had allegedly informed the police that they had not been in Austin, where Ted and Corey Shaughnessy lived, in over a month. However, the authorities located Nicolas in Austin on February 28, 2018, using his phone records.

A search warrant for the young couple's Capital Station home revealed incriminating messages between Nicolas and Jaclyn exchanged on February 23 and 24, 2018. Edison asked:

“Do they want 50K or not?”

Nicolas responded:

“We will see. ... I’m sure they’re [sic] casual jobs are around 10.”

The messages further confirmed that the couple was in financial distress with debts of $30,000 to Corey Shaughnessy and $2,600 to a College Station neighbor.

Per KXAN News, Nicolas had sold a personalized bracelet gifted to him by his grandparents for $530 at a Capital Station jewelry store which, in turn, recommended him to Gallerie Jewellers in Austin - Ted Shaughnessy's store. Nicolas Shaughnessy had refused to do so.

Jaclyn Edison texted a friend:

“Only u [sic] know I’m broke.”

This was followed by screenshots of her personal bank account which had a balance of $1.92 and of her joint account with Nicolas which had $1.65 in it.

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Nicolas Shaughnessy's conversations with Spencer Patterson

In another conversation dated January 30, with his friend Spencer Patterson, Nicolas asked him if he wanted to make $20,000. He added that the total Patterson stood to make was $50,000 as he said:

“20 for each and 10 extra because 50 is a nice whole number.”

He asked Patterson to check on how to start a Ponzi scheme on February 15 and asked him for help to make "cash drops" on February 26.

An older conversation dated August 2017 with Spencer Patterson revealed the build-up to the 2018 murder. Nicolas Shaughnessy told Patterson that he needed more money and went on to recommend:

“Fine fine. Just walk in shoot a family steal all their sh*t. … No mask needed cuz they’ll be dead.”

Shaughnessy had later bragged to him about not being considered a person of interest when his cell phone was returned to him by the investigators. He had also offered to show Patterson photos of the crime scene on March 3.