Texas woman sentenced for involvement in 2018 murder-for-hire plot to kill Austin jewelers

A Texas woman accused of being involved in a murder-for-hire plot of her husband’s parents, who owned an Austin jewelry store, was sentenced this week after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit murder.

A Travis County Judge sentenced Jaclyn Alexa Edison, who was 19 at the time of the crime, to 10 years of probation and 300 hours of community service, FOX 7 in Austin reported.

Along with probation and community service, Edison is required to surrender her passport and serve two days in jail on the anniversary of the murder for the next 10 years.

Edison and her husband, Nicolas Shaughnessy were accused of hiring a hitman to kill Shaughnessy’s parents, Ted and Corey, who were owners of Gallerie Jewelers in Austin.

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Nicolas Shaughnessy hired Arieon Smith and Johnny Leon to murder his parents, so he could cash in on their $2 million life insurance policy, as he and Edison were having financial struggles.

In 2021, Nicolas Shaughnessy pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 35 years in prison for his role in the murder-for-hire plot. Smith and Leon were also given 35-year prison sentences, the station reported.

TEXAS MAN PLEAD GUILTY IN MURDER-FOR-HIRE PLOT TO KILL HIS FATHER

Deputies discovered Ted Shaughnessy dead in his home with multiple gunshot wounds on March 2, 2018, after Corey Shaughnessy, the teen’s mother, called 911 to report an intruder at the home. Authorities said the murder-for-hire plot called for the mother to be killed as well, but she was unharmed. The family dog was killed in the break-in.

The elder Shaughnessy’s company posted on Facebook in April that Nicolas Shaughnessy was set to take over the jewelry shop, and an obituary published in the Austin American-Statesman said he was “a proud father to his son, Nicolas.”

When questioned by detectives, Nicolas Shaughnessy said he owed his mother $30,000, which he allegedly borrowed to start a day-trading business. Earlier that week, FOX 7 said, the two got into an argument over the loan.

Detectives also interviewed Edison and searched her phone, which contained a conversation between the couple and a neighbor over $2,600 that was loaned to Nicolas Shaughnessy in 2017.

The investigation led detectives to the discovery Nicolas Shaughnessy was the sole beneficiary of his parent’s life insurance policy, and the conclusion the couple was experiencing financial struggles.