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Jeweler’s Son, Accomplice Plead Guilty To His Murder | April 13, 2021 (0 comments)
Austin, TX—Nicolas Shaughnessy, 22, son of slain AGS jeweler Theodore Shaughnessy (image), has pleaded guilty to a capital murder charge in the 2018 killing of his father. An accomplice, Arieon Smith, also pleaded guilty. A statement from the Travis County District Attorney’s office says both men have been sentenced to 35 years in prison for the crime, and will not be eligible for parole for at least 20 years—putting both into their 40s before they see the outside of a prison again.
Initially, it appeared that Shaughnessy, owner of Gallerie Jewelers, was the victim of a home invasion. But soon clues emerged that pointed to the involvement of Nick Shaughnessy and his now ex-wife, Jaclyn Alexa Edison: the victim's home alarm system was remotely deactivated and surveillance videos deleted, and Internet records proved the account was accessed from the younger couple’s home in College Station. Nick was the only person apart from his parents who had access to the codes.
A window also was open in Nick Shaughnessy’s bedroom on the opposite end of his parents’ large house, with no signs of forced entry. Though he said he often entered and exited the home through that window, Corey Shaughnessy, the slain jeweler’s widow, told police it would be impossible for someone to make their way to the master bedroom in the dark without knowing the layout of the house.
Related: In Memoriam: Theodore Shaughnessy, Gallerie Jewelers, Killed In Home Invasion
Nick Shaughnessy was the sole beneficiary of his parents’ life insurance policy, valued at $2 million. The elder Shaughnessys’ home and business were worth an estimated additional $6 million that would have gone to him as well. At the time, a detective at the scene noted that the younger Shaughnessy reportedly showed neither emotion about his father’s death nor concern for his mother, and affidavits say he later joked about the crime with friends.
Fox 7 TV in Austin said Nick Shaughnessy and his now ex-wife were in financial straits at the time of the murder and had been for some time. Shaughnessy reportedly had argued with his mother over a $30,000 loan, and a search of his wife’s phone showed a $2,600 debt owed to a neighbor.
Mugshots of Nicolas Shaughnessy and his ex-wife, Jaclyn Edison, following their arrest for the murder of Ted Shaughnessy. The couple's financial trouble at the time of the killing may have been the motive.
At the time of the murder Corey Shaughnessy stood by her son regardless, and even at the time of his sentencing asked the DA’s office for leniency.
“However, the office determined this sentence to be appropriate,” read a statement from the district attorney.
A third defendant’s case is still pending. Gallerie Jewelers, meanwhile, has permanently closed.