Live. Was this some awful, random crime . Or did someone want her dead . That was mystery number one. Someone was out there. We were scared. Mystery number two . A secret 1,600 miles away. There were several Text Messages. It is slowly snow balling. A punch in the gut. And mystery number three . Im mean. Im going to hurt you. Who would they turn out to be . What did this lady do . Faith, temptation and a twist the size of texas. Lets be very clear. Justice needs to be served. I dont think it has been. Carrollton tenchs, just north of texas, the kind of place where the upwardly mobile to go buy their dreams. The schools are good, golf courses dot the land scape and churches are more ubiquitous than starbucks. There is not a lot of Violent Crime in that area. Its a great place to raise kids and a family. But travel east a hundred miles or so and you enter the piney woods of east texas. Jobs are not as plentiful here. Dreams are deferred and some keep bail bondsmen on speed dial. All the people were deal with here are poor. There is a lot of drugs, a lot of methamphetamine out there. Different cultures worlds apart. Yet one summer those two worlds collided in the most unlikely way. This is story of that summer when money seemed to fall like ticker tape on the piney woods. And an affluent carrollton family experienced the kind of Violent Crime that always happened somewhere else. Yes, maam. Help me i need you to call me immediately. Your mop is in the hospital with a gunshot wound. Im sorry, what . We looked at each other, michael and i to say we cant make this up. Our story begins in august 2012. Can you believe it . 100 degrees again this afternoon. It was the kind of heat that melts asphalt and has everyone searching the sky for some sign of mercy. But in carrollton voorksyearold frank howard wasnt sweating it. Frank was an accountant of the his life was good and Getting Better by the day. I took a new client. That would have been in 2009. A very wealthy client . Yes. What did that come along with . Well, the wealthy client, he had his own air planes so flying around for the first time many private planes. Going to cowboy games. As they say in texas, frank howard was standing in high cotton. I was still the same old guy but it was definitely doing some fun things as well. Frank had come a long way since his days as a preachers son growing up in south center texas of the until very conservative upbringing. There was no drinking and kugs. Never been to a dance, the school prom, never did any of. Kind of stuff. Wanting to be very down earth, o trying to be the best person i could be. Sow i had values to last a lifetime. Wasnt all smooth sailing. Frank had a brief marriage that end in the divorce. Eventually he fell in love with a girl from his church. Her name was nancy shore. A brunette with dalgs blue eyes. It was a good type. Frankaries faths father mar happy couple and two years later they had a daughter named ashley of the. That wasnt an easy birth. No. There were problems. Yeah. Complications. She spent the first ten days of her life in the in the Neonatal Unit at the hospital. It was a close call. The one that seemed to deepen and enrich the couples faith. Soon the couple grew to include a son, jay, and another daughter, brianna. Growing up was great. I had a wonderful older sister and older brother who had kind of helped guide me through stuff and then obviously a wonderful mop and dad. Eldest daughter ashley says whatever the Howard Family did, they did together. Both our parents did choir in church. Any time they needed a family, oh, get the howards. Theyll come and bring all the kids. We were always together of the always a family. We went to all the events of the they were busy, always doing something whether it was soccer or you know, anything of the fine arts, musically. You almost do sound like leave to it beaver. We joke that we were the cleavers. Yeah. We would have game nights. Legitimately the cleaver family. Absolutely. But by 2012, those days were gone. Frank and nancy were now empty nesters. Ashley and her brother jay were each married on their own. You were so close with your kids. Was it hard as one by one they started leaving the nest and going off to college . Sure. It was. Im will proud of them but it was difficult. Change is difficult. Now nancy was often home alone. Franks work his new client, a wealthy defense contractor, had him traveling to florida, california, even kuwait. There was a little more freedom or whatever, and like i am, a lot of it was work. And so i was out there trying to kind of build it and she was sitting at home. Still, nancy had her faith and Church Activities to fill the empty hours. In fact, thats where she had been the evening everything changed for the Howard Family. It was a saturday night, august 18th, 2012. Youre out of town. Yes. You get a call. Yes. Something horrific has happened to nancy. Theres been a robbery at your own house . Yes. I was just beside myself. I didnt know what was happening. And so began one of the longest nights of Frank Howards life. Coming up a harrowing cry for help. Help me terror was at the door. Im like, our mother . That makes no sense. Like wasnt real . Yeah. Like wasnt real. When dateline continues. Ons so. Magic mornings happen. Theres a better choice. Aleve pm. Whoh no, that looks grossit. What is that . You gotta try it, its terrible. I dont wanna tray it if its terrible. Its like mango chutney and burnt hair. No thank you, i have a very sensitive palate. Just try it hey guys, i think we should hurry up. If you taste something bad, you want someone else to try it. Its what you do. I cant get it out of my mouth if you want to save fifteen percent or more on car insurance, you switch to geico. Its what you do. Dog, dog, dog. Thenot actors, people, whove got their eczema under control. With less eczema, you can show more skin. So roll up those sleeves. And help heal your skin from within with dupixent. Dupixent is the first treatment of its kind that continuously treats moderatetosevere eczema, or atopic dermatitis, even between flare ups. Dupixent is a biologic, and not a cream or steroid. Many people taking dupixent saw clear or almost clear skin. And, had significantly less itch. Thats a difference you can feel. Dont use if youre allergic to dupixent. Serious allergic reactions can occur, including anaphylaxis, which is severe. Tell your doctor about new or worsening eye problems, such as eye pain or vision changes, or a parasitic infection. If you take asthma medicines, dont change or stop them without talking to your doctor. So help heal your skin from within, and talk to your eczema specialist about dupixent. Im not picking it up. You pick it up im not picking it up. Well somebodys gotta pick it up ill pick it up theyre clean cuz my hineys clean. Oh yeah im charmin clean. Thats how i know theyre clean. Charmin ultra strong is woven like a washcloth and just cleans better. Yeah, im charmin clean. Thats right my hineys clean. The kid does have a point enjoy the go with charmin. And for an extra clean finish. Try charmin flushable wipes. Hi susan honey . Yeah . I respect that. But that cough looks pretty bad. Try this robitussin honey. The real honey you love. Plus the powerful cough relief you need. Mind if i root through your trash . Robitussin honey. Because its never just a cough. After months of boiling temperatures, august 18th, 2012, had the welcome sound of summer rain to carrollton, texas. But the sound of a gunshot split the night. The 911 operator picked tim phone and heard the anguished cry. Lord jesus, help me. Oh, god, help me. The woman said she had just been shot in the head by an intruder in her garage. Ive been shot. Whats the address, maam . The caller was franks wife. Nangsy howard. She had somehow managed to drag left into the house and in spite of taking a bullet in the head, she was able to give critical details to the 911 dispatchedis. How many people was it . Oh, yes. Im going to stay on the phone until they get there. A few minutes later, Carrollton Police officers received at the home on blue bonnet way. Are nancy managed to open the door for them. Help me help me soon Carrollton Police detectives michael wall and brian turner were on the case. Its just incredible how she was able to give the information to the dispatcher about what had happened and then wait for the police. This was a bloody crime scene. There was quite a bit of blood, yeah. There was a small hole just above nancys left eye. She was struggling for breath and her vital signs were slipping. As paramedics rushed her to the hospital in dallas, detective wall turned his attention to the crime scene. Could you see where she had gone through the house. Garage and the hallway leading into the house were bloody. The rest of the house appeared to have been untouched. The suspects had taken nancys purse. Did you have any reason to believe when you private this was anything other than a burglary gone bad . We didnt have any other reason to suspect it was anything but an aggravated robbery given the details she gave us. What details did you get from that 911 call specifically . Nancy was able to give as you suspect description of the personal who shot her. A white male wearing a black hat. The suspect was in his 20s. The Police Officer could find no one in the neighborhood who had seen or heard anything. It had been raining significantly. When it rains, people are inside. There were no witnesses. We had nothing to go on. No witnesses and precious little in the way of leads. They wondered if the shooting was part of a pattern of crimes in the area. It seemed unlikely that they couldnt rule it out. There had been some breakins in the area. There were some breakin thats we were looking at to see if they were related at this. Point we were kind of checking out everything to see if there was anything that may be related. But there had not been any robberies where people were ronald at gumt for the property. The cops knew they had to notify nancys family. As it turned out, her husband was out of town. A Police Officer who belonged to the howards church got word to the howards eldest daughter. He said your mom is in the hospital with a gunshot wound. Im sorry, what . That must be the most bizarre phone call. Yes. It was not even scary or worrisome. It was more like so confusing. We couldnt cross the hurdle of where she could have been to get shot. Like wasnt real . Yeah. Like wasnt real. Our mother . That just makes no sense. Shes not the time of lady that will get shot. That ashley finally reached her father with the news. I was in South Lake Tahoe at the casino. I was taking a break and i noticed that i had missed a call from my daughter. So i stepped outside and called her back. And thats when i found out that something had happened. Hows did you he react to the situation . He couldnt speak. He couldnt breathe. Okay, dad, who is with you . Youre not in good shape. Okay. Im going to drive to the airport. No, no, get someone to take you. Im crying and just going crazy. So being i was on the phone trying to find flights out. Trying to figure out what to do and how to do and it when to do it. It was 6 00 the next morning before frank howard could finally board a plane heading home. He could only imagine the nightmare that awaited him once he landed in texas. Coming up my dad collapsed on the ground. He was in terrible shame. As doctors race to save nancy, her family races to her side. Who could possibly be behind this . Were trying to figure out what happened and how it happened. We didnt have any idea. Someone was out there. Yeah. We were scared. When dateline continues. In. vo why the aceves family chose verizon. We all use our phones very differently. These two are always gaming and this one is always on facetime. And my oldest is learning to be a pilot. We need a Reliable Network because i need to know hes safe. As soon as he lands, he knows he better call mama. Mama vo the network more people rely on, gives you more. Like plans your family can mix and match starting at just 35. So everyone gets the plan they need. And apple music on us. Plus, iphone 11 on us when you buy the latest iphone. Thats verizon. the sun is risin as the day begins time for reflectin on family and friends and hey, we got somethin just for you sniffing its a cup of your favoriiiite. loud splashing highpitched laughter dang woodchucks with geico, the savings keep on going. Just like this sequel. 15 minutes could save you 15 or more on car insurance. Frank howard arrived home if dallas the morning after his wife was shot. His daughter ashley said he looked awful when she finally saw him. They drove to the hospital together. By the time he got there, he could hardly walk. I hear just this crash. I look back and my dad has collapsed on the ground. He was in terrible shape. Every time the monitors would beep, he was jumpy. Just terrible shape. Was he in tears . Yeah. Tell me what happened the first time you saw nancy in the icu. It was a difficult time. She was drugged up. All the family and a lot of people from the church and stuff were there. Doctors told the family the bullet had entered nancys skull just above her left eye and traveled down ward through her sinuses and throat before it collapsed one of her lungs. She had already had the first of many surgeries. She would lose one of her blue eyes but luckily she seemed to have escaped dangerous brain damage. Even though you can say shes all right, it doesnt look like shes all right. There is swelling, inflammation, things attached to her feet. It was hard to feel like, okay, this is okay and this is right. It was very traumatic. Very difficult. Very emotional time. Was she able to talk to you the first time you saw her . I think so. She had tubes in her throat. She was conscious and so she had knowledge of kind of who we were but she really couldnt talk or anything. While they waited for difinitive word on what had happened, they filled their worries with ideas of their own. We were trying to figure out what happened and how it happened. Someone the was out there. I believe the detectives or whatever had told us that there had been breakins. In fact they had somebody that fet the general description that he was someone they knew of that had participated in some breakins in the area. Detectives wall and turner were eager to talk to nancy. She is our only witness. We just had a minimal suspect description at this time. So we felt it was important to confirm those details with her as soon as possible. While they waited for nancy to get well enough to speak, they called in frank hoping cofill in some of the blanks. Can you update me on her condition . What the doctors have said . Yes. Very, had she said someone had shot me. Confirm with she lost her left eye in. No brain damage. None of that. Shell lose her left eye but from there it will be cosmetic stuff. Detective wall asked if frank knew known who might want to hurt his wife. What he know about her, it doesnt seem like she would have any problems with anybody. Absolutely not. In fact, villone knew that nancy had a soft spot for anyone with a sob sorry. Nancy can be real giving and open. It was not unusual, he said, for her to pick up a hitchhiker or open her door to a stranger. A month or two earlier, she had done just that. Somebody came to the door. They just needed moan to get a hotel room because the car broke down. They came to the house . Yeah. She said, she said she would get them a hotel room. Maybe thats what happened. A goodhard woman befriend ad dangerous stranger. The children thought that was a possibility. That was my first thought. She probably was willing to help someone at some point and they figured out, okay, this woman is an easy target. Could your mom be naive when it dime these people . This helping nature she had . Definitely. Sometimes her willingness to see the good in everybody, it opened her to more risk than most other people would take. Frank didnt know much because he was out of town that night. It doesnt sound like frank could help you with anything. Hes just being cooperative. Yes, he is of he confirpd that he sent a few had texts and moise ba emails back and forth. Would you have a problem with us running an analysis on your cell phone . No. He told the cop tosses let them know if he needed anything at all from them. He even offered money to generate leads. I mean, if there is, you put up a reward or anything like that again if it gets to the point where weve exhausted all of our investigative leads. Thats a step we would use. Obviously money promise people to do something. She was still in intensive care but making progress. On there was every reason to believe she would be able to tell her own story in a day or two. Coming up i said jesus, save me. Nancys dramatic story. What did she remember about that night . Did he look him in the face, in the eyes. No pity. No emotion. He looked intent on doing what he came to do. When dateline continues. Am. When dateline continues or we could do a hail of coupons . I can assure you gina, the enemy does not fear coupons. Well there are no bad ideas. Yah, except coupons. Possibly the best yogurt in the world. You have power over pain, so the whole world looks different. The unbeatable strength of advil. What pain . burke weve seen almost everything, so we know how to cover almost anything. Even a gold medal grizzly. sports announcer what an unlikely field in this final heat. burke not exactly a skinny dipper, but we covered it. At farmers, we know a thing or two because weve seen a thing or two. So get a quote at farmersdotcom. We are farmers. Bumpadum, bumbumbumbum hello. Had heres whats happening. Mayor buttigieg has earned the most delegates from the iowa caucus. He earned 14 delegates with Bernie Sanders trailing at 12 delegates. Nbc news is not projecting a winner. Two nypd officers were wound in the several ambushes in the bronx this weekend. Both officers are expected to make a full recovery in what city thats the are calling assassination attempts. Now back to dateline. Nancy howard was in the intensive unit surrounded by beeping and blinking machines. A breathing tube pre venlth her from speaking but her daughter said she could still communicate. She used to do scene language. Like we know how to spell a little bit. Shes over there doing stuff with the bottom of her hand. Okay. Shes spelling something. Crap, what is that letter again . And then any time somebody would say something, she would beat her hand on the pellow. No, no. Put our spelling cams on. Nancys recovery was remarkably speedy. Just days after she was shot in the head at close range, she was able to get out of bed, take a few steps, and best of all, the breathing tube was removed. The Howard Family rejoiced. Finally, nancy could speak. Do you consider it a miracle . Absolutely. There is no explanation. Except my heavenly father was there. What did she say to you when she was finally able to speak . It was just, you know, i love you. Glad youre here. That was the sense we were both saying to each other. Then it was time for business. The detectives wanted to know every last detail of the night. It began at nancys church. I had a plan that evening to go to church to see one of my little children that even known sense she was born and she was being baptize that had night at church. Surveillance cameras caught nancys car pulling into the parking lot shortly before 6 00. I got my become their family and it was a very, very special time. He walked out and i got in my car and i started heading out. It was 7 26 when nancy pulled out of the Church Parking lot. On the way home, she picked up dinner at a place called taco bueno. Her receipt shows it was 7 32 when she picked up the meal. I drove into the garage, got out of my car, got up to the door. I didnt hear a they know. Suddenly there was a man with his arm around my neck with a gun to my head demanding my purse. What did that feel leak . It didnt really register what was going on. So much so that i guess i didnt have quite enough fearful i dont know. I wrestled away from help and turned and faced him and realized, this is for real. There guy has a gun, robbing me. He demanded again my purse. And i had my pours this shoulder and my taco bueno bag. So i gave him the bag. I bet that guy was thinking, what is he doing . Giving me her supper in she doesnt get it. Finally the third time, he demanded with expletives my purse. I finally caught on. I was standing close enough to him to have an arms length to shove my purse into his chest. And i shoved my purse into his chest and i said jesus save me. And the bullet shot me right in the head. And i went down. Nancy doesnt know how long she lay unconscious on the garage floor. When she came to, the shooter was gone. She said she was not alone. I began to kind of come to. And i thought, i think youve been shot. Youre going to die. And then there was another voice and it was the voice of my heavenly father who is more powerful than a speeding bullet. And em, get up. Get up. How much pain are you in . Im in excruciating pane. It is more the pain of not being able to get a breath and knowing, i was simply gurgling and spitting up blood the whole time and barely able to breathe, trying to have the strength. So i ended up belly crawling of will. Nancy knew she needed help fast. Her cell phone was gone. It had been in her purse and that had been stolen. She crawled into her car in homes of activating her Emergency Response system shelf couldnt get to it work. Amazingly, she got to her feet and walked into the house. I was able to turn off my house alarm. The presence of mind to come up with those numbers. Thats only a god thing. Because i had been shot in the head. She went to the nearest bathroom. When she turned on the light, she saw an absolute horror looking back at her in the mirror. That was when she called 911. Tell me exactly what happened of until did you still think could you die at that point . I didnt know if i would live. Evive been shot. I said please dont leave me. She said no, miss howard, ill stay with you until they come. Known fighting for their life and has called 911 knows that they could die. They dont want to die alone and i wanted to live. Now three days later, nancy was aeb will to give the police more of a description of the man who shot her. He had a strong chin with facial hair. He was wearing dark rimmed glasses. Could you see his eyes . I did look him in the face and did i look him in the eyes. I dont know how to describe what that felt like of the will. Did he look blank in evil . He looked intent on doing what he cape to do. I would say he certainly had no pity no, emotion of doing to some home maker what he was doing. The detectives now had something to work with. But then their investigation developed a new and surprising twist. They discovered the cell phone frank had handed over contained some jaw dropping information. It turned out frank welcome keeping a secret. Coming up that was the big red flag. Looking at everything. Soon that secret would come tumbling out to everyone he loved. My dad actually called me at work and said, i have to tell you something. Thats a hard thing to hear. It is. A punch in the gut. This is not whats supposed to happen. When dateline continues. When dateline continues fa. Only thermacare ultra pain relieving cream has 4 active ingredients to fight pain 4 different ways. Get powerful relief today, with thermacare. There he is. Oh, wow. Youre doing, uh, youre doing really great with the twirling. Dad, if you want to talk, i have a break at 3 00. Okay, okay. Im going. Im gone. Like like i wasnt here. [ horn honks ] keep keep doing it, buddy. Switch to progressive and you can save hundreds. You know, like the sign says. I wanted more from my copd medicine thats why ive got the power of 1, 2, 3 medicines with trelegy. The only fdaapproved oncedaily 3in1 copd treatment. Trelegy the power of 1,2,3 trelegy 1,2,3 trelegy woman with trelegy and the power of 1, 2, 3, im breathing better. Trelegy works three ways to open airways, keep them open and reduce inflammation, for 24 hours of better breathing. Trelegy wont replace a rescue inhaler for sudden breathing problems. Trelegy is not for asthma. Tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high Blood Pressure before taking it. Do not take trelegy more than prescribed. Trelegy may increase your risk of thrush, pneumonia, and osteoporosis. Call your doctor if worsened breathing, chest pain, mouth or tongue swelling, problems urinating, vision changes, or eye pain occur. Think your copd medicine is doing enough . Maybe you should think again. Ask your doctor about oncedaily trelegy and the power of 1, 2, 3. Trelegy, 1,2,3 woman save at trelegy. Com. Trelegy, 1,2,3 big thing i recently learned as a parent . Babys skin is absorbent. Her skin could actually soak up wetness her diaper doesnt. Thats gross. Thats why i use pampers. Pampers absorbs quickly to trap and lock wetness away. Keeping your babys skin drier and healthier. For a diaper that stays drier, count on pampers. The health of your babys skin starts with the pampers theyre in. Aleve it. With aleve pm. Pain happens. The only one to combine a safe sleep aid. And the 12hour pain relieving strength of aleve. So. Magic mornings happen. Theres a better choice. Aleve pm. Remember, you have out the hilton app. Can the hilton app help us win . Hey, heywere all winners with the hilton price match guarantee, alright . Man, you guys are adorable alright, lets go find your coach, come on book with the hilton app. Expect better. Expect hilton. The famous meat lovers pizza from pizza hut. Over a pound of meat and cheese for just 10 bucks. Its more pepperoni for your penny, more beef for your buck, more. You get the idea. Get yours delivered now at pizza hut. Com. No one out pizzas the hut the investigation into nancy howards shooting was still in the early stages when detectives made a surprising discovery. Remember, frank had given them his cell phone. Would you have a problem with us running an analysis on your kre phone . When they examined the cell phone, they reialized he wasnt the devoted husband. We noticed there were several contacts in his phone identified as s tau hoe sale. It was clear from the content of the messages frank was involved in an extramarital affair. There was more. Photos that showed frank with the other woman. There were photos on his phone of frank and this female that we believed to be the person that was sending the Text Messages back and forwards. The detectives asked the fbi to find out more about franks mistress. They learned she was a 40 something mother of two teenage daughters. Her name, suzanne. We were able to speak with suzanne and confirm that frank was in fact with her on the night nancy was shot. He had originally told us he was in california on business. That was the big red flag when looking at everything. We have to take a hard look at frank and whats going on with frank. He didnt mention anything about this mistress. The detectives wanted to know if frank had any more secrets they should know about. They decided to interview his children. We had no idea that they were looking at my dad so seriously until you know, we got in that room and they kept hounding and hounding and hounding on my dad. You know, this line of questioning is concerning. They started saying that something is not right and we think that before you talk to them, dad, you need to talk to a lawyer. Why would they say that in. Because theyve seen shows. They say thats what they always tell you. They always suspect the husband so get a lawyer. Though frank says at the time, he didnt think innocent people needed lawyers, he hired one anyway. Then he had a heart to heart with each of his kids. My dad actually called me at work and said, i have to tell you something. And em, the reason theyre looking at me so closely is that ive been having an affair. And i was like, crap. Dad come on dont have affairs thats a hard they know to hear. Yeah. A punch in the gut. This is not whats supposed to happen. You guys were the cleavers. Yeah. We were the achiecleavers. This is not a good situation. There is never a good time get caught cheating but getting caught by police while your wife is recovering from a gunshot wound to the head has to rank as one of the worst. Now flank to tell his family embarrassing details about his other life. The one hed been living in california with his mistress, suzanne. How did you meet her . We found each other basically playing at a gambling table one night. And thats kind of what started it. There was just an attraction you couldnt fight . Yeah. Thats why i fell in love with her. I truly did. I loved her. For his part, frank said he wasnt trying to hide anything from pleasant. I knew there was evidence of the affair. I felt like, it will be difficult but i felt like nancy and i could somehow work through that. Did you think at all, well, the police will find this information. Should i just tell them . No. I didnt think it was relevant to what happened to nancy. I didnt think that way. It never dawned on me to make that connection. Frank knew towed tell nancy about the affair before police did. Because he was now considered a suspect, the cops had asked him to stay away from nancy. Now one of the most delicate conversations had to happen on the phone. He was just broken apart weeping to the point that i just almost couldnt even understand him. A lot of crying. A lot of apologizing. Telling her about the affair and im going to make it right. Is that a bombshell for you . I was dumb founded, really. Just dumb founded. Really . I just, i think there was a side of me that i didnt even believe it. Nancy had never thought of frank as the philandering time but in hindsight, she felt their relationship had changed in 2009 when he went to work for the defense contractor named richard raily. He had made millions in the iraq war trucking supplies to the troops. He made frank his chief Financial Officer and soon nancy began noticing changes at home. It increased our lifestyle a bit. We were able to do more things. But it did begin to interfere with our marriage. How did it change your marriage . How did it make it more difficult . There was a lot of travel. And we became empty nesters that year. I really missed my kids. I think he really missed his kids but i think he had his work to help fill that void. Nancy says once frank even dixd her on new years eve so he could be with his new business associates. I just blew a gasket. You were on the back burner. I said okay. Im going to counseling. If we dont get into counseling, were going to lose our marriage of the. Did he agree to go . He went for a little while. Determined that he didnt feel it was doing any good. Now as she was recovering in the hospital, it was obvious why frank hadnt been interested in saving their marriage. Her husband was in love with somebody else. I said where did you meet her . He told me. I said how long has it been . He told me. Three years, frank told her. Three years of lying. Three years of living a double life. One in texas, one in california. Frank wasnt proud of it. Youre a preachers son. You know better than that. Sure. It was very wrong. I know it now and i knew it then. It was just trying to figure out how to deal with it. While most men try to keep their indiscretions private, franks dirty laundry was now part of a criminal investigation. The detectives say they were determined to keep an open mind. I think i told michael. Lets not get tunnel vision on this just because he has a girlfriend. Lets make sure we look outside and not just key on that as a possible motive or reason to shoot her. So the detectives went back to work, examining every piece of evidence they had. It turned out that Church Surveillance tape would take their investigation in a whole new direction. Coming up it clearly showed her squooming the church. Theres a silver vehicle coming in behind her. Had someone been stalking nancy . Oh, yeah. It was clear from the video. She was not just a random party. There is Something Else going on here. When dateline continues. Here when dateline continues lisa vo right now, hes doing his taxes. Shes doing her taxes. Theyre doing their taxes. And hes doing his taxes. lisa they uploaded their docs to tax pro go, and a tax pro does the rest. tax pro your taxes are done. man really . man 2 awesome lisa youll never look at taxes the same way again. lisa vo h r block tax pro go. Expert tax prep without the office visit. So you can do what you wanna do. Its better with block. You have fastacting power over pain, so the whole world looks different. The unbeatable strength and speed of advil liquigels. What pain . Where does your almondmilk almond breeze starts here with our almond trees in our blue diamond orchard in california. My parents job is to look after them. And its my job to test the product. The best almonds make the best almondmilk. Blue diamond almond breeze. Hes a systems quarterback. Wheres the truck . What . Parked it right there. Male voice what did i tell you, boys . Tonight we eat like kings chuckling youre a genius, gordon brake hit the brake uh, which ones the brake . crash, bottles smashing stop stop stooop brakes squealing whats happening . What . Theres a half of cheesesteak back there. With geico, the savings keep on going. Just like this sequel. 15 minutes could save you 15 or more on car insurance. Raccoon i got the cheesesteak can you help keep these iguys protected online . . Easy, connect to the xfi gateway. What about internet speeds that keep up with my gaming . Lets hook you up with the Fastest Internet from xfinity. What about wireless data options for the family . Of course, you can customize and save. Can you save me from this conversation . That we cant do, but come in and see what we can do. Were here to make life simple. Easy. Awesome. Ask. Shop. Discover. At your local xfinity store today. Detectives wall and turner were following all leads in their investigation into nancy howards shooting,evaluating e bit that came their way. Take nancys purse. They had her cell phone tracked and quickly discovered her purse in a nearby dumpster. There was still 11. 10 in the purse. Cell phone, keys. It appeared as if all the contents of the purse were still there. What really caught their attention was that her drivers license seemed to have been removed and cast aside. That was the only item taken from the purse. It was at that point in time that i became suspicious. If the shooter didnt want her money and credit cards, maybe he planned to kill her. Why was the drivers license found separate from the wallet . I believe, i think you would agree, that they pulled out the drivers license out of the bill fold to make sure they had gotten nancy howard from the drivers license of the. Working a hunk that nancy had been marked for death, they decided to take a closer look at the video on the security cameras at the church. Will. They clearly showed nancy arriving at the church. As she is pulling into the parking lot, there is a silver vehicle following behind her. She drives around the south side of the church and parks. That silver vehicle parked a few spots away from hers. Could you make out the license plate . The people in the vehicle . The video wasnt clear enough for to us see the license plate. You could tell from the video that there were two occupants. A driver and a passenger in the front seat. Shortly after nancy enters the church, the silver car drives away but returns just before the Church Service ends. Then big a moment in the case. The church cameras catch a glimpse of a possible suspect. The driver exits the vehicle and enters the church to use the rest roop. He was wearing a hat and it was pulled down covering his face. The driver gets out and into a silver vehicle. As nancy leaves the Church Service and gets in her car, she backs out and leaves the parking lot and the vehicle informs her out. Is it Crystal Clear to you that nancy was a target . Oh, yeah. It was clear frye that video that she was followed. And they came back to wait for her. It was an exciting moment. We have a lead now. She is not just a random party. There is Something Else going on. Indeed. A fellow cop told them about a routine traffic stop a month before that suddenly seemed quite significant. A white honda acovered. It was in the Early Morning hours that Carrollton Police officers stopped a car about a mile from the howard home. How long have you been there . At my uncles house for three, three and a half hours. The reason i ask is i saw you earlier. And i see you again and its now going in circles and circles. There were two men in the car. They were 100 mize from their homes in east texas. Please step out of the car. I want to talk to you. The driver was a 19yearold named dustin hirams. He appeared to be high on something. Possibly meth. Initially he told police he had come to carrollton on get money from his uncle. Seconds later he said he was looking for his stepfather. Then he said his stepfather was in jail. And that he was really looking for someone else. Tell me who youre visiting here. Im confused. You said uncle. We just called him john. So john is a friend of the family. John . Thats a name youll hear later in the story. At the time, it meant nothing to the officers. The whole thing might have been forgotten except for this. At one point, hirams blurted out that he was a hitman involved in a plot to kill a carrollton would that. At the time it sounded like another crazy story from a drug addled teenager. Police looked into it but they couldnt pin it down. He was booked on minor charges and released. Weeks later, nancy was shot. Once the incident occurred on august 18th when nancy was shot, it really kind of tied those two things together. Police wondered if dustin hirams and his buddy in the car were tied to the shooting. If nancy could pick either of those men out of a photo lineup, the detectives figured it would be case closed. Ruthing shell be able to i. D. One of these guys immediately . Oh, yeah, if we can get the shooter identified, thats over half the battle. So you showed they are photo and she wasnt able to identify anyone. Is that a letdown . Yeah. But its expected. Are you thinking could it still be women them . Oh, yeah. Just because she couldnt identify then, that doesnt mean we change directions. Were still on the trail of those two. Just as they were beginning their hunt for dustin hirams, the investigators got a call. As luck would have it, there was someone at the county jail who claimed he had the inside story of the shooting. Dent only county investigator called us and stated that Billy Johnson, an inmate, wanted to speak with us with b the shooting. The detectills were intrigued and set up a meeting at the county jail. Just for the record, bill yirgs youve asked to speak with us. Is that correct . Yes, sir. His full nape was billy earl johnson. His rap sheet showed he was a career criminal with a reputation for being mean and scrappy. A reputation billy didnt mind discussing. I have a reputation to be a bad everybody is claiming me to be tough and bad. I dont claim to be tough and bad. Im mean. If you jump on me, ill going to hurt you. If billy was mean, he was also today will congratulating. Police would soon learn, whatever tale towed tell could be theirs for a price. Coming up two of them. He provided a lot of information that he should not know. Byy seems to know all about the plot to murder nancy and it may be a family affair. Certainly a strange cast of characters. Some people might depict them as the heehaw gang. Eehaw gang or baby wipes, or powders, try the cooling, soothing relief or preparation h, because your derriere deserves expert care. Preparation h. Get comfortable with it. And thats not a tissue. Protection. Lysol kills over 100 illness causing germs and viruses. Even those that may cause runny noses. Lysol, what it takes to protect. And my side super soft . Yes. With the sleep number 360 smart bed, on sale now, you can both adjust your comfort with your sleep number setting. Can it help me fall asleep faster . Yes, by gently warming your feet. But can it help keep me asleep . Absolutely, it intelligently senses your movements and automatically adjusts to keep you both comfortable. So, you can really promise better sleep . Not promise. Prove. And now, during the ultimate sleep number event, save 50 on the sleep number 360 limited Edition Smart bed. Plus 0 interest for 24 months on all smart beds. Only for a limited time. Oh no, here comes gthe neighbor probably to brag about how amazing his Xfinity Customer Service is. Im mike, im so busy. Good thing xfinity has twohour appointment windows. They have night and weekend appointments too. Hes here. Bill . Karolyn . Nope no, just a couple of rocks. Download the my account app to manage your appointments making todays Xfinity Customer Service simple, easy, awesome. Ill pass. Nancy howard was shot point blank at her home in carrollton, texas. Remarkably she survived. And a week into the investigation, detectives wall and turner got a lead from an inmate who claimed to know he knew the real story behind the crime. His name was billy earl johnson. The comes knew billy earl was a tough guy from east texas. An area about 90 miles from carrollton, home to those piney woods. Billy was the ring leader of a colorful crew. Many of them petty countries, related to billy by blood or marriage. Certain lay strange cast of characters. But theyre east texas folks. Some people might depict then as the heehaw gang. A gang just getting by in a region thats struggling to make it. A lot of drugs, a lots of methamphetamine outs there. If someone makes money out there, has extra money, they just hand it out to each other. Meeting with investigators, billy earl was a man on a mission. He wanted to cut a deal and fast. 49 years old of i have grand kids that i want to spend the rest of my life with. I want to be free and i want out this weekend. Billy told the cops he knew things about the shooting that they did not. Including the identity of the hit team. He played hard ball even as he mixed his metaphors. I got the big ace in the hole. If you want this murder solved, you need to work with me. You want it. Ill give it to you in a [ bleep ] golden basket. If the comes didnt want to play, then billy earl would zip it. Im not giving up nothing until i got something solid on my end. He thought he was in control. He was sitting on an important piece of information. Oh, yeah. Yeah. I told hip, i cant go to the d. A. With you just saying this. You have to provide some information. So billy did. He was in jail on drug charges the night nancy was shot. He told investigators, he not only knew who ordered the hit on nancy, he knew how it went down. There were two of them that done it. One driving, one pulled the trigger. Which one was driving, i dont know. Billy told the detectives he thought the murderforhire plot began sometime around 2009. I was laying on the couch and the phone rang. How he got my information, i dont know . Have the stranger said his name was john. He said, you dont know me. He told me his name. I dont know you. I was told you might be the one to do the job for me. The job . Kill nancy howard. You want it done, we can count on him. Like a carjacking, purse snatching. John was a man of means, he told the detectives, who drove a texas and communicated with a disposable drop phone. Do you see that number . 1764 . Thats johns Contact Number if you still have the phone. Thats how you cause him . He had it memorized. So he had the whole number, the 1764 number. Billy knew more. He could describe nancys car. She aint had it long. Its dark blue, four doors like a hatchback. Inning he is providing a lot of information that he should not know so it is pretty obvious will. So youre being it. Oh, yes. Its pretty pobs hes involved. She deserve as little justice. And shell get it. But i want my back scratched too. Billy told the comps, he nevr intended to follow through with it. Instead, he was going to take them for as much money as possible. For more than two years, thats just what happened. How many conversations have you had with john regarding this being done . More than ten . Yeah. More than 20 . 50, 60. Detectives say wasnt just billy playing the john game. Members of billys crew were at it as well and the comes already knew one of them. We just called him john. That was it. Remember dustin hirams in the young man pulled over before nancy was shot. He spunl a crazy story about being a hitman. It turns out, dustin is billys stepson. Maybe his story hadnt been so crazy after all. Coming up could the heehaw gang be the key to the case . He started laying out the whole thing. D laying out the whole thing. D. Its not just a cold if you have high Blood Pressure. Most cold medicines may raise Blood Pressure. Coricidin hbp is the. 1 brand that gives. Powerful cold relief without raising your Blood Pressure. Ition and we broke through. Olays retinol24 complex hydrates better than the 1 retinol. Visibly smoother brighter skin in just 24 hours. New olay retinol24. My schizophrenia for a while, and then my kids asked me why my body was rocking back and forth. My doctor said i have tardive dyskinesia, which may be related to important medications i take for my schizophrenia. I also felt my tongue darting and pushing against my cheeks. I was worried what others would think. Td can affect different parts of the body, and it may also affect people who take medications for depression and bipolar disorder. I know i shouldnt change or stop my medication so i was relieved there are Treatment Options for td. If this sounds like you or someone you know, visit talkabouttd. Com to sign up to receive a personalized doctor discussion guide to help start a conversation with you doctor about td. Youll also be able to access videos and a free brochure that show the different movements of td. Visit talkabouttd. Com or call to learn more. I was glad to learn there are treatments for td. Learn more at talkabouttd. Com. Hirom. Detectives wall and turner headed for east texas immediately after hearing details only an insider could know about the nancy howard shooting. Their inform dlamt was billy earl johnson. He was the patriarch of an east texas family. He claimed he had been involved in a plot to kill nancy. Wall and turner wanted to talk to those family members, starting with billys stepson, dustin hirom. Billy earl didnt seem to think much of him. Dont know nothing about nothing. Dustin hirom was the young man pulled over in nancys neighborhood a month after she was shot. His name is john, okay . We always called him john. The detectives found dustin stwag friends in a trailer. We were able to get him in custody. Then next two and a half, three days, we spent talking on dustin. Youre a good kid. You are messed up in something but youre a good kid. What was that like . Of course he was on meth. Crying. He was pretty upset. So it was dustin, scared and strung out, who provided the detectives new details about this man named john. A man who wanted nancy howard killed. He wasnt shy about suggesting how it could be done. He told dustin that he wanted her to be ronald while she was staying at the hotel in grape convenient he wanted it double with a baseball bat. He provided photos, details of her schedule and even suggesting she be killed while scrap booking with her friends. She is a christian woman, dude. Who shared with you that shes a christian woman . John did. Dustined the detectives, john liked the express hid money around. He started laying out the whole they know regarding his ten dad Billy Johnson, his mom, meetings with john, large sums of money being transferred. He was talking right in the millions. Hard to believe. Yeah. He lays out including his grandmother receiving money. Billys he other children that were involved. Soon dusten says members of the johnson clan were calling john whenever they needed money. When theyre in jail and cant get bonded out, he decides, short story, he decides he can do this and starts getting all the moan. At one opponent, dustin said john gave him 24,000 to carry out the hit. Money that he promptly spent on meth or gave away. He had 8,000 blow off his car at a Church Parking lot. He said did you go back and get it . Nah, are you kidding me . Ill get more. As the investigators dug deeper, they learned nearly a dozen people from east texas knew about the plot to kill nancy. Charlie was one of them. So have you heard about the shooting in carrollton . Yeah. Everybody else heard about it. Who is that . Mr. John. Mr. John. Plunge john . Yes. Charlie louderman was one of the few who was not related by blood or marriage to billy earl johnson. He is one mad had he started out as a bodyguard. He said they tried to get help to shoot nancy howard. Youre trying to get me to kill her. Do you want the truth . Even got to have the truth. Now out of jail, charlie told us that sometimes john transferred moan between bank accounts. And sometimes he met charlie and billy and handed over packages. John was always pressing them to get the hits double. He was, hey, do you think you can get it double now . What are the chances . Where are you all at . And billy would say, were that an hour away. Well call you when we get close. Okay. Well, call me when you get confirmation. I want this they know done. What did this lady do . As long as john was willing to pay, char says byy and his family were willing to talk about killing nancy. And he have type, if it didnt happen, he wanted to know why. Billy was the master of outlandish excuses. He had brain too maniors, seizures, spells, he done too much dope. The neighbors were home. Just as far as cotake and it john would buy it. Hook, line and sinker every time. It was an economic bonanza for east texas. According to earl, he couldnt seem the spent it fast enough. Motorcycles for his children. All three of them. A car for his mother. A couple of gokarts for the grand kids. A riding mower, a four wheeler, numerous assault weapons. Anything he wanted. And so for more than two years, the murder plot bank rolled by john killed nothing but type. They want more money. They were very valuable to you. It would have been a tough case if we had only one or two of them. Someone was either happeneding out the truth or swum handed out. They were canny enough to document their feelings with the mysterious mr. John them even had a picture of help and his fancy car. Wait until you see it. Its a stunner. Coming up, who is this infamous mr. John . The biggest twist of all. I was in disbelief. It was so farfetched. When dateline continues. N s n s hey there im lonnie from lonnies lumber. If you need lumber wood, lonnies is better than good. We got oak, cherry, walnut, and more. And we also have the best selection of plywood clattering in the state. Hey highpitched laughter man dang woodchucks wood clattering stop chuckin that wood with geico, the savings keep on going. Just like this sequel. 15 minutes could save you 15 or more on car insurance. Hello. Heres whats happening. The confirmed death toll from the coronavirus outbreak has risen to 908. There are now more than 40,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus. Government in thailand is defending the handling a mall massacre that killed 29 people. Some say police took too long to respond and they had to wait for hours to be rescued. Nearly 60 people were rescued in the attack. Back to dateline. Throughout the piney woods of east texas, authorities heard the same refrain. A man named had john was paying top dollar to rid the earth of a woman named nancy howard. To hear them tell it, john was a murky blend of money and murderous intent. But a picture snapped of the local named john made everything Crystal Clear. John was frank howard. Htheres a photograph of frak howard sitting in his gray lexus. In the foreground of the picture, Billy Johnson is sitting on his motorcycle. He may have been frank to his friends and mr. John to the east texans, but in truth he was both. His full name was John Franklin howard. John franklin howard. Aka frank. Frank. Three names for a man who evidently had been living three lives. One with his wife in carrollton. One with his girlfriend in california and the third with the east texas crowd. It was just a surprise being the Beaver Cleaver family and being involved with the church. It was unusual. So eight days after nancy was shot, the detectives returned to the scene of the crime. This time they had a warrant. Im sitting there watching tv and working. The Police Showed up at the door to arrest me. I never expected i have no clue whats going on and whats happening. They just put you in the car and took you to the station . Yep, yep. The charge . Sl solicitation for murder. The children were shocked. Hiring a hitman . Had made no sense of the will. It is a very specific type of evil person that tries to kill their spouse. My duad is not that person. No human would do that. My dad is a human. Humans make mistakes. It was such a huge leap the what they were accusing hip of. I had never felt like my dad hated the kids enough food to our mom. And he never hated my mom, never talked poorly about my mom to do that. Even nancy refused to believe her husband of nearly 30 years could have originchestrated a p to have her killed. I was totally in shock. This is so far from anything. First of all, that i ever dreamed i would be involved in. Second of all, it all came at the same time. Im shot and then i find out my husband has been having a threeyear affair. I was in disbelief. It was so farfetched. His friends felt the same way. In fact, frank was so well regard in the carrollton that his friends offered to post his 1 million bond. At his bond hearing, witness after witness testified to his character and sterling reputation. Even Denton County prosecutor jamie beck was impressed. People from his church, community, current clients came forward and packed the courtroom for a bond hearing which is just unheard of. They took the stand. They just sang his praises on what a good guy he was. Though he quickly bonded out of jail, investigators were concerned that he was behind the attempt on his wifes life. Not only could they prove that he had been having an affair and he paid hundreds of dollars to hitmen, they had a picture of hip will meeting with one of then. Stale crucial element for solving the case was missing. Were still knee deep in the middle of it. We dont have the shooter identified. Everyone weve arrested at this point, we can only confirm that he was involved in solicitation to have her murdered. Dustin hiroms gives us the name of michael. Thats billys nephew. The investigators zero in the on that name. Michael. The search of phone cause revealed a surprise. Not donal they hear billy earl talking about someone named michael, they heard another familiar voice. It was the voice of frank howard. I can get out of here. It will take about a month but i need some money. Thats part of my problem. What happened to michael . I give happy bunch of money. How much did you give hip will . I dont even know anymore. Its been so long. Did you give him 20 in. At least. Its clear from those phone conversations at the jail that frank is directly involved in orchestrating this. Michael got everything i got left. He said he could take care of everything. Even though police were sure michael speck was one of the men in that silver car, they had no idea who the other man was. Then a few months later, a call out of blue steamed provide a break theyd been looking for. The caller had information that only the shooter and nancy would know. For instance, in that moment, nancy had handed a bag of food to the shooter. I felt like she had some information. The caller led them eventually to someone they believed was the shooter. His name was also michael. Michael lawrence. He and speck had been prison cell mates. This is like six degrees of separation. It is. All the puzzle pieces were coming together. The police thought they could put both michaels in that silver car on the night nancy was shot. It would be up to a jury to countdown whether frank howard had paid them to kill his wife. Coming up, the case begins and the witnesses are sure colorful. But are they credible . How do you get the jury to believe what theyre saying . When dateline continues. N s this is charlie not coughing because he took delsym 12hour. And this is charlie still not coughing while trying his hardest not to wake zeus. Delsym 12hour. Nothing lasts longer for powerful cough relief. sensethe lack of control when iover my businessai, made me a little intense. But now quickbooks helps me get paid, manage cash flow, and run payroll. And now im back on top. With koala kai. vo save over 40 hours a month with intuit quickbooks. My sister moving differently, i didnt know what was happening. She said it was like someone else was controlling her mouth. Her doctor said she has tardive dyskinesia, which may be related to important medication she takes for her depression. Her ankles would also roll and her toes would stretch out. I noticed she was avoiding her friends and family. Td can affect different parts of the body. It may also affect people who take medications for bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. She knows she shouldnt stop or change her medication, so we were relieved to learn there are Treatment Options for td. If this sounds like you or someone you know, visit talkabouttd. Com to sign up to receive a personalized doctor discussion guide to help start a conversation with your doctor about td. Youll also be able to access videos and a free brochure that show the different movements of td. Visit talkabouttd. Com or call to learn more. We were so relieved to learn there are treatments for td. Learn more at talkabouttd. Com. In the months after nancy howard was shot in the face and left for dead, she tried to move on. She divorced frank and found comfort in the sheltering he said brace of her faith and family. Isnt that pretty . She even enjoyed happy moments when the shooting was almost forgotten. Like the day her youngest daughter got married and frank walked brianna down the aisle. It was very special that he was able to do that. For me, there was never a doubt in my mind that my dad would be walking me down the aisle. We actually had a very good time. It was a very joyful time. I can remember walking with him and saying, well, we ended up doing this together after all, didnt we . Hard to imagine . Not really. If you remember that frank and nancy always put family first of the for a long type, nancy refused to belief the worst about frank. As the months passed, she had a change of heart though she kept hoping she was wrong. I believe he had relationships with the kind of people who would do Something Like this. But i am going to let the jury make the decision on whether he called the shot. . So youre not ready to say he ordered im not ready to say that. Denton county prosecutor jamie beck was ready to say that and a lot more. I try not to get too personally involved, so to speak. I just, i did not like him. I did not like the good versus evil aspect to him. And the manipulation that i felt. In early august 2014, frank howard went on trial for attempted capital murder. The prosecution started with nancys 911 call. Oh, jesus, help me. Oh, god, help me. It was an emotion a opening punch. One that left frank visibly shaken, as did nancys testimony about her injuries and overwhelming feelings of betrayal. I was married to a man named frank howard for the majority of our marriage i was married to frank howard. But when john walked in the door, he started taking over. Frank was a man who was loving and kind. He had integrity. John, john was about himself. Prosecutors laid out their theory. John aka frank howard, had hired a hitman to kill his wife. But for more than two years, hed ended up throwing money at one potential killer after another to get the job done. This group of characters, some people even called them the heehaw gang yes. Very questionable characters. Long rap sheets. How do you get the jury to believe what theyre saying . When youre going to go out and hire a hitman, youre not going to hire a good person off the street. Youre going to hire a criminal, somebody with a seedy past and thats willing to do that job. If orange is the new black, this was a fashionable crowd on the stand, the witnesses from east texas corroborated each others stories. They testified they received money from a man named john to kill his wife. They communaled with john by calling his drop phone. And each of them said john and frank were one and the same. Charlie louderman says john distance seem happy to see his east texas friends again. He didnt want to see them in there. He didnt like that. He was twirling his pen, pop, pop. Charlied the jury about seeing vast sums of money change hands. Sometimes it wobble 5,000. Sometimes 80,000. I counted 83,000 on my bed roop floor. Investigators were able to follow the money on franks computers. They found Wire Transfer receipts that add up to more than 750,000. Rick dan. It sounds hard to believe that frank accountant, the numb. At first it was all cash. I think he got tired of having to go meet and once he got started with the Wire Transfer, i think he realize that had it is done. Might as well keep doing it. I think he kept trying to find a solution to his problem by throwing more money at it. The east texan who gladly took money were not charged. They were in facing prison time for other crimes of still, they wanted to link him to the men who shot nancy. The man in the silver car. They tried on establish that frank had paid the alleged driver. They played a snippet of the jail house call record ad few weeks before the shooting. So i gave michael everything. I said im all in with you, buddy. I dont know what else to do. I went you a in with him. Even more incriminating, phone records proved frank was communicating with the alleged driver the day of the shooting. As for the alleged shooter, the other michael, the prosecutor called a witness who testified he confessed to her the night nancy was shot. He does a full out confession. Ive murdered someone. I shot a woman in the forehead, in her garage, took her food and her purse. And then we dumped everything on the way back. Both michaels pleaded not guilty. Their day in court would come later. As for motive, the prosecutors told the court, that was as old as time. Frank had another woman and this was no casual fling. They presented evidence of franks devotion. The flowers, letters and cards he sent to suzanne when he wasnt with her. Police also discovered, frank had spent enormous amounts of money on his mistress. I think the thing that he had given suzanne was 1. 9 million. We discovered they had purchased a hope together in california. They purchased a cond over in lake tahoe together. He had given her even if hundr, he had given her even if hundr, 0 in cash. The pictures police found on his cell phone showed a happy couple. But suzanne was tired of being the other woman. She began putting pressure on frank to get a divorce. The police found a letter from frank dated december 2011. Eight months before the shooting, pleading for patience. One line is all i know to do is get things done and see if youre still around. What do you think he meant . I think he meant following through with nancy. In this text sent a few months before the shooting, suzanne wrote, im so sick of being alone. You need on file by this freeway or move on. Ive waited long enough. Prosecutors said that affair was franks motive so all eyes were on suzanne when she took the stand. She believed he was in a loveless marriage. That he was basically separated from his wife but living under the same roof for convenience sake but in separate bed rooms of the. How important was the mistresss testimony . I dont think suzanne had any know about any of this. I dont think she knew that there was a murderforhire plot. I dont think she knew about any association with criminals. I think suzanne fully believed, just like everybody else around frank, they took him at his word. Prosecutors told the jury for a family man like frank, divorce was not an option. But they argued, murder was. It didnt have to happen. A divorce was the solution. Frank was with suzanne in california on the day nancy was shot. Even so, he still found time to send an email to his wife. The prosecutor brought it to the jury in her closing argument. I know you have a busy day today. He knows her schedule. Hes provided it to the two michaels. So i will try to call you type will today. I love and you cant wait to get home to you. Thats sick. That is sick. He wanted to get home to her casket. Thats what he wanted to come home to. On august 18th, 2014, two years to the day after nancy was shot, the prosecution rested. Now it was the defenses turn to convince the jury that all those east texans were lying. And that frank never paid anyone to kill his wife. Coming up the defense comes out swinging. And in its corner, two devoted daughters. I wanted to be there for my dad. Hes not this man that youre talking about. When dateline continues. Ws when you have pain. You want relief. Fast. Only thermacare ultra pain relieving cream has 4 active ingredients to fight pain 4 different ways. Get powerful relief today, with thermacare. They have businesses to grow customers to care for lives to get home to they use stamps. Com print discounted postage for any letter any package any time right from your computer all the Amazing Services of the post office only cheaper get our special tv offer a 4week trial plus postage and a digital scale go to stamps. Com tv and never go to the post office again frank howard was a confident man, at least he claimed to be when he spoke to us a few months before the trial began. Did you have anything to do with your wife being shot that day in your garage . No, no. I absolutely did not. Nevertheless, the Defense Attorneys knew they had their work cut out for them when they rose to Frank Howards defense. The state put on a large, large amount of evidence. They showed a lot of moan being transferred. They showed the affair. They showed sympathetic pictures of the poor lady shot in the head. Powerful images, to be sure. The prosecutions case simply didnt make essential. It was really incredible to their allegations that a man would have spent the kind of money they said was spent to have someone shot. Particularly in light of the fact when you saw all the people were saying he paid them looking at the people they were. So the first line of defense was dont trust anybody who wears prison garb to court. I just believed when the jurors look at the case, and they see how these people are liars, countries, drug users, they wont win any credibility. If they dont believe those people, they cant convict him for attempted capital murder. You a these people supposedly got hundreds of thousands to kill somebody and theyre not even being prosecuted. It makes no sense. Reporter not only that but the defense argued, some of their stories were just too fantastic to be believed. Take one from charlie louderman. He testified that some of Frank Howards cash had come from the middle east in body bags. It was moan that literally wreaked of death. Some of it had hair with blood stuck to it. Some of it had burn marks on it. I said what in the hell is that awful smell . And billy looked at me and said you know thats how were getting that money in here. On dead bodies coming from kuwait. In the caskets. Reporter the defense called that claim outrageous. Just crazy things. Crazy. 80,000, 100,000 in cash. Coming bang in the body cavities of dead soldiers from iraq . This man had crazy things. Reporter the Defense Attorneys not only challenged the credibility of billy earl and his crew, they told the jurors the real reason frank howard was in contact with the east texas crowd boiled down to one word. Blackmail. He had taken a guy who had been a Straight Arrow his whole life. Im sure would it bother anymore the people in church knew he had a girlfriend, that he was in las vegas. All those would go into the reason. Reporter franks daughter agrees. You see all the money going out to these really shady people. You never see any return. There is no action. My belief is that he was being black mailed. Reporter for the affair . I cant say what. My dad was a really generous person. Maybe somewhere in there it was hey, give a guy a second chance. Help me out and it just snow balled into either threatening his family or telling about the affair. I dont know. I think it probably started as generous, you know, give grace to somebody helping another human and became something way out of his control. According to the defense, frank stopped paying members of the johnson clan weeks before the shooting and that, franks attorney suggested, could be the reason nancy was shot. Do you think this was payback to frank because the money train had stopped . I believe it was something to get the money going again. Ebl they were sending him a message. Youre not going on quit paying us. It could be that and they may not have intended. Shes still conscious. If shes going to kill her, why not shoot her again . Frank did not take the stand in his defense but all three of the howard children did. Was it hard to take the stand in the trial knowing what was at stake in it definitely was. I wanted to be there for my dad and i wanted to do thing and say things gave a different perspective. Hes not this man that youre talking about. You could have been his best weapon. His own children standing behind him when we say we support our dad, it is not a blind support. It is a well thought out support and a reasoned support. Weve been able to separate the feelings with the affair from the feelings in this criminal scheme. In closing, the defense asked the jurors to consider one question. Did the prosecutors theory of why and how frank howard plotted his wifes murder make any sense . Where in the world did he say divorce was unacceptable . Hes already been divorced. I do not believe as reasonable people, you can convict someone on the testimony of the kind of people they brought in here, that their house has to be built on. It starts with Billy Johnson and it ends with Billy Johnson of i do not believe thats the kind of evidence in this country that we want to use to convict someone of a crime to deprive them of their liberty if theyre convicted. The jury now held Frank Howards fate in its hands. Coming up, the man of rock solid character or this cast of characters . Who would the jury believe . When dateline continues. When dateline continues. Theyd once called themselves the Beaver Cleaver family. If nothing else, John Franklin howards attempt proved it was as he is on as a rerun. Nancy was in the courtroom surrounded by her friends and family and franks supporters sat behind the defense table. As for the children, when they were in the courtroom, they almost always sat on their dads side of the aisle. For me i was very focussed to goal. Focused on what were here for. It was my dad all the way. The tension and stress caused by the howard childrens devotion to their father was at times old. Nancys face. Im trying to understand. You have to understand, they had continual contact with their father for the past two years. And they, too, wanted to believe their father was the same man. After ten days of testimony and a mountain of evidence, jurors might have been expected to be out for a while. Has the jury reached a verdict in this case . But they werent. Yes, we have. Is that a unanimous verdict . Yes, it is. Please hand it to the bailiff of will. Hit taken just 90 minutes of determination for the jury to reach a decision. We the jury find defendant john howard guilty of the offense of attempted capital murder as alleged in the indictment. When you heard that word guilty, what is going through your mind . Just complete heart break. But yet, it was also peace because it was finally over. In a separate hearing, frank howard was sentenced to life in prison. My gut reaction is, well, now we have to appeal. You didnt even let no. For me, that, that was the plan. Not guilty, we move. On guilty, we appeal. There is no lets all cry and hold hands and be sad because dad is in jail. No. Were going to appeal. It is probably easier to cope that way. At first there is shock. And then its like, youre just angry. Youre angry that they didnt, you dont feel like they got the truth. You may be seated. In the end, Frank Howards appeals were denied. Even then this case was far from over. Remember the michaels . The two men prosecutors say actually carried out the attack on nancy . In 2015, billy earls nephew michael speck turned on his former cell mate, michael laurms. . Return for a reduced sentence, speck testified at lawrence trial that Michael Lawrence had been the triggerman. Lawrence was convicted of aggravated assault with a Deadly Weapon and sentenced to 60 years in prison. He appealed and in 2017, a texas court overturned his conviction on the grounds that evidence introduced relating to the overall murder for hire scheme was misleading and unfairly prejudicial. Lawrence was retried and this time a jury found him not guilty. But lawrence isnt off the hook yet. The District Attorney has decided to prosecute him for conspiracy to commit murder in the nancy howard case. He has pleaded not guilty. As for the money frank howard used for the plot, it turns out it was stolen from the wealthy defense contractor he had once worked for. Some people might have a hard time wrapping their head around, he was just freely giving out the money. The only way i can explain that is when you dont earn the money, when its not from your hard work and efforts, it has no value. For the two years i called it his monopoly money. The money didnt have meaning to him except to how he manipulate people. It was found that he had embezzled more than 6 million from his former boss between 2009 and 2012. Frank was ordered to repay with it interest. He went it into hoping there was a chance maybe he didnt call the shots. Right. I did. I tried to keep my heart open. You have no doubt in your mind now. Absolutely. That frank called the shots your attempted murder. Absolutely. John called the shots. Almost like an alter ego of will. Yep. It is. I wont say john howard, you messed up, buddy. Perhaps nobody knew john better than the east texas crowd. Charlie louderman in full finger wagging mode understand john howard got what he deserved. Youre smart and you hired an idiot to do your dirty work. Char said he regrets he ever got involved with Billy Johnson and hes remorseful about what happened to nancy. I feel a lot of guilt with her eye. She looked like a really happy lady in the pictures to me. To johns children, im sorry. Your dad did it. You know . There is no getting around it. But even after hearing the evidence, john and nancys daughters still believed their father was innocent. There are going to be people watching this saying you two girls are delusional. Your dad was found guilty trying to have your mop will killed and here you are supporting your dad. I get that. I would say those people think were delusional have not shared our experiences. They havent sat down. They havent gone to jail, sat behind that glass, picked up that phone and talked to the same man that theyve been talking to for the last 28 years. And you can say all day long, oh, that poor girl. She just wants to support her dad. Lets be very clear. I think Justice Needs to be served. I dont think it has been. And i think it is unfortunate that now were all going to say weve gotten justice for my mom and that man is a terrible human being. The truth is there is no justice for my sxhom now there is no justice for my dad. Though the sisters conceded in 2014 that the familys bonds had been strained by this case, they insisted the bonds had not been broken entirely. Do you hope as time goes on, things can be healed with your mother . Absolutely. It is a very raw time. A big change happened. Were all having to process what we feel and then come back together and really sort it out. The future for the Howard Family . We were a Strong Family then. Well be a Strong Family in the future and those twoe wont look the same. Thats okay. Were going to figure it out. Its unclear how franks howards daughters feel about their father and mother now. Neither responded to datelines requests for comment fofrlt her part, nancy said she has forgiven and gone on with her life. She works as a legal assistant and now bigs her maiden name. In 2017 she told her story titled, the shooting of nancy howard. A journey back to shore. Deep in my heart, my heart is broken. I would have loved to have continued being the Beaver Cleaver family. I would have loved to continued being married to frank. Because i loved that man with all my heart. And that man loved me at some opponent. But it was obviously a change on who he was and is. Im craig melvin. And im natalie morales. And this is dateline. Oh, my god a fire chief murdered. His wife the only witness. This detective knew them both. She started telling me about a young man coming into their home and shooting keith. Her job now, solve this crime. Clue number one was a doozy. After he shot keith she said he turned to her and said, im sorry, maam. Im sorry . A killer who apologized . That was just the start
vimarsana.com © 2020. All Rights Reserved.