Dateline: A complete timeline of Nancy Shore’s murder attempt, explored

The news magazine show Dateline has been enthralling viewers since 1992, as it presents some of the most twisted true crime stories that have happened in the country.

Even though Dateline earlier focused on general interest news, the show has now gained popularity for its exclusive focus on the latest true crime cases and its detailed coverage of the same.

Aired in 2014, the show covered the famous Nancy Shore incident, where Nancy was shot by a hitman. It turned out that it was her own husband, Frank Howard, who had wanted to kill her because of his past crimes and an affair.

Dateline is known for showcasing stories that are chilling, true, and filled with twists and turns. Here’s a complete timeline of how Nancy was attacked and why her husband wanted her killed.

Dateline: A complete timeline of the Nancy Shore murder attempt

Nancy Shore was a loving and religiously devout wife and mother. She lived in Carrollton, Texas, and had been married to Frank Howard since 1983, with whom she had three children. According to Nancy’s statements to the BBC, “we had an awesome marriage…he was very kind, loving…involved with our children.”

Nancy was a housewife, and Frank was an accountant who frequently went on business trips. However, everything changed on August 18, 2012. As Dateline mentions, Nancy came back home after church, and as soon as she entered her garage, she met a hitman wearing a black baseball cap, who held and attacked her.

The assailant pointed a gun at her head and demanded her purse. As Nancy tried to shove the purse into his chest, the attacker shot her and ran away with her handbag. Nancy lay unconscious for some time on the garage floor, and when she awoke, she was throbbing with pain and bleeding. Ultimately, Nancy was able to call the paramedics, and she miraculously recovered. However, she lost an eye and had a bullet lodged in her lung.

Afterwards, while Nancy was undergoing treatment at the hospital, the police investigated the case and found out that a man named John had hired several people to murder his wife. Further, the police discovered that Frank’s mobile phone had photos and text messages between him and another woman.

It turned out that during the murder attempt on Nancy, Frank was not on a business trip but was away with his girlfriend. Frank had been living a double life in California. During his trial, prosecutors mentioned that he had paid several people from 2009 to 2012 to kill Nancy.

Dateline: Why did Frank Howard try to kill Nancy?

Frank was in love with his girlfriend, Stephanie, and he often acted in front of her as if he were a rich man. Therefore, Frank began embezzling money from one of his wealthy clients—an amount that was nearly $30 million, according to the BBC.

Frank was arrested on August 26, 2012, and was found guilty at his trial. He was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 30 years. As a devout wife, Nancy struggled to accept her husband’s involvement in the crime but eventually divorced him before the trial.

In the BBC’s coverage of the story, Nancy mentioned that she had taken a vow to never divorce her husband, and that could be the reason why he wanted to kill her.

However, Frank and Nancy’s three children were distraught and refused to believe that their father could do something like this. According to the BBC, Nancy said that Frank convinced his children he was innocent, and therefore, the three of them could not believe he was responsible.

After numerous operations to rebuild her face and eye socket, Nancy now has a prosthetic eye and also works at a law firm. She continues to be thankful to God for the second chance at life she was given and remains hopeful about the future.

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Dateline is available on Peacock.

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