Dateline: The Carrollton Plot - What happened to Nancy Shore? Details of the 2012 murder plot, explored

Dateline episode The Carrollton Plot aired in 2014, and is still remembered by the audience for its astonishing turn of events. The NBC show is known for showcasing some chilling true crime stories, and The Carrollton Plot’s twisted plot seems straight out of a thriller film.

The episode focuses on Nancy Shore, a native of Carrollton, Texas, who lived a seemingly normal life with her family and her loving husband. However, the woman was shot by an attacker in 2012.

While initially it seemed like a case of armed robbery, the investigation later revealed a shocking truth. It turned out Nancy’s husband was behind the attack and wanted to get her killed. Here is how Nancy’s true story unfolded in Dateline: The Carrollton Plot.

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Dateline: Who was Nancy Shore and what happened to her?

As seen on Dateline, Nancy Shore was a loving wife and mother from Carrollton, Texas. She and her husband, Frank Howard, had been married since 1983 and raised three children together. Nancy was a stay-at-home wife, while Frank worked as an accountant.

They seemed to have a strong marriage and were also active in their church and community. By 2012, Nancy spent most of her time alone as her children had moved out of the house and Frank used to go on frequent business trips.

On August 18, 2012, Nancy drove home after a women’s tea at her church, when she was followed by a hitman. As soon as she reached her home and parked her car in the garage, a young man wearing a black baseball cap attacked her.

He grabbed her, pointed a gun at her head, and demanded her purse. During the tussle, the attacker shot her in the face and ran away. Despite being gravely injured, Nancy did not lose consciousness and cried for help. The paramedics arrived in time and took her to the hospital, where she miraculously recovered.

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Dateline: Who planned the attack on Nancy?

While Nancy remained at the hospital, the police started investigating the supposed robbery case. They found a loophole in the robbery story, as Nancy's purse was found in the garage with money still inside.

Dateline depicts how the investigators got a clue from Dustin Hiroms, a hitman, who revealed he was hired by someone to kill a woman in Carrollton. Further investigation suggested that a man named John had tried to contact multiple assassins to murder his wife, including someone named Michael Speck.

Interestingly, Frank Howard’s full name was John Frank Howard. When he became a suspect in the case, the police dug deeper into his financial transactions and phone records, which pointed out that he had been living a double life and wanted to get rid of his wife.

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Dateline: Why did Frank want to get Nancy killed?

Frank was in love with his mistress, Stephanie Delacerda. While he used to tell Nancy that he was going on business trips, he used to spend time with Stephanie.

Meanwhile, he had also been stealing millions from a client and used to send the money to his mistress and her associates. Frank was arrested on August 26, 2012, and was later found guilty and sentenced to life in prison, with the possibility of parole after 30 years.

At first, Nancy struggled to believe her husband had planned to get her murdered. But as more and more evidence came out, she accepted the truth and divorced him before his trial.

Frank now remains in prison while Nancy has become an advocate for domestic violence awareness. She speaks up about her experience to help others recognize dangerous signs in relationships.

Dateline can be watched on NBC.com.