they ll come and bring all the kids. we were always together, always a family. we went to all of their events. they were busy, always doing something. whether it was soccer or, you know, anything in the fine arts musically. reporter: you guys do almos sound like t leave it to beaver oh, yeah. reporter: but by 2012 those days were gone. frank and ashley were empty nesters. 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. yeah, it was. i mean, i m proud of them but it was difficult. i mean, change is difficult. reporter: now nancy was often home alone.
reporter: frank howard arrived home in 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, and by the time he got there, he could hardly walk. and i hear this crash and i look back, my dad had collapsed on the ground. he was in terrible shape. any time monitors would beep, he was jumpy, just terrible shape. reporter: was he in tears? yeah. reporter: tell me what happened the first time you saw nancy in the icu. it was a time. she was real drugged up but all the family and a lot of people from the church and stuff were there. reporter: doctors told the family the bullet had entered nancy s skull just above her left eye and traveled downward
she took the stand. she believed he was in a loveless marriage, that was separated from his wife, but living under the roof for convenience sake in separate bedrooms. how important was the mistress s testimony? i don t think suzanne had any knowledge of any of this. i don t think she knew about the murder for hire plot. i don t think she knew about association with criminals, suzanne believed, like everybody else around frank, take him at his word and believe him. prosecutors told the jury, for a family man like frank, divorce was not an option. they argued, murder was. it didn t have to happen. divorce. the solution. frank was with suzanne in california on the day nancy was shot. etch so, he found time to send an e-mail to his wife. prosecutor, jamie beck read it to the jury. i know you have a busy day
today. he knows her schedule. provided it to the two michaels, i will try to call you some time today. i love you, and can t wait to get home to you. that is sick. that is sick. he wanted to get home to her casket. that is 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 defense s turn to convince the jury that all of those east texans were lying, and 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. he is not the man that you are talking about. when dateline continues.
she d somehow managed to drag herself into the house and in spite of taking a bullet in the head, she was able to give critical details to the 911 dispatcher. how many people was it? can you stay on the phone? reporter: yes, ma am, i m going to stay on the phone until they get there. reporter: a few minutes later, police arrived at the home. remarkable as it sounds, nancy managed to open the front door for them. help me. help me! reporter: soon carrollton police detectives were on the case. it s incredible how she was able to give the information to the dispatcher about what had happened and then be able to wait for the police at the front door. reporter: this was a really bloody crime scene. there was quite a bit of blood, yeah. reporter: there was a small hole just above nanny s left