Yeah. We were scared. Reporter mystery number two, a secret 1600 miles away. There were several Text Messages. Its just slowly snowballing. It was like a punch in the gut reporter and mystery number three . Im mean im gonna hurt you reporter who would they turn out to be . im like, what did this lady do . Reporter faith, temptation. And a twist the size of texas lets be very clear, Justice Needs to be served. I dont think it has been. Reporter im lester holt and this is dateline. Tonight, Andrea Canning with the carrollton plot. Reporter carrollton, texas, just north of dallas, is the kind of place where the upwardly mobile go to buy their dreams. The schools are good. Golf courses dot the landscape. And churches are more ubiquitous than starbucks. Theres not a whole lot of Violent Crime in that area. Its a great area to raise kids and a family. Reporter 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 dealing here with are poor. Theres a lotta drugs, lotta methamphetamine out there. Reporter different cultures, worlds apart. And yet one summer those two worlds collided in a most unlikely way. This is the story of that summer, when money seemed to fall like tickertape on the piney woods. And an affluent carrollton family experienced the kind of Violent Crime that had always happened somewhere else. God, help me. Yes, maam. Help me. Help me. I need you to call me immediately. Your mom is in the hospital with a gunshot wound. And im like, im sorry, what . each day, wed look at each other, michael and i, and just say, we cant make this up. Reporter our story begins in august 2012. Can you believe it . 100 degrees again this afternoon. Reporter it was the kind of heat that melts asphalt and has everyone searching the sky for some sign of mercy. But in carrollton, 52yearold frank howard wasnt sweating it. Frank was an accountant. His life was good and Getting Better by the day. I took on a new client. And that would have been probably in 2009. Very wealthy client. Yes. What did that come along with, those perks . Well, the wealthy client, you know, he had you know, his own airplanes. And so so i guess for the first time, probably, you know, flyin around in private planes and and you know goin to cowboy games. Reporter as they say in texas, frank howard was standing in high cotton. I was still, you know, the same old guy. But it was definitely doing some fun things as well. Reporter frank had come a long way since his days as a preachers son growing up in South Central texas. Very, conservative upbringing. You know, there was no, you know, you the drinking and cussing. You know, i never you know, i never been to the dance, you know, the school prom. I never i never did any of that kind of stuff. But at the same time you know, wanting to be just very down to earth, very honest and and try to be the best person you can be. Reporter solid values to last a lifetime. But it wasnt all smooth sailing. In college, frank had a brief marriage that ended in divorce. Eventually, he fell in love with a girl from his church. Her name was nancy shore. A brunette with dazzling blue eyes. It was a great time. You know, i still look back at that and think it was it was a good time. Reporter franks father married the happy couple in 1983, and two years later they had their first child, a daughter they named ashley. That wasnt an easy birth . No. There were there were problems. Yeah, yeah, there were complications. She spent the first ten days of her life in the in the Neonatal Unit at the hospital. It was a close call, but one that seemed to deepen and enrich the couples faith. Soon the family grew to include a son, jay and another daughter, brianna. Growing up was great. I had a wonderful older sister and an older brother who had kind of helped guide me through stuff. And then obviously a wonderful mom and dad. Reporter eldest daughter ashley says that whatever the Howard Family did they did together. Because both our parents did choir in church, anytime they needed a family, it was like, oh, get the howards, theyll come and, like, bring all the kids. We were, you know, always together, always a family. We went to all of their events. They they were busy, they were always doing something. I mean, whether it was, you know, soccer or you know, anything in the fine arts, musically. You guys almost do sound like leave it to beaver. Oh, we joke yeah like, that we were the cleavers. Hi beaver. Hi mom. And jay was beaver. I was beavette. Brianna was beaverly. We had Howard Family variety night. Yeah, we would have game nights and we would yeah. Have, you know legitimately, the cleaver family. Yeah, absolutely. Reporter but by 2012, those days were gone. Frank and nancy were now empty nesters. Ashley and her brother jay were each married and on their own. Brianna was in college in nashville. 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, im proud of em, but it was it was difficult. I mean, change is difficult. Reporter now nancy was often home alone. Franks work with his new client, a wealthy defense contractor, had him traveling to florida, california, even kuwait. There was a little bit more, you know, freedom or whatever. And and like i said, al a lot of it was work. And so you know, i was out there trying to kind of build it, and she was sitting at home. Reporter still, nancy had her faith and Church Activities to fill the empty hours. In fact, thats where shed been the evening everything changed for the Howard Family. It was a saturday night, august 18, 2012. Youre out of town . Yes. You get a call that something horrific has happened to nancy, theres been a robbery at your own house. Yes. I was just i just beside myself. I didnt know, you know, what what was happening. Reporter and so began one of the longest nights of Frank Howards life. 3 f2 al volver. Yes, maam. Terror was at the door. Im like our mother, that doesnt make sense. Almost like it wasnt real. Yeah, like it wasnt real. Y to treat sensitivity. Thats 1 strip. 10 minutes. And up to 1 month of protection. Satisfaction guaranteed. Life opens up when you relieve sensitivity. Best foods and holiday leftovers become irresistibly creamy turkey casserole. Real delicious best foods. Bring out the best foods. Bring out the best. [ mand for grandpa moving inod with us for a few, uh, months. Hes such a wonderful role model for little jimmy. And, uh, i think were all very excited. [ male announcer ] kraft macaroni cheese. You know you love it. [ male announcer ] kraft macaroni cheese. Thats all i crave. 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Reporter after months of broiling temperatures the afternoon of august 18th, 2012 brought the welcome sound of summer rain to carrollton, texas. But shortly before 8 00 that evening the sound of a gunshot split the night. A 911 operator picked up the phone and heard a womans anguished cry. Lord jesus, help me. Oh, my god. Help me. Oh, lord jesus, help me. Reporter the woman said she had just been shot in the head by an intruder in her garage. Ive been shot. Please help me whats the address mam . Reporter the caller was franks wife, nancy howard. Shed 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 . Its just one that im aware of. Can you please stay on the phone . Oh yes maam im gonna stay on the phone with you till they get there. Reporter a few minutes later, Carrollton Police officers arrived at the home on bluebonnet way. Remarkable as it sounds, nancy managed to open the front door for them. Its the police . Yes, maam. God, help me. Yes, maam. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help. Reporter soon Carrollton Police detectives michael wall and bryan 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 be able to wait for the police at the front door. This was a really bloody crime scene. There was quite a bit of blood, yes. Reporter 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 Parkland Hospital in dallas detective wall turned his attention to the crime scene. You could see exactly where she had gone through the house. The garage and the hallway leading into the house were bloody. But 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 arrived that this was anything other than a burglary gone bad . We didnt have any other reason to suspect that it was anything other than than an aggravated robbery given the information that nancy had given us. What details did you get from that 911 call specifically . Nancy was able to give us suspect description of the person that shot her. It was a white male. He was wearing a black hat. The suspect was in his 20s. Reporter Police Officers could find no one in the neighborhood whod seen or heard anything. It had been raining significantly and so obviously when it rains, people are inside. Theres no witnesses and so we basically had nothin to go go on. Reporter 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 but they couldnt rule it out. There had been some breakins in the area. There was some some home breakins that we were lookin at to see if they may be related to to this offense. But at this point, we were kind of checking out everything to see if there was anything that may be related to this. But there had not been any robberies where people are actually bein robbed at gunpoint for their for their property. Reporter the cops knew they had to notify nancys family. But as it turned out her husband was out of town. A Police Officer who belonged to the howards church got word nancys eldest daughter, ashley. Its a close friend of my moms calling to say your mom is in the hospital with a gunshot wound. And im like, im sorry, what . So that must be the most yeah, its bizarre phone call. Just the weirdest phone call. Like, it was it was not even, like, scary or worrisome. It was more, like, so like, we just couldnt cross the hurdle of where she couldve been to get shot. Almost like it wasnt real . Yeah. Like, it wasnt real and its just like, this our mother . That that just makes no sense. Like shes not the type of lady thats going to get shot, you know. Reporter ashley finally reached her father in california with the news. I was in south lake tahoe. And thats thats at the casino, whenever i got that. And i was taking a break and and and noticed that i had missed a call from my daughter. And so i stepped outside and and called her back. And then thats when i found out that that something had happened. How does he react to this situation . He couldnt speak. I mean, he couldnt breathe. And it was like, okay, dad, who is with you . Because you are not in good shape. Okay. Im going to drive to the airport. Im like, no, no, nah. Youre not driving to the airport. Get someone to take you. Reporter more than two hundred miles from the nearest airport frank was desperate to get home. I was crying and just going crazy and so then i was on the phone trying to find flights out and trying to figure out, you know, what to do and how to do it and when to do it. Reporter it was six oclock the next morning before frank howard could finally board a plane headed home. He could only imagine the nightmare that awaited him once he landed in texas. Coming up. My dad has like collapsed on the ground. He was in terrible shape. As doctors race to save her, her family races to her side. Who could possibly be behind this . Someone was out there. Yeah, we were scared. When dateline continues. At the Sears Columbus day, appliance event. Hurry in and save up to 30 off kenmore appliances. Plus, 10 off other top 10 appliance brands, only at sears. And she gave me advice. She said, dad, go pro with crest prohealth. [ male announcer ] 4 out of 5 dentists confirmed these prohealth products helped maintain a professional clean. Crest prohealth really brought my mouth to the next level. [ male announcer ] go pro with crest prohealth. Yeah, girl you know, ive been thinking about us and, uh, i just cant fight it anymore its bundle time bundle mm, feel those savings, baby and thats how a home and auto bundle is made. Better he learns it here than on the streets. The miracle of bundling now, thats progressive. Reporter frank howard arrived home in dallas the morning after his wife was shot. His daughter ashley says he looked awful when she finally saw him. They drove to the hospital together and by the time they got there he could hardly walk. And i hear just, like, this crash. And i look back and my dad has, like, collapsed on the ground. He was in terrible shape. And every time the little monitors would beep, he was jumpy. I mean, just terrible shape. Was he in tears . Yeah. Yeah. Tell me what happened the first time you saw nancy in the icu. It was a difficult time. She was real, you know, drugged up. But but but all the family and the a lot of people from the church and stuff were there. Reporter doctors told the family the bullet had entered nancys skull just above her left eye and traveled downward through her sinuses and throat before it collapsed one of her lungs. Shed already had the first of many surgeries. She would lose one of her blue eyes, but luckily, she seemed to have escaped serious brain damage. Theres tubes, theres wires, theres lines. So, even though you can say, shes all right uhhuh. Its like, it doesnt look like its not all right. Shes all right, you know . Uhhuh. And, you know, theres swelling. Theres inflammation all over. Theres things attached to her feet. So, its kind of hard to se to feel like, okay, this is okay and this is right. It was very traumatic to see to see that happen to her. You know, very difficult. Very very emotional time. Was she able to talk to you the first time you saw her . I dont believe so, she had tubes in her throat and i she was conscious, and so she had knowledge of kinda of who we were, but she really couldnt talk or anything. Reporter while the family waited for some definitive word from the police on what had happened, they filled the void with theories of their own. Everybody you know, in the family were sitting around talking about it, thats, you know, we were we were trying to figure out what happened and how it happened. And we didnt have any idea. Someone was out there. Yeah. Yeah, we were scared. There had been a series of breakins in the area. Did that cross your mind . That was one of the things that came up. I think i believe the detectives or whatever had told us there had been breakins. In fact, they had somebody that fit kind of the general description, that he was someone that they knew of that had had participated in some breakins in the area. Reporter detectives wall and turner were eager to talk to nancy. Shes our only witness to this offense. We just had the minimal suspect description at this time. And so we felt it was important to confirm those details with her as soon as possible. Reporter while they waited for nancy to get well enough to speak, they called in frank, hoping he could fill in some of the blanks. Can you update me on her condition, what the doctors have said . Yes. Uh actually very i mean its sounds bad when you say, somebodys shot in the head, but but actually, very, very good. He had confirmed that she had actually lost her left eye. No brain damage. No, you know, none of that. So shell lose her left eye, but from there, it will be, um um cosmetic stuff. Reporter detective wall asked if frank knew anyone who might want to hurt his wife. What i know about her, it doesnt seem that she would have any problems with anybody. Has she had any problems with anybody . Oh, no. Absolutely not. Absolutely not. Reporter in fact, everyone knew that nancy had a soft spot for anyone with a sob story. Nancy can be, uh real, uh giving and and uh and open. Reporter 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, shed done just that. Somebody came to the door. And they just needed money to get a hotel room, because their car broke down. Uhhuh. And and nancy they came to to your house . To the house. Yeah, at the front door, and nancy told them uh shes just so, um good heart i mean, shes she just said, uh that uh that she would help try to help them find a hotel room. Reporter maybe thats what happened. A good hearted woman befriended a dangerous stranger. The howard children thought that was a distinct possibility. That was my first thought was, oh, she 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 came to these people and this helping nature she had . Yeah, definitely. I think that sometimes her her willingness to see the good in everybody, it it opened her up to more risk than most other people would take. Reporter frank didnt know much because he was out of town that night. Doesnt sound like frank is really able to help you with anything . Hes just he doesnt. He just being cooperative. He is being cooperative. He confirms that he had actually sent a few texts and emails back and forth to nancy, and knew that she was going to the Church Service. And so in order to confirm that, i asked if i could see his cell phone. Would you have a problem if we ran an analysis on your cell phone . No. Reporter in addition to turning over hi