Dateline: Who was Frank Howard and what do we know about his crimes? Details of the 2012 incident, explored

A news magazine reality legal show, Dateline, is one of the most famous shows in the country. Broadcast on the NBC, the series has 33 seasons till now and began airing in 1992. Dateline is one of the longest-running shows on TV and has managed to inform and intrigue the viewers with the latest news in crime.

The show used to focus on general interest news magazine but has now shifted its focus to cover mainly true crime stories. Dateline has been able to make the viewers aware of the horrifying crimes that go on in society and therefore works as a cautionary program.

In an episode of Dateline, the show focuses on the famous Nancy Shore incident and how Frank Howard, her husband, was the man behind a number of crimes.

Dateline: Who was Frank Howard and details about the Nancy Shore incident

Frank Howard was the husband of Nancy Shore. The two had been married for nearly three decades when on 18 August 2012, everything changed. Nancy came back home from Church that day and the moment she drove into her garage, she met a man who put his arm around her neck and a gun to her head. The man demanded Nancy’s handbag and even though she tried to wrestle with him, things didn’t end well. Nancy tried to shove her purse into his chest and he shot a bullet in her head and ran away with Nancy’s handbag.

Nancy was left unconscious on the floor of her garage and when she did recover, she had a lot of breathing difficulties and pain. Her phone was in the bag the assailant took away, therefore, she had to go into the house and call the emergency services. Even with a bullet in her right lung and a major case of destruction to her left eye, she was shockingly able to walk to the front door and wait for the paramedics.

Throughout this whole ordeal, Nancy was under the perception that her husband, Frank Howard, was away on a business trip. When a policeman contacted Nancy’s children and Frank, he came back home and was weeping profusely. As Nancy recovered in the hospital, Frank tried to be by her side and was heavily emotional. However, the reality behind the things soon came out.

Frank Howard’s hidden life and dark secrets in detail

In the episode of Dateline, as the police began to investigate, things started coming out and they found data on Frank’s mobile, which included photos and text messages between him and another woman. Frank had not been on a business trip, he was with another woman. Interestingly, the affair had been going on for three years.

Frank admitted to Nancy about his adultery and wept in front of her. However, further appalling news came as Nancy was still recovering. The police told Nancy that they had arrested John Franklin Howard, or Frank Howard, in connection with the attack on Nancy.

Turns out, Frank had been paying a gang of criminals since many years to kill his wife. According to BBC, Nancy mentioned that, “it was heartbreaking”. The criminals had been exploiting Frank and wanted money.

Further, Frank tried to pass himself as a rich man in front of his girlfriend and began embezzling money from one of his wealthy clients. According to BBC, this amount was upwards of $30 million.

Nancy does not know why Frank wanted to murder her but she thinks that it was maybe because she would never agree to a divorce. At the trial, Frank was quickly judged guilty and was sentenced to life in prison for 30 years. Ultimately, Nancy did divorce her husband.

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Dateline is available on Peacock.

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