Murder for Hire in Frisco

Frisco police have arrested three people in the December murder-for-hire killing of Craig Nail, including Mr. Nail's estranged wife, police announced Wednesday.

It marks the second time Vera Elizabeth Guthrie-Nail, 42, has been arrested in the case. She was taken into custody earlier this month and posted bail after being accused of trying to hire a boyfriend to kill Mr. Nail.

That boyfriend, who has not been identified by police, told authorities he thought it was a joke until learning from news reports that Mr. Nail was fatally shot one day after Christmas.

In addition to Ms. Guthrie-Nail, police also arrested Mark Lyle Bell, 52, of McKinney and Thomas Edward Grace, 55, of Carrollton.

Mr. Grace and Ms. Guthrie-Nail were both charged with conspiracy to commit capital murder. Mr. Bell has been charged with capital murder.

Mr. Bell has a criminal history of burglary, forgery and theft in the 1980s and '90s. No criminal records were found for Ms. Guthrie-Nail or Mr. Grace in Texas.

It's not clear how the three are connected, where they met or if they have any connection to Ms. Guthrie-Nail's boyfriend, who went to police after Mr. Nail's death. Frisco police released no information about where the three were arrested or what led them to the suspects.

A police news conference planned for today was canceled after the names of the suspects were released late Wednesday. Sgt. Gerald Meadors, a Frisco police spokesman, did not return phone calls but wrote in a news release that the investigation is ongoing.

Little is known about the two men arrested, except where they live.

A woman who identified herself as Linda Bell, Mr. Bell's wife, answered the phone at their McKinney house Wednesday night, and began sobbing when asked about her husband.

"There's no possible way he could have done it," the woman said. After a long pause filled with weeping, she hung up the phone.

Mr. Nail was shot multiple times on Dec. 26 while in the upper level of the Frisco home, which he shared with Ms. Guthrie-Nail before they separated.

He died in the house. The same night, Mr. Nail's girlfriend, Therisa Hofman, walked into the house through the garage, encountered the assailant, and was also shot. Ms. Hofman managed to get to a neighbor's house and survived the attack. She has been cooperating with police.

The Nails had been separated throughout a bitter divorce case, which was filed in May 2006 and was close to an end. But the suit had not been going in Ms. Guthrie-Nail's favor. She lost the house and primary custody of the couple's 6-year-old daughter to him.

Ms. Guthrie-Nail had complained to court officials that Mr. Nail had touched their daughter in inappropriate places, but those accusations were never substantiated.

According to Ms. Guthrie-Nail's arrest warrant affidavit, she told her boyfriend, whom she dated for four months, that she "would rather go to prison than let Craig have her daughter."

The boyfriend told police that she regularly asked him to kill Mr. Nail, offering at one point to "lure Craig to the house with a promise of sex and the chance to reconcile their marriage." At that point, according to the affidavit, the boyfriend could "come into the house through the garage and kill Craig when he went upstairs."

The boyfriend told police that he thought she was joking.

UPDATE as of 2/5/09

The 3 are still in the Collin County Jail for Consipracy to Commit Capital Murder and under 1 million dollar bond each. DA is seeking the death penalty on Mark Bell, Liz for the first time has her mouth shut and Thomas Edward Grace (the middle man) just plead down to a lesser charge of Conspiracy to Commit Aggravate Assualt, 3rd degree felony which carries a 2-10 prison sentence and $10,000 fine.

Elizabeth's brother Johnnie Guthrie (an ex-felon) was in jail again at the time of Craig's murder and the gun and drugs found after the search warrant was excuted at his Mom's Shirley's house and his in China Spring were his. And Neeley married Johnny after all this--go figure???

And finally, Mary Kay took Elizabeth's consultant's contract away from her.

Justice wrote:

UPDATE as of 2/5/09
The 3 are still in the Collin County Jail for Consipracy to Commit Capital Murder and under 1 million dollar bond each. DA is seeking the death penalty on Mark Bell, Liz for the first time has her mouth shut and Thomas Edward Grace (the middle man) just plead down to a lesser charge of Conspiracy to Commit Aggravate Assualt, 3rd degree felony which carries a 2-10 prison sentence and $10,000 fine.
Elizabeth's brother Johnnie Guthrie (an ex-felon) was in jail again at the time of Craig's murder and the gun and drugs found after the search warrant was excuted at his Mom's Shirley's house and his in China Spring were his. And Neeley married Johnny after all this--go figure???
And finally, Mary Kay took Elizabeth's consultant's contract away from her.

The drugs were found at Johnny's house, he live on the same property as his mother.

Elizabeth was originally charged with conspiracy. She is now charged with Capital Murder. Mr. Grace received a bond reduction in August and posted bond and is no longer incarcerated. Mr. Bell's trial should begin soon.

Mr. Grace did not plead down to anything, as he has yet to go to trial. His original charges were dropped down to lesser charges, I am sure, in return for his testimony against the other two.