The Murder of Craig Nail | The Christmas Killings hosted by Nancy Grace | Forensic Files

[theme music] NANCY GRACE: 2007 Frisco, Texas, Craig Nail is getting ready for a Christmas to remember.
BRYAN SARTAIN: He was the all-American dad, working a good job, loved his kids. NANCY GRACE: Then his future was viciously ripped away when
he's murdered in his own home. BRANDY DIAMOND: He suffered 10 gunshot wounds to the body and a close range shot to the head.
[suspenseful music] BRYAN SARTAIN: You know that that was personal. Craig Nail was essentially executed.
NANCY GRACE: Police uncover a trail of surprising suspects. It was like a villain from a Wild Wild West movie.
BRANDY DIAMOND: They've told him to kill everyone in the house. NANCY GRACE: This holiday, horror show
gets even scarier as police zero in on the killer. BRANDY DIAMOND: This was pure evil.
BRYAN SARTAIN: We were totally blown away. Christmas will never be the same for this family.
[sirens blaring] [theme music] [christmas music] NANCY GRACE: Christmas is always such
a magical and wonderful time of the year, especially in a place like Frisco, Texas.
Frisco is known for hosting Christmas in the square. (SINGING) It's Christmas time
It's the largest holiday lights and music show in North Texas. The whole city is covered in holiday cheer.
But on December 26, 2007, all that yuletide joy is replaced with tragedy. [suspenseful music]
It's a unique 911 call because it was a neighbor calling, who had no idea what was going on, and just
knew that there was a lady in her suburban neighborhood screaming, somebody was trying to kill her.
[siren blaring] When we arrived at the scene, we were told that we had a female who had been shot.
She's been shot once in the arm, twice in the head. She's losing a lot of blood.
She's losing consciousness. She is airlifted to Parkland Hospital. NANCY GRACE: The crime scene is pure chaos.
Police treat it as an active-shooter situation because they don't know if there are
any other victims in the house. We didn't know where the suspect was, who the suspect was.
Is there a robbery happening? Is there a hostage situation? At that point, they don't know if the perpetrator
is still there or not. But they know that it's time to enter and find out what's going on in that home.
[suspenseful music] BRYAN SARTAIN: When you entered the house, you entered through the garage.
I traveled into the kitchen, which is where we started to find the physical evidence.
[camera clicks] It was a somber walkthrough of the crime scene. The shell casings and the blood on the floor--
it was eerie because the blood, it was trailed throughout the house, almost like a path
that you could easily follow. You could see blood smears on the walls at every light switch.
The house was decorated for Christmas. There was a Christmas tree. There was lights on the tree.
But the weirdest thing about this crime scene, in it didn't make any sense, was all this white fluff.
It was like white, fluffy, cloudy material. [camera clicks] We thought, well, that might be possible decorations
from Christmas. And it was scattered all about. NANCY GRACE: The shell casings recovered
are from a .22 caliber gun. Investigators follow the trail of blood from the kitchen
and make their way up the stairs. BRYAN SARTAIN: It was on the walls. It was on the light switches.
You could follow it all the way up the stairs. BRANDY DIAMOND: They see the blood leading from the stairs
into the master bedroom. And then they see two feet sticking out of the master bedroom closet.
[suspenseful music] BRYAN SARTAIN: As we entered, I observed a white male slumped over a duffel bag
with multiple gunshot wounds. The bag was partially unzipped, and he was over the top of it
when he was executed. NANCY GRACE: The duffel bag contains guns and ammunition. BRYAN SARTAIN: When you looked at the crime scene,
you actually could see and feel the desperation that the victim had to have been enduring.
He was doing everything he could do to get to a weapon, to fight. And you realized that all of the blood on the light
switches, all of the smears on the walls, they were from the victim who was scrambling to get to that closet because that's
where he stored his guns. We identified the victim of this horrendous crime to be Craig Nail who was the homeowner.
NANCY GRACE: Craig Nail is a 36-year-old software engineer who works in cybersecurity.
His neighbors tell detectives, Craig is someone everyone likes. They can't believe he has enemies.
BRYAN SARTAIN: Craig was just a wholesome guy, just a regular salt-of-the-earth kind of people.
He was the all-American dad living in a suburb, working a good job, loved his kids.
Craig's life revolves around his two children, one, a 16-year-old daughter, who lives with her mom in Oregon.
His other daughter is 6. She lives with her mother, Elizabeth Guthrie-Nail in nearby Dallas.
Craig and Elizabeth are legally married but separated. BRANDY DIAMOND: After the separation, Craig moves out.
He ends up going to a support group at his local church for people going through separation and divorce.
He ends up meeting a woman in that group by the name of Therisa. [dramatic music]
NANCY GRACE: The other shooting victim is Craig's girlfriend, Therisa Johnson. BRYAN SARTAIN: Therisa was a lot like Craig,
just a good, wholesome person. BRANDY DIAMOND: On the way to the hospital, even though she is bleeding and losing consciousness,
she's still asking, where is Craig? Is Craig OK? NANCY GRACE: A forensic unit arrives at the crime scene.
Meanwhile, officers canvassed the neighborhood for witnesses. BRYAN SARTAIN: We had detectives out knocking on doors,
going door to door to talk to all the neighbors. And it's weird that all of this turmoil
that you see inside the house, but outside the house, in the neighborhood, it was just another night.
People were in their houses. They were having their holiday, and no one saw anything or heard anything.
While we were searching the house, we noticed that there was a motion detector light on the driveway.
But it was odd because it didn't have any light bulbs in it. But when we stepped around the corner of the garage,
we found both the light bulbs just sitting there. NANCY GRACE: It seems the killer removed the light bulbs.
Police believe he or she lay in wait under the cover of darkness. Craig Nail and his girlfriend, Therisa Johnson,
are the victims of an ambush. BRYAN SARTAIN: There was no obvious fingerprints. There was no footprints.
We didn't have a murder weapon. We just didn't have a lot to work with. At that point, as an investigator,
you don't know whether this is a completely random act of violence. Is this a home invasion, or is there something more to this?
And it just-- it didn't add up. In a detective's mind, that's one of the worst cases in the world to get a hold of, is a whodunit.
[mellow "jingle bells" playing] NANCY GRACE: Christmas is taken very seriously in the Dallas
suburb of Frisco, Texas. It's a time to be with family and focus on joy, peace, goodwill.
But Christmas in 2007 is very different. A well-liked software engineer, Craig Nail,
is found shot dead, execution style, in his own home. His girlfriend, Therisa Johnson, also shot.
She survives. Detectives, baffled by the crime scene. Then they speak to a neighbor.
JAY REIM: This person said that they had seen a suspicious vehicle at a house that
was catty-corner from the alley of where Craig Nail was murdered. BRYAN SARTAIN: They had seen it in the neighborhood before.
It was described to us as a black truck with blue on it, almost like flames. And this truck struck one of the neighbors as odd and stood out.
JAY REIM: The truck had a line of sight to his driveway. We immediately noticed that there
were beer cans at the back of the fence, like furthest away from the house. This does not make any sense.
Why would you have beer all the way back here, unless you were watching the alley, which was a good vantage
point to see who was coming and going from Craig Nail's house. NANCY GRACE: Police convinced, the black truck with blue flames
belongs to the killer. They suspect he or she lay in wait while drinking beer. BRANDY DIAMOND: The cans still had some liquid in them,
so we package those up for evidence and send them to our crime scene unit for them to process.
[unsettling music] NANCY GRACE: It's surprising and tragic that a family man, Craig
Nail, is targeted in a premeditated execution the very day after Christmas. He had been looking forward to sharing Christmas
with his new girlfriend, Therisa, and they seem very much in love. Their relationship develops quickly after they meet.
BRANDY DIAMOND: They start talking, leaning on one another. And this becomes a more romantic thing,
and they end up having this relationship. [music playing] Christmas is approaching, and Craig makes the decision to send
his 16-year-old daughter back to Oregon to spend the holiday with her mother. Craig spends Christmas with his youngest daughter.
The day after Christmas, that morning, Elizabeth picks their daughter up and heads to Waco to spend time with her family for the holiday.
[suspenseful music] NANCY GRACE: Craig and Therisa were planning to be together the day after Christmas.
Now, Therisa, suffering from three gunshot wounds. Detectives head to the hospital to see if she can help them.
BRANDY DIAMOND: Miraculously, Therisa is still alive. BRYAN SARTAIN: She was our only witness.
She was the only person who knows what happened. When Therisa became stable enough
for us to actually talk to her, her recollection sounded surreal. BRANDY DIAMOND: She tells police that it's
the day after Christmas, and they're gonna go enjoy a nice dinner together. So as planned, Therisa arrives at Craig's house
approximately 7:30. She hasn't even set her purse down yet. The next thing you know, she turns around and sees a man
standing there with something in his hand, staring right at her. He then lifts the weapon, points it at Therisa, and says, bang.
And shoots her in the head. He then points his weapon to Craig, and Craig immediately starts heading for the stairs.
BRANDY DIAMOND: But then, at that moment, the perpetrator turns the gun back to Therisa, shoots her in the arm
and then again in the head. BRANDY DIAMOND: Therisa then says the perpetrator starts to chase Craig,
continuing to shoot at him. And that is when she is able to escape the house and get to a neighbor.
And they're able to call 911. [siren blaring] At that point, police have to break
the tragic news to Therisa that Craig Nail did not survive. BRANDY DIAMOND: She is devastated.
She's been shot in the head twice. She's been through so much trauma. But there's a killer on the loose.
So police are asking Therisa, who did this to you? And she's telling them she doesn't know.
She's never seen this person before. JAY REIM: We didn't know who that person was, why they picked that location,
why they picked those people. All of those unanswered questions is what we started with.
So we had to start looking at everything possible. We had no basis to start with other than one person was dead,
and one person was wounded. NANCY GRACE: Detectives hope Craig's family may have answers.
BRANDY DIAMOND: Craig's oldest daughter has to come back to Frisco and talk to police.
They ask her, does she know who would have done this to her dad? She is heartbroken, devastated, and complete shock
about the loss of her father. She says he's a good man and doesn't have any known enemies.
Another person they have to tell is his soon-to-be ex-wife, Elizabeth. BRYAN SARTAIN: Even though Craig was estranged from his wife,
legally, he was still married. So we had to make legal notification to the wife.
BRANDY DIAMOND: She's visibly upset, visibly shaken, and has no idea who would have done this to Craig.
JAY REIM: So as the investigation progressed, we spent a lot of time looking at tips that were received,
information that people called in. We chased down a lot of leads that did not develop any suspects.
NANCY GRACE: The autopsy report comes back. Craig Nail suffers 10 gunshot wounds.
BRANDY DIAMOND: This tells us there's a lot of passion. And whoever did this wanted Craig Nail dead.
BRYAN SARTAIN: Craig Nail was essentially executed. You know that that was personal.
You know that that was up close. It means something. NANCY GRACE: 10 days after the vicious attack,
Craig's girlfriend, Therisa Johnson, is released from the hospital. Detectives ask her to work with a sketch artist.
BRYAN SARTAIN: Therisa described the assailant to us as of average height, heavyset white male, very rugged,
rough look in the face with a beard. She kept going back to and referring to the eyes.
And she described it, in her words, as a lazy eye. When we got the sketch back from the forensic artist,
it wasn't helping us find who did this. An average-height white guy with a dad bod,
it was one of those pieces of evidence that didn't tell us who had done it. NANCY GRACE: At first, the sketch
appears to be much too generic to help investigators, but it suddenly triggers a memory for Therisa.
After Therisa takes a look at what the sketch artist has put together, she realizes that she might
know who this perpetrator is. It kind of looks like someone she's never met but seen a picture of.
It looks very similar to Elizabeth's brother, Johnny. At that moment, Therisa thinks this killer might be a lot
closer to home than we thought. [whoosh] NANCY GRACE: Frisco, Texas, 2007. Craig Nail set to spend Christmas holidays
with his girlfriend, Therisa Johnson. Instead, he's murdered, and she barely survives a targeted killing.
Therisa works with police and a sketch artist, and that leads to the shooter's possible identity.
He's known as Johnny, and he is the spitting image of wife Elizabeth's brother. BRYAN SARTAIN: As an investigator,
you were excited when you have something that provides you with some hope. And with this picture, we got excited because we
might be on to something here. NANCY GRACE: Detectives put Therisa in protective custody
under a different name. If the suspect named Johnny is the shooter, police worry he could still come after her.
BRYAN SARTAIN: We traveled all the way to China Springs, Texas to talk with this person and see what they were doing at the time
and see if they have an alibi. He had an outstanding old warrant that was pending on him.
And we arrested Johnny on some unrelated charges and placed him in jail. And he just stayed with his story
that he had nothing to do with it. NANCY GRACE: Detectives checked Johnny's cell
phone records and the alibi. They confirm he's two hours away at the time of the killing.
It just wasn't that guy. We're days and days into this investigation, and we've met a dead end.
But sometimes, miracles happen. [phone rings] We received a phone call from Crime
Stoppers telling us that they had information about the homicide. We identified the person as Carol.
And Carol, come to find out, was Craig Nail's soon-to-be ex wife's best friend. NANCY GRACE: Detectives know the shooter is a man,
and therefore the shooter cannot be Craig Nail's estranged wife, Elizabeth. But they still believe she has a motive for murder.
Elizabeth Guthrie and Craig Nail meet in 1996 in an online chat room. He's living in Oregon.
She's living in Texas. BRANDY DIAMOND: They both work for technology companies. It just starts as mild conversation
but then quickly turns into a relationship, more than that. And then, next thing you know, he's deciding to move
back to Texas to be with her. NANCY GRACE: They marry in 1997. Four years later, they welcome a baby girl.
The couple settles in the affluent community of Frisco, but Elizabeth never feels comfortable there.
BRANDY DIAMOND: You think of Frisco, and you think of soccer mom. You think of luxury.
And she wasn't that type of person. She was from the country, out of her element,
rough around the edges. And it's hard to fit in. You have to keep up with the Joneses in Frisco,
and that's a lot of pressure. NANCY GRACE: Elizabeth becomes increasingly unhappy
and blames husband, Craig. In May 2006, she files for divorce, and it turns ugly.
BRANDY DIAMOND: She doesn't want Craig to have custody of their daughter. She wants control of not only how this divorce goes down,
but she wants her daughter. And she wants Craig to have nothing to do with her life.
She accuses him of physically abusing their daughter. In 2007, they start to look into these accusations,
but the court finds no basis for this. And she ends up losing the house. Craig moves back in.
The court, not only awards him the home back, but they also give him temporary custody of their child.
[gavel bangs] Up to this point, she has everything she wants. And now, it's all being taken away from her.
NANCY GRACE: By 2007, Craig moves on. He's dating Therisa Johnson. Meanwhile, Elizabeth's lifestyle takes a complete U-turn.
After Elizabeth moves out of the house, she ends up moving in with a friend in Dallas.
She starts to meet new people. BRYAN SARTAIN: She had gotten involved in things like riding
motorcycles and hanging out at clubs and bars at biker establishments. So now she's not in Frisco, keeping up with the Joneses
and the soccer moms. She is in Dallas hanging out with biker gangs, hanging out with possible nefarious people.
And how is this going to look in the courts when you're trying to get your daughter back?
NANCY GRACE: Frisco detectives suspect Craig's custody battle with his estranged wife,
Elizabeth, leads to Craig's murder. They head to Waco, Texas, to talk with Elizabeth's best
friend, Carol. Carol tells police that she called her friend Elizabeth because she saw that Craig had passed away.
She actually found this in the obituary. BRYAN SARTAIN: And so she immediately reached out
to Elizabeth to give her condolences. And Elizabeth invited her to come over and talk to her.
And when she gets there, she describes to us the most bizarre behavior. She tells us that she's been best friends
with this woman forever, and then all of a sudden, it's almost mafia style. Elizabeth's patting her down.
And Carol said, I don't understand. What are you doing? Then Elizabeth said, I'm looking for wires.
You're not wearing a wire, are you? And she's like, no, why would I? What is the deal?
What's going on? She said her behavior was odd and strange and that it wasn't like the Elizabeth
that she was friends with. It was a different type of person. Nothing prepares investigators for what Carol says next.
BRYAN SARTAIN: Elizabeth confessed to her that she essentially was the mastermind behind a plot
to have Craig killed and that she had done it because of the child custody issues
involved in their relationship. They were coming down on the final resolution, and these proceedings were not necessarily
looking favorable for her. BRANDY DIAMOND: Elizabeth also tells Carol, the reason she had Craig killed
was because he was abusing their daughter. So she decided to take matters into her own hands
and have him assassinated. We were totally blown away. [dramatic music] BRANDY DIAMOND: Police want to know
from Carol, what other evidence do you have to go with this story? How can we really prove this is true?
BRYAN SARTAIN: We ask her if there was a chance that Elizabeth had ever given her anything
or told her anything, as we were looking for physical evidence. Carol told us that Elizabeth had given
her a plastic grocery bag that contained .22 caliber shells. We were elated by this because we knew that the murder
weapon was a .22. We immediately asked, what did you do with them? Where are they?
Only to find out that she gave them back to her. NANCY GRACE: The .22 caliber shells
are not the only important piece of incriminating evidence. Carol indicated to us that at one point
during their conversation, Elizabeth reached down into the seat cushions of the couch she was sitting on,
and pulled out a cheap cell phone out of there, and told Carol, this is how I have
communications with the killer. And she kept referring to the killer to Carol as her guardian angel.
And she told Carol, she kept that phone at her mom's house. And she goes, my mom is under strict instructions
to destroy it in case the police ever come after it. BRANDY DIAMOND: Carol's statement to police
kicks this investigation into overdrive. And we knew at that point that that phone was going
to be one of the best pieces of evidence that we could possibly have. And we wanted to find it.
While people in Frisco, Texas, enjoy the Christmas spirit in 2007, someone is plotting the murder of a software engineer
and father, Craig Nail. [suspenseful music] [gunshot] Police suspect it may be his estranged wife, Elizabeth.
Frisco detectives head to Waco, Texas to interview her. BRYAN SARTAIN: We wanted to know if she
had an alibi, where she was, what she was doing during that time. She provided us with evidence of an alibi.
She had receipts from dollar stores, gas stations, all of these things she produced willingly and provided to us.
She was not at the scene of the homicide when it occurred. She was in Waco, almost two hours away.
NANCY GRACE: Estranged wife, Elizabeth, has an alibi, but she's also the only person that hated her husband, Craig.
Frisco Police believe she's the mastermind behind Craig's murder. But now, they've got to get solid evidence.
JAY REIM: We all drove down to Waco, where Elizabeth Guthrie-Nail's mom and family lived.
And we executed a search warrant on the premises. I happened to walk in to the kitchen area
and happened to glance over and see the same blue phone that Carol had described to me.
That phone had a text message displayed on it when I picked it up. And to paraphrase it, it said, I hope you
and the little ones have a very merry Christmas. Love your GA. I knew instantly that "GA" had to have
stood for "guardian angel." I made the inference that it was the message from the killer,
the, quote unquote, "guardian angel," that the job was done. Y'all can rest easy now.
JAY REIM: In the trailer, we also found two gun boxes for .22 caliber handguns. Once we found those pieces, we had to figure
out who guardian angel was. We automatically got the phone number associated with the person who sent that text message.
Unfortunately, this was a store-bought burner phone that no one puts a name to. There's nothing to identify who that person is yet.
BRANDY DIAMOND: They want to know, is this burner phone still being used by the perpetrator?
They have the phone company keep a lookout for it and if there's any activity, to let them know.
Well, they get a break. The phone company calls them, tells them that minutes were just added to this phone.
JAY REIM: That minutes were purchased at a Walmart in McKinney, which is the next city over from Frisco,
where the murder occurred. We were able to quickly go to that store. And they had surveillance footage
which gave us our first glimpse at who the person on the other end of that line was.
BRANDY DIAMOND: They can see from the cameras on the register that there is a suspicious character
adding minutes to this phone. BRYAN SARTAIN: You could definitely make out that this individual was unique.
He wore a cowboy hat. And he had a weathery face and a beard. It was almost like a villain from a Wild Wild West movie.
NANCY GRACE: Moments later, detectives see something in the footage that confirms their suspicions.
We were able to see this person get into a truck, which was a black truck with blue flames on it.
That truck description then immediately fed back to that night during a canvas of the neighborhood,
where they saw a black truck with blue flames on it. Now, you have reason to believe that that person is
the same person that was in that alley that day after Christmas. Working in conjunction with the phone company,
we were able to employ some investigative tactics, like pinging that cell phone.
JAY REIM: The cell tower data that we had showed that that phone was staying in a neighborhood close
to the Walmart in McKinney as well. BRYAN SARTAIN: We were able to narrow down an area
in which we could search. And we physically had detectives driving up and down streets looking for that black truck
with blue flames on it. JAY REIM: And we were lucky enough, one of our detectives
was driving through and saw the truck at a house. [camera clicking] BRYAN SARTAIN: You have an address now.
And from that, we were able to start pulling together information and actually identify
the owner of that vehicle as Mark Lyle Bell. We were able to match him with the surveillance footage that
tied it to the same person who had the phone, who had re-upped the minutes on it.
NANCY GRACE: Mark Lyle Bell is a biker and an ex-con. BRYAN SARTAIN: He was not a good guy.
He'd spent more time in jail than he had spent free. [eerie music] BRANDY DIAMOND: They know he has a criminal history based
on the information they have in their records, and they decide this guy needs to get off the streets.
[siren blaring] We were able to locate that he had some old outstanding traffic tickets, so we were able to get him arrested
on those outstanding warrants. Investigators noticed Mark Lyle Bell has the same features and lazy eye consistent with Therisa's
description. BRYAN SARTAIN: We got Mark Bell into an interview room and sat down with him.
And we handed him a picture of Elizabeth Nail. And I'll never forget this. He looked at me, and he said, I don't have any idea
who that scooter tramp is. It instantly set off bells and whistles to us. And my partner and I looked at each other.
We're like, how does he know that she rides motorcycles if he's never met her? BRANDY DIAMOND: They asked him, how do you know Elizabeth?
How do you know Craig? He denies everything. NANCY GRACE: Investigators get a search warrant
for Mark Lyle Bell's truck. BRYAN SARTAIN: We were lucky enough to find a .22 casing in the center console of that pickup,
almost as if it was a souvenir. And that .22 casing forensically matched to the shell casings
from the murder scene. We found a beer can. And it just so happened to be the same kind
of beer that was found across the alley from the murder scene. I don't know. You just don't have coincidences like that occur.
It's hard for me to describe the elation that was in my soul at the moment. You have that emotional reckoning that you
have found the right person. BRANDY DIAMOND: They immediately charged Mark Lyle Bell
with capital murder, which carries the death penalty here in the state of Texas.
[surging music] [music playing] NANCY GRACE: Frisco, Texas, 2008. Investigators note they've got to get a confession from Mark
Lyle Bell for the execution-style Christmas killing of Craig Nail. He's continuing to maintain his innocence in this crime.
BRANDY DIAMOND: So police, they collect his DNA. And what do they find out? His DNA matches the DNA found on the beer cans
at the crime scene. So he knows he's caught red handed. He tells police, I will tell you everything
you need to know if you take the death penalty off the table. BRYAN SARTAIN: He accepted a plea deal.
And so I asked Mark Bell, did you kill Craig Nail? The man leaned forward on the table
and looked me square in the eye. And he said, you damn right I did. I shot him to death, and I'd do it again.
It was at that moment in time when I knew that he was pure evil. NANCY GRACE: Mark Lyle Bell tells investigators what
happens that fateful night. He had entered the house, shot Therisa. He then saw Craig run.
He gave chase to him, was continuously shooting him the whole way until they ended up in the bedroom closet,
where he executed him. [suspenseful music] JAY REIM: He told us that those were his beer cans.
He drank the beer to get the courage to commit the murder. And then he took the murder weapon,
and he threw it in a lake. [water splashes] NANCY GRACE: Mark Lyle Bell also explains one of the mysteries
that baffles police. Inside the initial crime scene, it looked like there was like, fake snow all over the house.
It turns out that Mark Lyle Bell had made a homemade silencer with a water bottle stuffed with cotton,
that he attached to the end of the barrel of the gun. It turns out that all that it did, is as he was firing rounds,
it just blew cotton out of the holes with the bullets as he was firing. BRANDY DIAMOND: After telling police this information,
he tells them that even though he was the killer, he's not the mastermind behind this.
Elizabeth wanted her soon-to-be ex-husband murdered. NANCY GRACE: That's not the only revelation
Mark Lyle Bell tells police. Elizabeth told him to kill everyone in the house. BRYAN SARTAIN: And you're like, why?
God! BRANDY DIAMOND: Her order to kill everyone in this house just adds an extra layer of evil to this crime.
NANCY GRACE: Mark Lyle Bell tells investigators he meets Elizabeth through the biker community.
Then another bombshell falls into the laps of investigators. Elizabeth's mother, Shirley Guthrie,
goes to Frisco Police with a story that incriminates her own daughter. BRANDY DIAMOND: Elizabeth's own mother
walks into the police station and tells them a bombshell. She is terrified of her own daughter.
She tells police that she overhears this conversation with her daughter, Elizabeth, and Mark Lyle Bell.
They are discussing the murder of Craig Nail. And Elizabeth was irate that Therisa was still alive,
and she was telling Mark that he should have been a better shot. NANCY GRACE: Elizabeth Guthrie-Nail's
arrested January 29, just over a month after the murder. She denies the charges and says she's innocent.
The case goes to trial, September 10, 2012. Mark Lyle Bell, the star witness. Mark Lyle Bell gets on that stand,
and he tells the court exactly what happened, that Elizabeth wanted Craig Nail dead because he was abusive.
He was an abusive father. He wasn't a good husband. And Mark Lyle Bell thought he was really doing a good thing.
He thought this man has to go, and he was doing it for her. BRYAN SARTAIN: He was easily manipulated
by Elizabeth and her story. And when I say story, I mean fable. Mark Bell had been told by Elizabeth
that her daughter was being sexually assaulted by Craig. Things of this nature, which had been cleared by Child Protective
Services and courts several times, it was fabricated, it was concocted. And she just happened to stumble upon somebody
who was weak enough to believe her fable. All the steps that she took in preparation for this to happen
is nothing but evil. She was gonna get her way at all costs. NANCY GRACE: The evidence is stacked
against Elizabeth Guthrie-Nail. Just two days after the trial begins, she changes her plea to guilty.
[gavel thuds] BRANDY DIAMOND: At the end of the trial, they find Elizabeth guilty of conspiracy
to commit capital murder. She is sentenced to 50 years in prison. Because of his cooperation at the trial,
the death penalty was taken off the table, and Mark Lyle Bell will spend the rest of his life
in prison without the possibility of parole. Elizabeth and Craig were married on December 31.
There was once a time when this season was joyous for them. But with the looming divorce, the custody battle, and all
of the things going wrong in Elizabeth's life at the time, she used Christmas time as an opportunity to put
this evil act into place. JAY REIM: Elizabeth Guthrie-Nail had their daughter for the holidays the day after Christmas,
so she wouldn't be in harm's way. And it was the perfect day to execute the plan
because Elizabeth didn't care about anybody else but their daughter. BRYAN SARTAIN: Elizabeth was a person
who just, during the holiest and best times of the year, just perpetuated some of the most horrendous evil
that this community has ever faced. BRANDY DIAMOND: The holidays are supposed to be a joyous time,
but Christmas will never be the same for this family. Craig Nail will never get to spend another Christmas
with his daughters. These girls are gonna miss their dad the rest of their lives.
JAY REIM: I know Christmas time must be hard for Craig's daughters. But I hope that at least the job that we did
gives them a little bit of peace during the holidays. [music playing] NANCY GRACE: What once was love turns into hate and deadly rage
for Elizabeth Guthrie-Nail. But now, she's got up to 50 years behind bars to decide,
was it all worth it? And from now on, two young girls will remember Christmas as the time daddy was murdered.
I'm Nancy Grace. Thank you for joining us here on "The Christmas Killings." [theme music]

On the night after Christmas, Craig Nail and his girlfriend Therisa are attacked inside his home by an armed assailant. Therisa manages to escape but Craig is tragically pronounced dead at the scene.

Hosted by Nancy Grace, The Christmas Killings is a true crime docuseries that blends merry with mystery as it delves into holiday-season homicide investigations.

Brief Summary

Craig Nail was murdered on Christmas 2007; his estranged wife conspired with a hitman, leading to a tragic investigation.

Key points

Christmas Tragedy in Frisco. Craig Nail is murdered in his home just after Christmas, leaving his family shattered.
The Crime Scene. Investigators find a chaotic crime scene filled with blood and signs of a struggle.
Therisa's Survival. Craig's girlfriend, Therisa, survives the attack and becomes a key witness.
The Sketch Artist's Revelation. Therisa identifies the shooter as resembling Elizabeth's brother, leading to a breakthrough.
Elizabeth's Confession. Craig's estranged wife, Elizabeth, confesses to plotting his murder over custody issues.
Mark Lyle Bell's Confession. Mark Lyle Bell admits to the murder of Craig Nail, revealing his chilling mindset.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

You know that that was personal.

Bryan Sartain's insight on the nature of the murder.

0:34WatchApr 15, 2025

Tension

85/ 100High tension

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