Is there a new episode of Dateline this week (July 17, 2025)? Explained

NBC's Dateline, the classic true-crime franchise, keeps viewers hooked with its extensive probes and gripping narratives. For July 17, 2025, viewers can look forward to a fresh episode called The Necklace, which airs on Friday at 9/8c on NBC.

The episode covers the horrific case of Taylor Ashley Wright, a one-time police officer and private investigator from Pensacola, Florida, who went missing in 2017 and was found dead with a bullet in her skull.

Taylor was murdered by her friend, Ashley McArthur, who was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to 25 years in prison.

The Dateline episode, narrated by Keith Morrison, unfolds the mystery with interviews from detectives, relatives, and others around the case, showing bizarre text messages and money disagreements that took the investigation to new heights.

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The true story behind Dateline's The Necklace

(Image via Unsplash/ @ Evgeniy Smersh)

The Dateline episode explores, in September 2017, how Taylor Wright vanished after spending the day with her friend Ashley McArthur in Pensacola, Florida.

Wright had withdrawn $100,000 from a joint account with her ex-husband, Jeff Wright, during their divorce, against court orders.

She gave $34,000 to McArthur, a former crime scene technician, for safekeeping in a safety deposit box, as per The Sun.

Instead, McArthur deposited the money into her account and spent it, leading to a confrontation when Wright demanded its return for court proceedings.

On September 8, 2017, Wright was last seen with McArthur, reportedly visiting a family farm.

That evening, suspicious text messages were sent from Wright’s phone to her girlfriend, Casandra Waller, claiming she needed time to think, as per oxygen.

Waller reported her missing on September 14 after Wright failed to attend a planned dinner and stopped communicating.

The case, initially a missing person’s investigation, turned into a homicide probe when Wright’s body was discovered in a grave covered with cement on the property that belongs to Ashley's family.

Taylor was shot to death as a bullet was found in her skull, as per WearTV.

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All about Taylor Ashley Wright

(Image via Unsplash/ @ William Isted)

Former Jacksonville, Florida, police officer and private investigator Taylor Ashley Wright, 33, later relocated to Pensacola. Nancy Murchison, who took her in as a teenager, gave her stability after she was born into the foster care system.

After marrying Marine Jeff Wright and having a son named Drake, Wright established a resilient life, as per Oxygen.

She moved into private investigation after working as a police officer for the Jacksonville Police Department from 2008–2009 and 2012–2013, as per Crime Investigation.

Wright was well-known for being gregarious and wanted to connect with everyone, according to her friend Barbara Evanson.

She was juggling a contentious divorce, a custody dispute, and a new relationship with her girlfriend, Casandra Waller, when she vanished in September 2017, as per Oxygen.

When she gave her friend Ashley McArthur $34,000, her life took a terrible turn, and she was betrayed to her death. Her life and the circumstances surrounding her murder are examined on Dateline.

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What happened to Ashley McArthur?

Ashley McArthur, a former crime scene technician, was arrested on October 19, 2017, initially for first-degree murder, later upgraded to first-degree premeditated murder.

The prosecution established that McArthur killed Taylor to avoid repaying the $34,000 she had misappropriated.

Evidence included bank records showing the deposit, surveillance footage of Ashley purchasing soil and cement, as per Oxygen.

In 2019, a jury convicted McArthur, and she was sentenced to life in prison with a mandatory 25-year minimum, a ruling upheld on appeal in 2021, as per Court TV.

The case, covered extensively by Dateline and other outlets, highlighted the betrayal of trust and the meticulous forensic work that led to justice.

McArthur also faced charges for racketeering and fraud related to her family’s business, receiving a seven-year sentence, as per WearTV.

Taylor’s murder left her family, especially her son, grappling with profound loss.

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Watch Dateline's episode The Necklace on NBC.

Edited by Prem Deshpande