A Houston lawyer who leaked abortion-inducing drugs to his estranged wife after she learned she was pregnant with her third child has been sentenced to 180 days in prison, suspended for 10 years.
Mason Herring, 39, pleaded guilty Wednesday to charges of injury to a child and assault of a pregnant person.
The attorney, founder and managing partner of the Herring Law Firm, was initially charged with a felony count of inducing an abortion.
His wife, Katherine Herring, who filed for divorce, said in court that the sentence was too lenient. “I don’t think 180 days is justice when you tried to kill your child seven times,” she said.
She told the court that her third child, a 1-year-old girl, was born 10 weeks early, has developmental delays and attends therapy eight times a week.
When she confirmed that she was pregnant with their third child, the two were already separated and were going to marriage counseling to try to repair their relationship.
However, the news was not received well by Mason, who subsequently became romantically involved with a co-worker and, according to the affidavit, told his wife that the pregnancy would “ruin their plans and make her look like an asshole.” He said he spoke.
Katherine told authorities that in March 2022, her husband began lecturing her about hydration and offering her water that was cloudy, claiming it was because the cup or water pipe was dirty.
After drinking the cloudy water, Katherine became seriously ill, experiencing convulsions and heavy bleeding, and was eventually taken to hospital, where doctors couldn’t figure out what was wrong. .
She then became suspicious of her husband and began refusing other drinks, including three glasses containing an “unknown substance” and a bottle of orange juice with a broken seal.
Catherine set up a camera at her husband’s house, where he no longer lived, and invited them to visit him as “witnesses,” but on that occasion, even though she had already had two drinks, he was unable to stop her. It is alleged that he tried to get him to drink a drink.
Duchess Kate told investigators she saw an “unknown substance” floating in the drinks she and her guests gave her.
The next day, she noticed there was a substance in a drink he brought from a fast food restaurant, according to the affidavit.
Shortly after, she found a package of medicine containing misoprostol, a drug used to induce abortion, in the trash.
Mason’s attorney, Dan Kogel, said the plea agreement and sentence were reasonable.
“This is a sad situation and Mr. Mason has accepted his responsibility,” Mr. Cogdell said.
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