Texas attorney, 38, is indicted for trying to sneak abortion-inducing drug into his wife’s water

An attorney in Texas is facing felony charges for allegedly secretly drugging his wife to abort her pregnancy with their third child.

Mason Herring, 38, was filmed on one occasion putting the abortion-inducing drug misoprostol into a glass of cranberry juice which he then encouraged his wife of 11 years to drink.

Catherine Herring, also 38, first became aware that Mason may have been drugging her when he offered her a glass of cloudy water in March during their Spring break and mentioned the importance of staying hydrated.

Within 30 minutes Catherine says she became very ill with diarrhea and cramps and was unable to get to the bathroom before soiling herself.

Within hours she was bleeding copiously and went to hospital where she provided a urine sample that was nearly black in color, Houston police said in an affidavit.

The lawyer’s repeated attempts to drug his wife came after he started having an affair earlier this year and told his wife he wanted to separate.

Then he discovered she was pregnant with what went on to become their third child and took action to abort the baby which he said would ‘ruin his plans and make him look like a jerk’.

The couple’s baby was eventually born safely, albeit prematurely, attorneys have said. 

Mason is a lawyer and the founder of Herring Law Firm that specializes in oil rig litigation in Houston. Catherine is an artist and the founder of online shop Old Southern Charm.

Mason (left) and Catherine Herring (right) already had two children together when Catherine became pregnant earlier this year

Mason Herring is being charged with forced induction to have an abortion - a charge that's never been used before in the Harris County, Texas

Mason Herring is being charged with forced induction to have an abortion – a charge that’s never been used before in the Harris County, Texas

Despite her strong reaction to the drug on their Spring break, Catherine told police that Mason made repeated attempts to secretly administer it to her – including in orange juice cartons which she could see had been unsealed. 

Catherine told police that after drinking the water that left her hospitalized she did not consume any drinks prepared by Mason, but instead collected samples to build a case against him. 

Six of those samples that she saved were tested in a lab in Oklahoma and at least two were shown to contain misoprostol, KTRK reported.

When Catherine told Mason she had become pregnant for the third time he became frustrated and said it would 'ruin his plans and make him look like a jerk'

When Catherine told Mason she had become pregnant for the third time he became frustrated and said it would ‘ruin his plans and make him look like a jerk’

Catherine found empty Cyrux packaging, which she later found out was a Mexican version of the American drug Cytotec which contains misoprostol (pictured in tablet form)

Catherine found empty Cyrux packaging, which she later found out was a Mexican version of the American drug Cytotec which contains misoprostol (pictured in tablet form)

One day in April, Catherine also called two friends to her house because she suspected she was being drugged. Both friends saw a material floating in a drink provided to her by her husband, the affidavit said. 

After installing cameras in the family house – in which Mason was no longer living – Catherine said she found empty Cyrux packaging, which she later found out was a Mexican version of the American drug Cytotec which contains misoprostol.

Eventually she recorded her husband preparing a cranberry juice drink in the kitchen and adding to it a substance from a Ziploc bag he pulled form his pocket. The video footage was reviewed by Houston police.

Herring is now being charged with assault of a pregnant person and forced induction to have an abortion – a charge that’s never been used before in Harris County, district attorneys told KTRK.

After Catherine was first duped by Mason into consuming the drug she began bleeding copiously and went to hospital. Her child was born healthy nonetheless

 After Catherine was first duped by Mason into consuming the drug she began bleeding copiously and went to hospital. Her child was born healthy nonetheless 

On April 27 this year Catherine went to a police station in Houston wanting to pursue charges against her husband Mason for a ‘suspected poisoning’. 

She said that earlier in the year in February she confronted her husband because he was lying about where he was and she believed he was continuing an affair with a woman he had previously hired.

Soon after that confrontation Mason told her he wanted to separate, she said. Nonetheless, the two began going to couple’s therapy, wrote a Houston Police Department investigator in a probable cause affidavit.

It was during a counseling session that Catherine claimed to have told Mason about her pregnancy – news to which he responded negatively.

After that the couple spent Spring break together with their two children in West Texas. It was in that period that Catherine said Mason began talking about the importance of drinking water and staying hydrated.

Catherine alleges that on March 17 Mason came to her house in Houston with breakfast and a glass of water. She says that after taking a small sip from the glass she noticed the water was ‘cloudy’ and mentioned it to Mason, who suggested it could have been due to a dirty glass or water pipes. 

Catherine is an artist and the founder of online shop Old Southern Charm

Catherine is an artist and the founder of online shop Old Southern Charm

‘It’s manipulative,’ said Anthony Osso, the assistant district attorney in the domestic violence division assigned to this case.

‘It’s pre-meditated. What we are alleging Mr. Herring did, which we believe the evidence supports, is a pretty heinous act. To do that to someone who trusts you, it’s taking advantage of that trust.’ 

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