Catherine Shelton Biography, Life, Interesting Facts

Catherine Shelton is one of the most prolific defense lawyers in the state of Texas. She has been accused of controversial criminal situations, but no charges have been brought in court.

Hierro Saga

Catherine Mehaffey Shelton is a brilliant lawyer from Dallas, Texas. She is married to Clint Shelton. They got married in Mullin and then moved to Dallas. In Dallas, she proved to be a reputable defense lawyer winning several high ranking court cases.

In 1998, she was hired by Michael Hierro to defend him in court. Hierro was facing a robbery charge. Shelton obliged to take up the case. She even employed Hierro’s wife, Marisa, at her law firm. Within a year, Marisa left the law firm to start her own company. She started an immigration consultancy firm. For unknown reasons, the two former colleagues became bitter protagonists.

On December 20, 1999, Hierro and his wife were attacked by masked gunmen near their home. They shot and killed Hierro but Marisa survived. She accused Shelton of being behind the killing. After police investigations, Clint Shelton was arrested and tried. Forensic evidence and a mask found in Clint Shelton’s house placed him at the scene of the murder. Clint was convicted while Catherine was acquitted. Marisa still held her story that Shelton was there during the shooting. Marisa also testified that she clearly heard her voice giving the killers orders to shoot. After the case was rested by the jury, Shelton filed a civil defamation case against Marisa. She won and was paid USD 5M in damages.

Controversial History

The Hierro saga is one of the many unresolved episodes in the life of Shelton. All the men Shelton met in her life died in mysterious circumstances. Most people believe Shelton was equally responsible in their deaths. But none has ever produced any tangible evidence to prove her guilt.

The story of her controversial life starts in the 1970s. A Houston doctor was found dead in his car garage. The doctor called George Tedesco was Shelton’s boyfriend for about four months. When the two broke up their relationship, Shelton went to court. She filed for divorce under common law marriage. On the day of the divorce hearing, Tedesco did not show up in court. He was found dead with his head beaten up by a blunt object. She filed for the administration of Tedesco’s estate and failed. No one has been charged for the killing. Another man who had some of Tedesco’s possessions allegedly from Shelton was found dead. Bell had bullet wounds on the head. The investigations ruled that it was a normal suicide.

The second of her alleged victims was a man called Ferris Bond. Shelton regularly visited Bond’s home. When things started disappearing, Bond claimed Shelton was the thief. He confronted her about the disappearance of his things. Shelton retaliated by threatening to kill him with a shotgun. Bond escaped the relationship by joining the US Marines. Shelton denied all the charges. The third person was Houston journalist Gary Taylor. He was lucky to survive the incident. Shelton shot him in the chest as he was trying to run out of the house after a quarrel. After two trials Shelton pleaded guilty to assault causing aggravated bodily harm. She was sentenced to 20 years in jail. She appealed and the sentence was suspended. She also had her law practicing license revoked for some time.

Two other men died in mysterious situations. Shelton’s former boyfriend burned to death in his house. A co-accused in a case involving Shelton was found dead with a bullet in his head. In both cases, Shelton was prime suspect but no evidence found her culpable. The police have not charged anyone with the deaths of all these people.

Raging Debate

The controversy debate has been in the open for years now. One school of thought claims that Shelton is a smart lawyer. She commits a crime and conceals the evidence. Sometimes she frames someone else. That way, Shelton has been able to avoid arrest in all the crimes she has done.

The other narrative is she is actually innocent. All the criminal investigations have been pointing at the wrong suspect. The police thus have not been able to find the real perpetrators.

Conclusion

Shelton has proved her innocence in all the accusations leveled against her. Whether the police did a poor job in their investigations or otherwise is hard to tell. All that remains is the fact that Shelton is still a smart defense courtroom lawyer with a controversial history of men dying mysteriously in her life.