A Texas woman suspected her husband was poisoning her after the breakfast in bed he left her bleeding – so she spent weeks gathering evidence that he had been slipping abortion-inducing drugs into her drinks.
Catherine Herring, 39, started growing wary of her former husband Mason in February 2022, when he confronted her after nearly a decade of marriage and said he wanted to split.
Herring had recently caught him texting a former female colleague with whom he had sworn he had cut off contact, but when she confronted him, he told her she needed to work on herself and left.
“He just started acting really strange and wouldn’t tell me what was going on,” Herring told the newspaper Daily beast.
The couple shared two children together and had a third on the way, although Mason had previously expressed his dissatisfaction with the pregnancy.
Catherine Herring, 39, spent weeks gathering evidence against her husband, Mason, after she began to suspect him when he suddenly asked to separate
The mother of three and private investigator John Moritz installed hidden cameras throughout the couple’s home
The father of three, also 39, was sentenced to 180 days in jail and 10 years of probation after pleading guilty to one count of injury to a child under 15.
The Houston lawyer agreed to spend spring break with the rest of the family. One morning he brought Herring a cookie and a glass of water as she lay in bed, and begged her to eat it before he left for the office.
“He started urging me on, like, ‘Shut up, I have to go,’ and he had this kind of anger in his voice,” Herring explained in an interview with the Daily beast.
At that moment she looked into the water and saw that it was cloudy.
An indictment details the events that followed. About 30 minutes after Mason left for work, Herring developed painful stomach cramps and explosive diarrhea.
When she realized that was her vagina Bleeding profusely, the 39-year-old rushed to the hospital. She continued to bleed even after she was discharged.
“I just really wanted to be wrong,” she said. “I wanted there to be another explanation because this is your husband who you love and adore and have children with.
“But my instinct was, ‘Something is wrong, I have to protect myself.’ And I just have to make sure he doesn’t know I’m on his trail. Because I really felt like I could gather evidence that way.”
When Herring returned home, Mason continued to provide her with drinks, each containing an “unknown substance,” according to court documents.
However, she soon came to suspect that Mason was poisoning her after he served her a cookie and a glass of water in bed and she began bleeding profusely from her vagina.
Although Herring knew her husband was unhappy about the pregnancy, she wasn’t sure why he wanted to split after nearly a decade together and hired a private investigator.
When Herring returned home, Mason continued to supply her with drinks, each containing an “unknown substance.”
Haring meticulously collected samples of the drinks her husband provided. Six were sent to a laboratory for testing and two were found to contain misoprostol, an abortion-inducing drug
On March 21, Herring visited John Moritz, a private investigator she had hired, hoping to find out why her husband had suddenly filed for divorce.
Herring had painstakingly collected samples of the fluid, six of which Moritz sent to a laboratory for testing.
At least two of the samples were found to contain misoprostol, a drug commonly used to induce abortion.
Moritz then taught the 39-year-old about evidence gathering methods. The duo installed cameras throughout the house, with Moritz urging her not to be left alone with Mason if possible.
One day in April, Catherine called two friends because she suspected she had been drugged. According to an affidavit, both friends saw material floating in a drink provided to her by her husband.
On April 24, Mason cleaned out his truck and took the trash bags to the curb – a practice Herring found unusual.
“(Catherine Herring) stated that this was out of character for (Mason Herring) as he does not do chores around the house,” the affidavit alleged.
When Mason left the home, Herring walked to the trash to see what was inside.
She found “opened blister packs” labeled “Cyrux,” the affidavit said.
Haring discovered that these packets contained a ‘Mexican pharmacy version of the American drug Cytotec’, which is used to prevent stomach ulcers, but contains misoprostol as the active ingredient.
Days later, hidden cameras recorded Mason pouring a plastic bag full of white powder into a glass of cranberry juice, which he then encouraged Herring to drink.
She had a friend with her at the time. “But he just stood in the kitchen, had a whole conversation with us and then went off into the night as if nothing had happened,” Herring explained.
The next day she went to the Houston Police Department.
Herring was surprised to see Mason taking trash bags to the curb since he normally didn’t do chores. When she searched them, she found opened blister packs of medications containing misoprostol
The couple’s youngest daughter was born three months after Mason’s arrest and is developmentally delayed. She is still eating from a feeding tube.
Nearly a month passed before Mason was arrested. He was charged with assault with intent to induce an abortion and assault on a pregnant woman.
In late 2023, the district attorney’s office called to say they were considering a plea deal with significantly reduced charges.
Herring pushed back as much as he could, but the office insisted it was the best they could do.
Mason accepted the deal on February 7 this year, pleading guilty to just one count of injury to a child under 15.
The judge sentenced him to 180 days in prison and 10 years of parole — a meager sentence considering the state’s legal assault on abortion.
A 2021 Texas law allows anyone in the state to sue someone they suspect of performing an abortion after six weeks of pregnancy. Performing an abortion is a crime punishable by life in prison.
“It’s very clear that the state of Texas is treating men and women differently in this situation,” Herring said.
“One hundred and eighty days – it’s less than 26 days per attempt that he will be in jail.”
Mason was not allowed to contact her or their youngest daughter, who was born in August, three months after his arrest.
The little girl was 10 weeks premature and has developmental delays. She eats through a feeding tube and has weekly contact with physiotherapists, occupational therapists and speech therapists.
Catherine appeared at her husband’s trial to protest the lenient sentence.
“I don’t believe 180 days is justice when you’ve tried to kill your child seven times,” she told the court.
‘For two years my husband openly denied this attack, and today I am grateful that he has finally admitted his guilt.’