Criminal Justice
Texas lawyer is accused of spiking wife’s drinks with abortion drug
A Texas lawyer is facing two charges for allegedly spiking his wife’s drinks with an abortion drug after they began trying to reconcile their marriage.
Mason Herring, 38, of Houston was indicted earlier this month on felony charges of assault of a pregnant person and assault-forced induction, Law & Crime reports.
The Washington Post, KTRK, the Guardian and Above the Law also have coverage.
The baby was born prematurely but is healthy, Anthony Osso, an assistant district attorney in the domestic violence division assigned to this case, told KTRK.
Law & Crime linked to an affidavit by a Houston police investigator in the case.
Herring’s wife told investigators that she and her husband were involved in couples counseling when she told him that she was pregnant. The wife said Herring was involved with another woman, and he allegedly told her later that the pregnancy “would ruin his plans and make him look like a jerk,” the affidavit said.
The wife alleged that Herring began telling her that she had to drink more water. He came to her home March 17, gave her a cup full of water and said he wouldn’t leave until she drank it all. The wife said after she began drinking, she noticed that the water was cloudy and asked Herring about it. He attributed the cloudiness to a dirty cup or bad pipes and left with the cup.
The wife said she became very ill 30 minutes later with cramping and diarrhea, followed by bleeding. She went to the emergency room.
The wife said Herring brought her drinks several more times that appeared to have unknown substances in them. She did not drink them.
On April 24, the wife observed her husband on cameras installed outside her home. He was cleaning out his truck and taking trash to the curb, which was unusual for him because he didn’t do chores. After her husband left, the wife checked the garbage. She found a medication called Cyrux, which is a drug from a Mexican pharmacy containing the abortion drug misoprostol.
Herring was also recorded on video April 26 emptying something from a zip-close bag into her drink, the affidavit said. The wife went to police and turned over the drinks that she had saved. Six were sent to a lab, and at least two had misoprostol in them, Osso told KTRK.
Herring has been released on $30,000 bond.
Herring’s lawyer, Dan Cogdell, told KTRK in a statement that he and Herring “very much look forward to our day in court and are thoroughly convinced that we will prevail.”
Herring was licensed in Texas in 2011, according to the State Bar of Texas. His practice areas at the Herring Law Firm include commercial disputes, personal-injury cases and oil-and-gas law. He is a graduate of the South Texas College of Law in Houston, according to his law firm website.
