The Katy woman who tried to hire her daughter’s former boyfriend to kill her husband today pleaded guilty to charges of solicitation of capital murder.
Catherine Shamp, 38, entered the guilty plea in Harris County’s 263rd District Court as part of a deal with prosecutors to avoid prison.
She was sentenced to five years’ deferred adjudication by Judge Jim Wallace.
In an emotional statement to the court, husband and intended victim David Shamp said he did not want to see his wife go to prison. At the same time, Shamp added he did not want his wife to have any further involvement in their children’s lives.
Following the sentencing, Shamp said he was glad his wife would not spend the rest of her life behind bars, and hoped she could find a new direction in life.
“She’s obviously made some bad decisions,” he said.
Shamp’s daughter Ashley, 18, was in also court to witness the sentencing. She had initially also been arrested along with her mother in the murder-for-hire plot, but last month a grand jury declined to indict her.
Prosecutors said Catherine Shamp used her daughter’s cell phone to send text messages to the girl’s ex-boyfriend, Nathaniel Blake, offering to pay him $20,000 to kill her husband. Blake notified police of the offer.
David Shamp repeatedly said he believed his daughter was innocent, and bailed her out of jail when the teen was first arrested.
The investigation began in mid-November after Blake reported to patrol deputies that Catherine Shamp had approached him looking for a hit man to have her husband murdered. Patrol deputies notified homicide investigators.
Blake was provided with recording equipment by detectives and, at a subsequent meeting with Catherine Shamp, recorded her saying she would pay $20,000 for someone to kill her husband.
Deputies arrested Ashley Shamp after discovering the text messages on her cell phone. The girl’s attorney said the teen was unaware of the plot or that her mother used her cell phone to send the messages.
