HOUSTON, April 16 (UPI) -- An 84-year-old Texas woman tried to hire a hit man to kill the prosecutor in her fraud case and severely beat another prosecutor, authorities allege.
Dorothy Clark Canfield of Willis was being held in the Montgomery County jail outside Houston in an alleged immigration scam when police say she offered a hit man $7,500 this month to kill Rob Freyer, the prosecutor handling her case, the Houston Chronicle reported.
She also wanted District Attorney Brett Ligon beaten so badly he would be hospitalized for "two to three weeks," police said. She allegedly wanted the attacks to appear connected to the recent shooting deaths of Kaufman County District Attorney Mike McLelland, his wife Cynthia and Assistant District Attorney Mark Hasse, authorities said.
The "hit man" she allegedly approached with her plot was actually an undercover officer, authorities said.
Ligon said a jailhouse informant told authorities Canfield was looking for someone to kill and maim the court officials. The undercover officer visited Canfield in jail April 1, where she told him she wanted the murder and assault carried out "tomorrow," authorities said.
Canfield was awaiting trial on charges she posed as an immigration attorney and took nearly $52,000 from people seeking help. Ligon said Canfield is not an attorney and did not help those seeking her legal assistance.
She was charged Monday with solicitation of capital murder and solicitation to commit aggravated assault on a public servant.
