HOUSTON—Investigators with the Sheriff’s Office Homicide Unit determined Friday that 18-year-old Ashley Shamp was aware and involved in her mother's alleged plot to murder her stepfather.
Her mother, Catherine, was arrested after she allegedly tried to hire a hit man to kill her husband, David.
Ashley Shamp turned herself in Friday night. Officials said she sent text messages to an ex-boyfriend arranging a meeting between him and her mother, Catherine. Police said Ashley knew her mother was plotting to kill her stepfather and that her mother wanted to hire her ex-boyfriend to do it.
“Originally, we knew she (Ashley) sent text messages arranging the meeting but we didn’t know if she knew what the meeting was going to be about,” said Cory Pool, a Harris County Deputy. “Evidently, she had made comments to other people she knew that she did know what the meeting was about.”
Ashley’s mother, Catherine Shamp, appeared in court Friday morning. She is also charged with solicitation of capital murder. Officials said she offered her daughter’s ex-boyfriend $20,000 to kill her husband. The two met at a CVS in Katy to discuss how the hit would go down. What she did not know, was that he had gone to authorities and was wearing a wire.
“They talked about methods to do this and agreed that basically a home invasion would occur and Mr. Shamp would be killed,” said Kari Allen, a Harris County Prosecutor. “She talked about if she was present she would allow herself to be beaten up so it would look like she wasn’t involved.”
A judge raised Catherine Shamp’s bond to $75,000 in a Friday morning court appearance.
Authorities said Catherine’s husband, David Shamp, was shocked to learn about his wife’s alleged plot.
When Catherine Shamp’s attorney, Gary Polland, was asked about the alleged plot he said, “Let’s not rush to judgment. She’s innocent until proven guilty. At the end of the day, this may turn out to be some giant misunderstanding.”
