Murder most embarrassing

Of course, that's part of Shelton's story -- the whiff of sex, particularly kinky sex. As she told the Dallas Times Herald 20 years ago, she's had "scores" of boyfriends, and marriage allegedly hasn't slowed her down; in a divorce petition, her husband, Clint Shelton, claims she was having an affair.

Then there are the victims, who don't lack character development themselves. The deceased, Michael Hierro, is a former client of Catherine's with a criminal record for robbery. His wife, Marisa, worked for Catherine Shelton from August 1998 until March 1999, when Hierro and Shelton apparently had it out. According to one of Shelton's attorneys, Hierro was developing an immigration-law practice for Shelton, who wished to expand her business; when Hierro and a male lawyer left, Shelton has told several people, the bulk of the immigration-law business left too. Marisa Hierro told R. Michael Thomas, a lawyer who shared an office with Shelton, that the immigration business was earning $60,000 or $70,000 a month. To top it off, a number of these former clients filed grievances against Shelton with the State Bar -- grievances Shelton apparently believed were filed at Marisa's urging.

Worst of all, Shelton also believed that Marisa was the source of a series of anonymous mailings made to the media, to Shelton's clients, and to her neighbors, detailing Shelton's past and warning them away. According to one of Shelton's lawyers, the mailings prompted Shelton to blow the whistle on Marisa's immigration-services business.

If Shelton's allegations are true -- and the Observer has uncovered evidence supporting at least some of her claims -- there may be people other than Shelton who were angry at the Hierros. And one ought to pause before rushing to hang anyone so hated by so many. If she is charged, Shelton may well raise this topic herself, claim she's being set up by her enemies and railroaded by jealous colleagues, crooked judges, and a world that in general doesn't cotton to women acting like men. She will try to portray herself as someone with an extraordinary history of snakebite, a perverse gift for being in the wrong relationship at the right time, and of having made stupid threats.

"I hate to say it," says one courthouse regular who has tangled with Shelton in the past, "but I can almost see somebody setting her up. Some of her associates are so screwy."

Either way, the State Bar would do well to start icing this shiner -- even as its members market the movie rights.

Christine Biederman is a lawyer and former Dallas Observer staff writer.