A prominent Texas defense attorney and his female colleague have been arrested for hatching an elaborate plot to kill her ex-husband.
Attorneys Seth Andrew Sutton, 45, and Chelsea Tijerina, 33, were each charged with conspiracy to commit capital murder, a first-degree felony, on Friday in Waco.
Arrest affidavits claim that Sutton paid an undercover Waco police officer to buy a ‘clean’ gun to kill Tijerina’s ex-husband, Marcus Beaudin, a fellow defense attorney who was accused of molesting a child earlier this year.
Sutton and Tijerina allegedly gave the officer detailed instructions on how to carry out the murder.
Police say Sutton first met with the undercover cop on May 14 and agreed to pay him $300 to purchase a gun.
Sutton allegedly told the officer that he would help him leave town after committing the murder.
After that first meeting, police brought in the Texas Rangers to help with the investigation.
Sutton and Tijerina met with the undercover officer again on May 21 to plan the hit, which would take place at Beaudin’s home.
‘Chelsea Tijerina (Beaudin) and Sutton provided a timeline for the murder as well as establishing alibis for Chelsea Tijerina (Beaudin) and Sutton,’ the affidavit states.
‘On May 22, Sutton met (with the undercover officer) an provided (the officer) with $300 to purchase a firearm to be used to murder Marcus Beaudin.’
Sutton and Tijerina were arrested the same day and are now being held on $1million bond each at the McLennan County Jail.
The motive for the murder has not been disclosed.
Tijerina and Beaudin got married in November 2016 and welcomed a daughter in 2018. It is unclear when they separated.
Sutton is also married, and his wife has not returned requests for comment on his arrest.
Beuadin, 37, had been arrested by police in neighboring Woodway back in February on a felony charge of indecency with a child.
He was accused of sexually touching a 10-year-old female family member in December but has not been formally indicted by a grand jury.
Beaudin’s attorney, Josh Tetens, says his client denies the allegations.
Sutton is well known among legal circles in Waco.
In 2017 he launched a bid to unseat the incumbent McLennan County District Attorney but dropped out before the Democratic primary.
