Dorothy Clark Canfield, born and raised in Montgomery County, Texas in the eastern part of the state, began a life of crime at the rather late age of 57. In 1986 in Huntsville, Texas a Walker County judge sentenced Canfield to seven years probation following a felony theft conviction. A few months after she got off probation in 1993 she pleaded guilty to forgery in Montgomery County. The judge in that case sentenced the 64-year-old forger and thief to ten years probation. In 2009, after being convicted of passing forged checks at the age of 80, Dorothy Canfield was sent to prison for two years.
Shortly after being released from prison in early 2011 Dorothy Canfield formed a company in Willis, Texas called International Profession Placement Services. Between September 2011 and September 2012 at least seven undocumented residents each paid Canfield to "facilitate" their immigration paperwork for residency or citizenship in the United States. According to a Montgomery County assistant prosecutor, Canfield's operation was a scam. In November 2012 the prosecutor charged Canfield with stealing between $20,000 and $100,000 from her clients. A magistrate set her bond at $100,000.
On April 4, 2013 while incarcerated in the Montgomery County Jail 30 miles north of Houston, 84-year-old Dorothy Canfield decided to hire someone to murder the assistant district attorney in charge of her case. She also wanted the hit man to beat-up the district attorney so bad he'd be hospitalized for three weeks. Canfield took inspiration from the recent Texas murders of the Kaufman County District Attorney, his wife and one of his assistant prosecutors. By killing the Montgomery County assistant prosecutor Robert Freyer and incapacitating his boss, D. A. Brett Ligon, Dorothy Canfield hoped to buy some time in her theft case.
In search of an assassin Miss Canfield reached out to a fellow inmate who promptly reported Canfield's inquiry to the Texas Rangers Office. On April 5, 2013 the elderly murder-for-hire mastermind met with an undercover investigator who showed up at the jail posing as a contract killer. In the recorded conversation that followed Canfield offered the phony hit-man $5,000 for assistant prosecutor Robert Freyer's murder and half of that amount for the beating of Freyer's boss, District Attorney Brett Ligon.
Ten days after the Montgomery County Jail murder-for-hire meeting Texas Rangers Wende Wakeman and Wesley Doolittle showed Canfield staged crime scene photographs depicting the murders of the Montgomery County prosecutors. The elderly inmate, showing no remorse at the sight of the men she had tried to have killed, confessed to the murder plot.
Dorothy Canfield was charged with solicitation of capital murder and solicitation to commit aggravated assault on a public figure. She remained incarcerated in the Montgomery County Jail under $500,000 bond.
In August 2014 Dorothy Canfield pleaded guilty to the theft and murder solicitation charges. At her sentencing hearing her attorney asked Judge David Walker to grant the 85-year-old probation. The defense attorney argued that because of his client's poor health and age she was not a danger to society. Unmoved, the judge sentenced the career thief and murder-for-hire mastermind to 53 years in prison.
Shortly after being released from prison in early 2011 Dorothy Canfield formed a company in Willis, Texas called International Profession Placement Services. Between September 2011 and September 2012 at least seven undocumented residents each paid Canfield to "facilitate" their immigration paperwork for residency or citizenship in the United States. According to a Montgomery County assistant prosecutor, Canfield's operation was a scam. In November 2012 the prosecutor charged Canfield with stealing between $20,000 and $100,000 from her clients. A magistrate set her bond at $100,000.
On April 4, 2013 while incarcerated in the Montgomery County Jail 30 miles north of Houston, 84-year-old Dorothy Canfield decided to hire someone to murder the assistant district attorney in charge of her case. She also wanted the hit man to beat-up the district attorney so bad he'd be hospitalized for three weeks. Canfield took inspiration from the recent Texas murders of the Kaufman County District Attorney, his wife and one of his assistant prosecutors. By killing the Montgomery County assistant prosecutor Robert Freyer and incapacitating his boss, D. A. Brett Ligon, Dorothy Canfield hoped to buy some time in her theft case.
In search of an assassin Miss Canfield reached out to a fellow inmate who promptly reported Canfield's inquiry to the Texas Rangers Office. On April 5, 2013 the elderly murder-for-hire mastermind met with an undercover investigator who showed up at the jail posing as a contract killer. In the recorded conversation that followed Canfield offered the phony hit-man $5,000 for assistant prosecutor Robert Freyer's murder and half of that amount for the beating of Freyer's boss, District Attorney Brett Ligon.
Ten days after the Montgomery County Jail murder-for-hire meeting Texas Rangers Wende Wakeman and Wesley Doolittle showed Canfield staged crime scene photographs depicting the murders of the Montgomery County prosecutors. The elderly inmate, showing no remorse at the sight of the men she had tried to have killed, confessed to the murder plot.
Dorothy Canfield was charged with solicitation of capital murder and solicitation to commit aggravated assault on a public figure. She remained incarcerated in the Montgomery County Jail under $500,000 bond.
In August 2014 Dorothy Canfield pleaded guilty to the theft and murder solicitation charges. At her sentencing hearing her attorney asked Judge David Walker to grant the 85-year-old probation. The defense attorney argued that because of his client's poor health and age she was not a danger to society. Unmoved, the judge sentenced the career thief and murder-for-hire mastermind to 53 years in prison.
Dear Jim,
ReplyDeleteI hope this finds you well. I found your name and contact information in connection with the above referenced title. I am hoping you can tell me who handles the film and television rights, and whether or not they are available. Please let me know when you have a moment, thank you!
Best,
Pier
My parents were scammed twice by this woman in 1993 for at least $34,500 in a International Student Placement scam. She was married to the man that my mother worked for so she felt that she could be trusted. We later learned that Dorothy was slowly poisoning her husband Hank. Fortunately, his daughter stepped in and saved his life. My parents tried to pursue getting the money back but their lives were threatened by Dorothy and her son. This woman is pure evil. My parents recently passed away but I found many of the records in their belongings.
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