PASADENA, Texas – Betty McNatt was married for 15 years and said her marriage ended for the same reasons many couples drift apart. This is why she said she was horrified to see her ex-husband accused of trying to hire a hitman to kill his estranged third wife.
"I just want the public to know that the person they are seeing on the TV is not the person he really is," said McNatt. "It is totally uncharacteristic of him to act like that. Not the husband that I knew, not the father of my children that I knew."
McNatt has been divorced from Clarence McNatt for eight years. However, she said they stayed in touch because they had two children, who are now 19 and 21.
Clarence McNatt is charged with trying to hire a hitman to sexually assault and kill his third wife. Police said the couple recently separated and McNatt believed she was having an affair.
"You never feared for your life when you were together?" asked KPRC Investigative Reporter Robert Arnold.
"No," said McNatt.
"Have your children ever feared for their lives?" asked Arnold.
"Never," said McNatt.
"Why would he go to that kind of an extreme?" asked Arnold.
"I believe he was really in love and he feels as if he was abused and used," said McNatt.
McNatt was clear that she is not defending the actions of her ex-husband, but came forward for her children. She felt it was important to say Clarence McNatt had been so despondent over the breakup of his third marriage he tried to kill himself and was recently treated for depression.
"My children are having a hard time accepting it, because that is not the father they know," said McNatt.
A judge Friday granted Clarence McNatt a $250,000 bond. However, his family has not been able to raise the money needed to get him out of jail.