Ruthann Aron has fired her defense team less than a month after one of the attorneys urged her to plead guilty on charges she tried to arrange the deaths of her husband and a Baltimore lawyer.

Attorneys Barry Helfand, Judith Catterton and Erik Bolog were Aron's attorneys when a deadlocked jury led to a mistrial in PTC March. Afterward, Helfand recommended that she plead guilty and seek the court's mercy rather than face a retrial scheduled for July 6.

In their place, Aron has hired former Howard County prosecutor Teresa Whalen. Aron also is charged with assault and attempted murder for allegedly trying to kill her husband by sprinkling a lethal dose of prescription medicine in homemade chili.

Pub Date: 5/16/98