This tragic tale of a family business, betrayal, insurance schemes, and murder-for-hire will end with some serious jail time.
Source: Prince Williams / Getty
According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Welcome to Sweetie Pie’s star Tim Norman was convicted for a murder-for-hire scheme. Fans mourned with the soul food franchise heir when someone fatally shot his nephew and co-star Andre Montgomery in 2016. Even more shocking than the 21-year-old’s killing is that per the jury, his own uncle was behind it all along.
The jury deliberated for 17 hours after a two-week trial. A federal jury found Norman guilty on all counts of conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire, murder-for-hire, and conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud. The murder mastermind set his nephew up for a six-figure payday.
“While the evidence was voluminous and overwhelming, Norman’s plan was relatively straightforward,” said Eastern District of Missouri U.S. Attorney Sayler Fleming.
Jurors confirmed that Tim took his time planning out the greedy murder plot. Norman started taking out life insurance policies on his nephew starting in 2014. According to a press release from Flemming’s office, the policy included “numerous false statements regarding Montgomery’s income, net worth, medical history, employment, and family background.”
Like a calculating killer, Norman had an answer for everything. When the trial began, he claimed his arrest was racist retaliation for his work with Black Lives Matter after the police shooting of Mike Brown. Police aren’t above that level of corruption, but all three of Norman’s co-conspirators already pled guilty before the trial.
The Co-Conspirators All Pointed To Tim Norman’s Guilt
Insurance agent Waiel “Wally” Rebhi Yaghnam pleaded guilty in July to wire and mail fraud conspiracy. Norman claimed he just wanted to support a friend’s business by submitting five separate life insurance applications” for his nephew.
“The $200,000 policy that was ultimately issued had a $200,000 accidental death rider that would pay out if Montgomery died of something other than natural causes and a $50,000 rider that would pay out if Montgomery died within 10 years of the policy’s issuance,” the press release stated.
Terica Ellis, a dancer who previously dated Montgomery, pled guilty to the murder-for-hire plot in exchange for $10,000. She purchased prepaid “burner” phones with Norman but claims she didn’t know the plan was to kill Montgomery. Ellis later used the burner phones to help Norman track down Montgomery’s location.
On June 3, Travell Anthony Hill pled guilty to the conspiracy and murder-for-hire of Montgomery. After Ellis called him with Montgomery’s location, Hill fatally shot him with a .380-caliber handgun. Norman paid Hill $5,000 to pull the trigger. Ellis and Hill both testified for the prosecution.
A family Is Torn Apart By Greed
In later seasons of Sweetie Pie’s, Norman’s relentless ambition drew a wedge between him and his mother Miss Robbie. The soul food chain founder had to file a lawsuit against her own son to stop him from making business deals against her wishes and behind her back. Norman told Ellis that his nephew stole $200,000 from Miss Robbie in a burglary. Four days before the shooting, Montgomery told police he believed Norman was behind the theft.
Despite all this drama and the murder charges against Norman, Miss Robbie said she “can’t abandon” her son. The heartbroken mother even paid for Norman’s legal defense.
On the steps of the courthouse, Montgomery’s sister Kalyn Griggs and her family celebrated the bittersweet moment. They all wore wore “Justice for Andre” shirts. Griggs also said her brother feared Norman in the weeks leading up to his death.
“This is justice. I’m glad they put that monster behind bars for life. He ruined multiple lives, not just ours. It’s some peace, but my brother’s not coming back while he’s in jail. We knew it was him.” Grigg’s said according to News 5 By Your Side.
The lesson is: I don’t care how much money a person got, you cannot underestimate their greed,” Griggs said.
Norman’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for December 15.
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