Sweetie Pie's murder-for-hire trial: Reality TV star Tim Norman hired hitman to kill nephew for $450K life insurance
ST LOUIS, MISSOURI: Tim Norman, who was featured on the show ‘Welcome to Sweetie Pie's’ on the Oprah Winfrey Network for the popular soul-food business his mother, Robbie Montgomery, founded in the St Louis area, is accused of killing his nephew, Andre Montgomery Jr, in 2016. In late August 2020, Norman got arrested and charged with murder-for-hire conspiracy. And is now, finally, facing a trial for allegedly killing his nephew by hiring a hitman, Travell Anthony Hill, to obtain a $450K life insurance policy.
According to a criminal complaint, as per The Sun, the federal authorities alleged that Norman plotted the killing with Terica Ellis, an exotic dancer, and Hill in order to obtain a $450K life insurance policy after Montgomery's death. Norman, who faces two federal murder-for-hire counts along with one charge of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud, was the sole beneficiary of the life insurance he had taken in 2014 for his nephew.
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Montgomery, who was 21 then, was shot and killed in the 3900 block of Natural Bridge Road at around 8 pm on March 14, 2016, as per St Louis Post-Dispatch. The report states, that Ellis was paid $10,000 while Hill received $5,000 from Norman after killing the nephew.
Norman is also accused of attempting to cash in on $450K in life insurance policies he took out on his nephew with the help of an insurance agent, Waiel Rebhi Yaghnam, before the killing. Yaghnam pleaded guilty in July of this year. On the other hand, Ellis was arrested with Norman in 2020 while Hill pleaded guilty to one count of murder-for-hire and one count of conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire in June 2022, as per Fox2Now.
First day of murder-for-hire trial
On September 6, which was the first day of the trial, saw Montgomery's mother, Michelle Griggs, who was the first witness, as per KSDK. She said that "she and her son were living in Texas when Norman called her and said to bring Montgomery back to St Louis, so he can teach him how to be a man," as stated by KSDK. She said Norman asked her to send a few documents of Montgomery like his diploma, birth certificate, and social security. However, after the death, Norman never came or called her until the day of Montgomery's funeral, where he said, "I'm sorry for your loss."
'Welcome to Sweetie Pie’s'
As per The Sun, the program was telecasted between October 15, 2011, and June 9, 2018, and Montgomery had a frequent appearance in the show before his death as he was Robbie’s grandson. A few episodes show the nephew talking about his move from Texas to St Louis, and his challenges in school, among others. His death was also the subject of several episodes in the show.