“This plan doesn’t exist but for Tim Norman’s greed,” Danis said. Attorney Angie Danis said Norman was the architect of the plan to kill Montgomery. Attorney Sayler Fleming said she was “very, very pleased” with the verdict but that her office would make no further statements until after the sentencing.ĭuring closing arguments, Assistant U.S. Leonard said the testimony during the trial of two co-conspirators was shown to be “extremely non-credible.” And he said Norman testified well during the trial, noting he was not cross-examined. He said they plan to appeal and that Norman continues to be optimistic that he will eventually prevail. The jurors handed down the conviction after hearing seven days of evidence and deliberating for 17 hours.ĭefense attorney Michael Leonard said after the verdict that he and Norman were “extremely surprised and disappointed in the outcome” of the case. Louis area by Robbie Montgomery - Norman’s mother and Andre’s grandmother.ġ8-year-old Montgomery was killed in the plot after Norman took out a life insurance policy worth $450,000 on him, according to federal prosecutors. Norman and his nephew, Andre Montgomery, both starred in the long-running OWN reality show about a popular soul-food business founded in the St. LOUIS – A jury convicted former “Welcome to Sweetie Pie’s” star Tim Norman on murder-for-hire and insurance fraud charges connected to his successful plot to have his nephew killed in 2016. The trial is expected to involve more than 100 pieces of evidence and last into next week.ST. He was killed four days after he took that test.įaber’s testimony also included texts from Norman to a cousin about two months before the killing that said he had been evicted from his apartment and had more than US$91,000 in monthly expenses with no money coming in while the TV show was on hiatus. He said Norman was looking for his nephew in the days before the shooting because he believed Montgomery had stolen at least US$220,000 in cash, jewellery and other items from his grandmother in 2015.įBI Special Agent Christopher Faber testified Tuesday that Montgomery left the St Louis area shortly after the burglary to avoid Norman but agreed to briefly return to take a polygraph test. Leonard said Norman didn’t need the insurance payout because of the success he had after selling the script for Welcome to Sweetie Pie’s to Oprah Winfrey’s TV network. Norman’s attorney, Michael Leonard, contended during his opening statement that Norman took out life insurance on his nephew because he was concerned that Montgomery’s aspiring rap career would get him killed. Waiel Rebhi Yaghnam, an insurance agent who in 2002 was one of the producers of Nelly’s hit album Nellyville, pleaded guilty in July to helping Norman take out a fraudulent policy on Montgomery. Ellis said Norman paid her US$10,000 Hill said he received US$5,000 indirectly from Norman after the shooting. Prosecutors said they will prove Norman hired an exotic dancer, Terica Ellis, to lure Montgomery to a spot near a St Louis park where he was shot by Travell Anthony Hill on March 14, 2016.Įllis and Norman have both pleaded guilty to their roles in the plot. Sign up for The Gleaner’s morning and evening newsletters. The series was based in a St Louis-area restaurant owned by Robbie Montgomery, Norman’s mother and the victim’s grandmother.ĭuring opening statements, Assistant US Attorney Gwendolyn Carroll said Norman tried to a collect on a US$450,000 fraudulent life insurance policy that he took out on Andre Montgomery because he was badly in need of money to support a lavish lifestyle. Norman, who is charged with murder for hire, and Montgomery both appeared on the reality TV show Welcome to Sweetie Pie’s, which ran on the OWN Network for five seasons. Norman’s attorneys said during opening statements Tuesday that he was a successful celebrity who was concerned about the safety of his nephew, Andre Montgomery Jr, the St Louis Post-Dispatch reported. A murder-for-hire trial involving former stars of the reality TV show Welcome to Sweetie Pie’s got under way in St Louis, where prosecutors allege that James ‘Tim’ Norman arranged his nephew’s killing because he needed money from a life insurance policy that he took out on the victim.
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