A former reality show star was sentenced to life in prison Thursday for arranging the murder of his nephew in St. Louis, Missouri in 2016 for money.
James Timothy Norman, 43, was found guilty by a jury in U.S. District Court in September of conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire, murder-for-hire and conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud in the fatal shooting of 20-year-old Andre Montgomery Jr. on March 14, 2016.
Norman and Montgomery appeared on the reality show Welcome to Sweetie Pie’s. Norman took out a life insurance policy worth $450,000 on Montgomery, then arranged through intermediaries for his nephew’s murder at 3964 Natural Bridge Avenue in St. Louis.
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“Tim Norman sought to make $450,000 by having his nephew, Andre Montgomery, killed. Instead, he was caught and will spend the rest of his life in prison.
Although Andre’s family was robbed of their loved one, hopefully this result will provide peace and justice for them,” said U.S. Attorney Sayler A. Fleming.
“Tim Norman portrayed one image to the public, but there were more sinister intentions lurking underneath,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Angie Danis during Thursday’s sentencing hearing. “And the measure of someone’s character is what they do when they think no one is watching. When he thought no one was watching, he planned the execution of his nephew and carried it out.”
“Five families, especially that of the victim, are suffering and irreparably harmed as a result of Norman’s plot to have his own nephew murdered,” said Special Agent in Charge Jay Greenberg of the FBI St. Louis Division. “At least all his co-conspirators have accepted responsibility. To this day, Norman hasn’t accepted responsibility despite the fact 12 jurors unanimously convicted him after seeing and hearing seven days of evidence in trial.”
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U.S. District Judge John A. Ross sentenced the shooter, Travell Anthony Hill, of St. Louis, to 32 years in prison in October. Hill now 31, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire and one count of murder-for-hire and admitted fatally shooting Montgomery with a .380-caliber handgun after being told of his location by a woman who knew both Montgomery and Norman. Hill was later paid $5,000.
The woman, Terica Taneisha Ellis, now 39, from Memphis, Tennessee, was sentenced to three years in prison in January. Ellis pleaded guilty to the murder-for-hire conspiracy charge and admitted that Norman paid her $10,000 to find Montgomery and pass on his location. Ellis admitted knowing Norman was going to take some form of action, but she did not know Montgomery would be shot.
A fourth person, insurance agent Waiel “Wally” Rebhi Yaghnam, was sentenced to three years in prison in November. Yaghnam pleaded guilty to a charge of wire and mail fraud conspiracy and admitted fraudulently helping Norman apply for multiple insurance policies beginning in October 2014. Yaghnam then helped Norman file a claim on Montgomery’s life insurance policy after Montgomery’s death.
The FBI and the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department investigated this case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Angie Danis and Gwendolyn Carroll are prosecuting the case.
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