Former reality TV star sentenced to life for murder-for-hire plot against nephew

Former reality TV star James Timothy “Tim” Norman, who was featured on Oprah Winfrey’s show “Welcome to Sweetie Pie’s” for nine seasons, has been sentenced to life in prison for masterminding a murder plot against his 20-year-old nephew, Andre Montgomery Jr.

According to the United States Department of Justice press release, Norman had taken out a $450,000 life insurance policy on Montgomery and paid intermediaries to locate and kill his nephew at a St. Louis address.

In September, a jury found Norman guilty and U.S. District Judge John Andrew Ross issued a life sentence consecutively with any sentence imposed on a separate Texas criminal case.

The three co-defendants in the case, Travell Anthony Hill, Terica Taneisha Ellis and Waiel “Wally” Rebhi Yaghnam, had already pleaded guilty with Hill receiving 32 years in prison, Ellis and Yaghnam each getting three years.

During the sentencing hearing, Assistant U.S. Attorney Angie Danis stated that “Tim Norman portrayed one image to the public, but there were more sinister intentions lurking underneath. 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.”