The jury deliberated about 17 hours over three days before reaching its verdict in the murder-for-hire case against James “Tim” Norman, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. He was charged with conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire, murder-for-hire and conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud. Norman and his nephew, Andre Montgomery, both starred in the long-running OWN reality show about a popular entertainment business founded in the St. Louis area by Robbie Montgomery — Norman’s mother and Andre’s grandmother. Prosecutors are not seeking the death penalty, but Norman could be sentenced to life in prison. Sentencing is set for December 15. Federal prosecutors said Norman, 43, hired two people to kill 21-year-old Montgomery on March 14, 2016, then tried to cash in on a $450,000 life insurance policy he had taken out on his nephew months earlier. Defense attorney Michael Leonard said after the verdict that he and Norman were “extremely surprised and disappointed at the outcome” of the case. He said they plan to appeal and that Norman remains optimistic he will ultimately prevail. Leonard said the testimony during the trial of two conspirators proved to be “grossly unreliable.” And he said Norman testified well during the trial, noting he was not cross-examined. U.S. Attorney Sailer Fleming said she was “very, very pleased” with the verdict, but that her office would not comment further until after the sentencing. During closing arguments, Assistant U.S. Attorney Angie Danis said Norman was the architect of the plan to kill Montgomery. “This plan only exists because of Tim Norman’s greed,” Danis said. Leonard argued in his closing argument that the murder plan presented by prosecutors was a “made-up theory.” Prosecutors said Norman paid an exotic dancer, Terika Ellis, $10,000 to lure his nephew to where he was shot and paid Trael Anthony Hill $5,000 to shoot Montgomery. The story continues Ellis and Hill both testified for the prosecution in the case. Both pleaded guilty to participating in the scheme. In testimony during the trial, Norman said he helped his nephew move to St. Louis about 18 months before he was killed and supported him financially as he tried to look after Montgomery. He said he sought to be a “father figure” to his brother’s son. Former Sweetie Pie employees and other character witnesses testified that Norman and his nephew had a close relationship. Danis said all of the testimony from the scheme’s co-conspirators was corroborated at trial by texts, call logs and location data. He said Norman created “an image of a mentor and a father figure for all these people, but it’s a fantasy.” Leonard said during his closing argument that Ellis testified for a lesser sentence and said Hill admitted he was a heavy drug user and that “that day he got into drugs.” Norman testified Tuesday that he took out the life insurance policy on his nephew to give a longtime customer of the family restaurants, Waiel Rebhi Yaghnam, some business. Yaghnam pleaded guilty in July to conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire and fraud in the case. Montgomery fled St. Louis after at least $220,000 in cash, jewelry and other items were stolen in a June 2015 burglary at Robbie Montgomery’s home. Norman told jurors that he and his mother hired a private investigator to find and confront his nephew about the robbery, but she had no intention of harming him.
