ST. LOUIS — Andre Montgomery feared his uncle in the days before his death, according to new details filed by prosecutors ahead of the trial of former reality TV star James "Tim" Norman, which starts today.
"TIM IS AFTER ME OR SOMETHING," Andre Montgomery texted his grandmother, according to court filings. "I'm not just bout to be sitting in STL when I know Tim got people looking for me."
The trial for Norman, accused of orchestrating a murder-for-hire plot to kill his nephew, opened Tuesday morning with jury selection, marking the culmination of an elaborate criminal case that's captured national attention for years.
Norman starred in "Welcome to Sweetie Pie's," a long-running OWN reality show about the popular soul food business his mother, Robbie Montgomery, founded in the St. Louis area. He is accused of hiring multiple people to carry out the March 2016 killing of Andre Montgomery Jr., his 21-year-old nephew who also starred on the show.
Norman faces two federal murder-for-hire counts along with one charge of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud. Three co-defendants already pleaded guilty this summer and implicated Norman in the plot, which they said involved life insurance policies, burner phones and payouts.
Prosecutors say Norman hired an exotic dancer and his former romantic partner, Terica Ellis, to lure Montgomery outside where he was shot by Travell Anthony Hill, in the 3900 block of Natural Bridge Drive. According to their plea agreements with prosecutors, Ellis was paid $9,000 and Hill pleaded to receiving $5,000 from Norman in the days after the death.
Norman is also accused of attempting to cash in on $450,000 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.
U.S. District Judge John Ross is presiding.
Burglary and a shooting
A burglary at Robbie Montgomery's north St. Louis County home caused family turmoil in the months before the killing, police and court documents show.
Robbie, the grandmother of shooting victim Andre, reported it while she was on vacation in June 2015, according to a police report. At least $220,000 worth of cash, jewelry and other items were stolen.
Officers initially investigated Andre in the burglary. But after more than nine months out of town, he met with officers and took a polygraph test in March 2016. At that time, he denied being involved in the theft and told police he thought his uncle, Norman, was behind it, police records say.
Andre said he left town to be with a girl and told officers his grandmother was trying to remove Norman from some Sweetie Pie's business ventures.
Four days later, Andre was killed.
Investigators never closed the burglary case.
Federal prosecutors wrote in pretrial documents that Norman told several associates he was angry with his nephew because of the burglary.
The prosecutors will also present evidence that Norman took out $450,000 in life insurance policies on his nephew more than a year before the burglary, making himself the sole beneficiary. Prosecutors plan to present evidence that he attempted to collect on the policies after his nephew's death.
Yaghnam, the insurance agent, pleaded guilty in July to providing false information on the policy, including pretending to be Andre on the phone and giving false information about income. Yaghnam worked in life insurance after a career in the music industry that included producing rapper Nelly's hit 2002 album "Nellyville."
Other evidence expected in the trial includes accounts from co-defendants, text messages and recorded jail calls from the shooter.
Andre joined "Welcome to Sweetie Pie's," which ran for five seasons on OWN, around 2011 after he came to live with Robbie. His father was killed in a 1995 stabbing, so Andre grew up in Lubbock, Texas, with his mother and would spend summers in St. Louis with his grandmother. He moved into Robbie's basement full-time around 2010.
Andre was a paid cast member of "Welcome to Sweetie Pie's" until 2013, appearing in a chicken costume in scenes promoting the family restaurant, pursuing a rap career and graduating from McCluer North High School.
After the charges, clips from "Welcome to Sweetie Pie's" circulated online showing Norman mourning the death he is now accused of setting up.
Norman visited the scene of the killing with his mother and TV cameras in a clip published in 2016.
"Since Andre's passing I haven't gone through this part of the city," Norman is recorded saying. "Really, I've been avoiding it."
