Reality TV star pays exotic dancer in murder-for-hire of nephew in Missouri, feds say
A reality TV star was arrested in a murder-for-hire plot to kill his nephew in St. Louis, federal prosecutors say.
James Timothy Norman, 41, who starred in five seasons of “Welcome to Sweetie Pies,” was charged last week in the death of 18-year-old Andre Montgomery in 2016, according to an Aug. 18 news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri.
Norman is accused of paying Terica Ellis, an exotic dancer from Memphis, Tennessee, about $9,000 in the murder-for-hire of his nephew, prosecutors say. Both Norman and Ellis are charged with the use of interstate commerce facilities in the commission of a murder-for-hire, resulting in death.
The reality TV show that aired for five seasons on Oprah Winfrey Network shares the story of Robbie Montgomery, a former backup singer for Ike and Tina Turner, as she runs soul food restaurant “Sweetie Pies” in St. Louis. In one episode, Norman, who’s her son, takes Montgomery to the scene of his nephew’s murder on Natural Bridge Avenue and laments the deaths of men in their family.
“Since Andre’s passing, I haven’t gone through this part of the city and really have been avoiding it,” Norman says on the show.
“OK, I’m ready to go,” Robbie Montgomery says. “I’m getting sick to my stomach just seeing this place.”
Two years before Andre Montgomery was killed, Norman took out a $450,000 life insurance policy on his nephew and named himself the sole beneficiary, prosecutors say.
In March 2016, Ellis told Montgomery she was going to visit St. Louis. Norman flew to the city from his home in Los Angeles a day before the death, according to the release.
On March 14, Montgomery was killed in a shooting on Natural Bridge Avenue. Investigators say Norman and Ellis communicated through burner phones they activated the same day. The phones put Ellis in the area of the crime scene and show that she called Norman immediately after the death, prosecutors say.
Norman deposited over $9,000 in Ellis’ accounts over the next several days, prosecutors say. A week later, he tried to collect on the life insurance policy, prosecutors say.
On the reality show, Robbie Montgomery operates the franchise with Norman, who goes by Tim. She brought her grandson to St. Louis to finish high school and work at the restaurant.
The cast, including Norman, reflected on the death of Andre Montgomery in a reunion special.
“My goal was to get him through high school, and so when I did that, I really wanted him to go back home because St. Louis is a city where Black men are killing each other,” Robbie Montgomery said on the reunion show. “And he came back and was there like four or five days and got killed, so that’s heartbreaking.”
Asked why their community experiences devastation, Norman replied that young Black men don’t have male role models in the household to set positive examples.
On Wednesday, Norman was in the Madison County Detention Center in Canton, Mississippi.
The Federal Public Defender for the Eastern District of Missouri is listed as Norman’s attorney. The office did not immediately respond to an email from McClatchy News seeking comment Wednesday afternoon.
The case was investigated as part of Operation LeGend, a U.S. Department of Justice initiative with local law enforcement named for a 4-year-old boy killed while sleeping in a Kansas City apartment.
