James Timothy Norman, son of Robbie Montgomery, reality TV star and owner of “Sweetie Pie’s” restaurant has been charged for a murder for hire plot. The 41-year-old was subject to a federal complaint the past week, as described in a news release by the US Attorney’s Office Eastern District of Missouri.
What We Know:
- The federal complaint accuses Norman of using “interstate commerce facilities (a cellphone) in the commission of a murder-for-hire, resulting in death”. The complaint also noted that aside from Norman, Terica Ellis and a few others were also involved in the plot for money.
- Some evidence uncovered by federal authorities accuses Norman of obtaining a lump sum of $450,000 from a life insurance policy on his nephew, Andre Montgomery, back in 2014. Norman was marked as the sole beneficiary of that money.
- Another report states that in the time leading up to the 18-year-old’s murder, Ellis told Montgomery that she was paying a visit to St. Louis, Missouri. On March 13, 2016, exactly a day before Montgomery’s impending murder, Norman took a flight to St. Louis from his residence in Los Angeles, California.
- On the day of the murder, both Ellis and Norman activated temporary phones as a means of indiscreet communication. Using these phones, the criminals were able to freely communicate with each other. It was reported that this was how they were able to lock onto Montgomery’s location. As soon as Montgomery’s was found, Ellis immediately called Norman.
- Later that day around 8:00 pm local time, Montgomery, unfortunately, fell victim to the plot and was fatally shot. Data recovered from Ellis’ phone revealed the location of the murder, thus making her a prime suspect of the crime.
- Once more, Ellis called Norman after the shooting and then traveled to Memphis, Tennessee. After some time passed, Ellis allegedly deposited thousands of dollars in cash into various bank accounts. On March 21, 2016, a little over two years after the crime, Norman got in touch with the very life insurance company his nephew held a policy, collecting the $450,000.
According to local CBS news affiliate KMOV4, Ellis was given the same charges as Norman, but more information on others involved has yet to come out. It’s also unclear who exactly committed the murder and or if the money was evenly split. The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department Homicide Section (LMPD) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) are investigating this case.
