Woman sentenced for her role in ‘Sweetie Pie’ star’s death

ST. LOUIS (AP) — A woman who lured a former star of a St. Louis-based reality TV show to a spot where he was killed was sentenced Tuesday to three years in prison.

Terica Ellis, 39, was sentenced for conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire in the March 2016 death of 21-year-old Andrew Montgomery Jr.

Montgomery’s uncle, James “Tim” Norman, was convicted in September of hiring another man to kill Montgomery.

Montgomery and Norman starred on “Welcome to Sweetie Pie’s,” a long-running OWN reality show about a family soul food business in the St. Louis area owned by Robbie Montgomery, Norman’s mother and the victim’s grandmother.

Ellis pleaded guilty in June to conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire. She admitted she lured Montgomery to a street the night of the killing and gave his location to the killer, Travell Anthony Hill.

Norman was the sole beneficiary of a $450,000 life insurance policy taken out against his nephew’s life and paid Ellis about $10,000 for her role in the plot.

She testified she thought Norman wanted to confront his nephew about a burglary and didn’t know he hired Hill to shoot Montgomery.

Norman was convicted in September of conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire, among other charges. He is scheduled to be sentenced in March.

Hill pleaded guilty and was sentenced in October to 32 years in prison on two murder-for-hire charges.

Copyright © 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.

Federal News Network Logo
Log in to your WTOP account for notifications and alerts customized for you.

Sign up