An ex-background vocalist for Ike and Tina Turner, Robbie Montgomery gained renewed fame after landing the OWN reality show Welcome to Sweetie Pie's, based around her St. Louis restaurant. The family-oriented show, which aired for nine seasons, was hit with tragedy in 2016 over the shooting death of Montgomery's grandson, Andre Montgomery Jr. The case went unsolved for four years, but in a shocking turn of events, Welcome to Sweetie Pie's star Tim Norman and an accomplice were arrested in connection with an alleged murder-for-hire plot. Now, a former music producer has been indicted in the case.
Waiel "Wally" Yaghnam, who was a producer on STL rapper Nelly's 2002 smash Nellyville, is the third person who has been charged for crimes in connection with the murder of Andre Montgomery Jr. The 42-year-old Yaghnam, who became a life insurance agent after his music success, is facing one charge of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud, per the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Tim Norman was also indicted Thursday with an additional charge of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud.
Prosecutors claim that Wally Yaghnam worked as the insurance agent for Tim Norman, Andre Montgomery Jr.'s uncle, and that they worked together on setting up a fraudulent life insurance policy for the teenager. The initial policy for $200,000 reportedly contained false information about Montgomery Jr.'s medical history, his income, his net worth, his employment, and his family history. Tim Norman was named the sole beneficiary in the policy.
The $200,000 policy also contained an additional death rider that was set to pay out another $200,000 if Andre Montgomery Jr. died by something other than natural causes. What's more, there was an additional rider on top of that one that would pay out $50,000 if Montgomery Jr. died in the ten years after the policy was formalized. It was right around two years later when Montgomery Jr. was shot to death, and prosecutors claim that Norman unsuccessfully tried to gain possession of the payout a week after his nephew's death.
If Wally Yaghnam is convicted, he could be facing 20 years imprisonment on top of a $250,000 fine, which is the maximum penalty for conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud. Tim Norman and alleged accomplice Terica Ellis, if convicted for conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire, could be looking at life imprisonment or even death, as well as the $250,000 fine.
Tim Norman, who was at one point in charge of Sweetie Pie's, was reportedly in St. Louis on the day Andre Montgomery Jr. was murdered, and was said to be in communication with Memphis resident Terica Ellis using burner phones that were both activated on the day of the murder. Though some of the details have yet to be revealed, Ellis allegedly contacted Montgomery Jr. via text before calling Norman from the same phone, which was pinged to be in the same area as where Montgomery Jr. was killed.
Following the murder, Terica Ellis is said to have called Norman once more before making the trip back to Memphis. Over the next few days, Ellis allegedly deposited over $9,000 into different bank accounts.
Tim Norman, whose fully name is James Timothy Norman, was a star of Welcome to Sweetie Pie's during its full run, and his violent past was occasionally relevant to his storylines. One episode in particular even showed Norman joining Miss Robbie Montgomery to visit the neighborhood spot where Andre Montgomery Jr. was killed, which is all the more disturbing in light of the recent arrests and allegations.
Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for more updates in this disturbing case. For those who want to enjoy some lighter fare, check out our Fall TV 2020 premiere schedule to see what shows are on the horizon.
