Travell Anthony Hill Gets 32 Years in Prison for Murder-For-Hire Charges
Travell Anthony Hill was sentenced to 32 years for hiring two assassins to kill 21-year-old Andre Montgomery Jr. for money. Travell plead guilty in June to conspiring with James Timothy “Tim” Norman to murder Andre Montgomery Jr. who appeared on OWN show Welcome to Sweetie Pie’s; Andre was shot dead March 2016.
At his plea hearing on Thursday, Hill apologized to Montgomery’s family and requested leniency from the judge, explaining he wasn’t in it for money and that two of his own brothers had also been killed the same year as Montgomery was shot. Additionally, he added that he has an infant son whom he hasn’t seen due to being behind bars.
Prosecutors claim Hill agreed to kill Montgomery at Norman’s request in order to cash in a $450,000 life insurance policy on his nephew, Ellis and Hill had conspired together in an effort to lure Montgomery onto a street where his death would occur and on the night of the murder she told Hill where Montgomery could be found and shoot and kill him, according to federal prosecutors.
This case marks one of the highest profile murder-for-hire cases ever to surface in St. Louis area, due to its association with an extremely popular reality show and public fascination with those featured on reality programs. Furthermore, it sheds light on the dangers posed by reality shows in general as well as their ability to create unintended drama within lives of ordinary individuals who appear in them.
Ellis and Hill provided testimony against their co-conspirators during the trial, with a jury finding them all guilty of conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire and killing Montgomery through this plot. According to TheGrio’s reports, Ellis as well as Waiel Rebhi Yaghnam had also been charged with wire and mail fraud related to an insurance scheme they created together.
KTVI reports that prosecutors will not pursue death penalties for three co-conspirators involved in Montgomery’s killing. Although no specific reasons were given for their decision, this decision follows similar moves earlier this month by Norman and Ellis’ cases where no death sentences were pursued.
Hill’s attorneys Peter Cohen and Angie Danis as well as Gwendolyn Carroll and Gwennis Williams requested a 30-year sentence due to Hill’s cooperation with authorities, with Gwendolyn Carroll and Gwennis Williams agreeing with this recommendation and will announce the final sentencing date in November. Other co-conspirators face murder-for-hire and related charges as they await trial; among these is Norman, who appeared on popular reality show alongside Norman’s nephew who was recently found guilty in September of conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire with sentence set for March.
0