Kalyn Griggs outside the federal courthouse in St. Louis after Tim Norman was found guilty on all charges.
On the steps of the federal courthouse in St. Louis, Andre Montgomery's sister Kalyn Griggs said that Tim Norman's testimony was nothing but "crying and lying" and he got the justice he deserved.
Norman was standing trial for hiring someone to murder his nephew Andre Montgomery in 2016. The jury deliberated for 18 hours before declaring Norman guilty on all counts late this morning.
The jurors ultimately believed the prosecution's theory of Montgomery’s death: that Norman took out a $450,000 life insurance policy on the 21-year-old and then paid two other individuals to carry out their roles in the murder.
Over the past two weeks, jurors heard from other members of the conspiracy. Terica Ellis, a Memphis-based exotic dancer, testified that Norman paid her $10,000 to track down Montgomery on the day of his death. She lured him out of the home recording studio and Travell Hill, the confessed shooter, gunned him down. Hill testified that Norman paid him $5,000 through a mutual acquaintance.
Both Montgomery and Norman previously appeared on the reality TV show Welcome to Sweetie Pie's. The show's star was famed singer and restaurateur Robbie Montgomery, who was Norman's mother and Andre Montgomery's grandmother.
Norman’s defense attorney Michael Leonard told reporters after the verdict that he was “extremely surprised and disappointed.”
Leonard highlighted Norman's lengthy testimony, saying it is unusual for a person accused of such a serious crime to take the stand in his own defense. He said that it is "one in a million" for someone to handle themselves as well as Norman did in such a situation.
"He didn't leave much opening for cross [examination]," Leonard stated.
Andre Montgomery's family said Norman's testimony was full of lies.
On the stand, Norman painted himself as an empathetic uncle who allowed his nephew to live in the lap of luxury in an apartment near Forest Park.
However, Montgomery's aunt said she visited her son's place and that it was a rundown efficiency.
"It had a rusty stove and what looked like a Salvation [Army] cot he was sleeping on, with two metal chairs. It was nothing but a small box he was living in right next door to Tim's penthouse," she said.
Norman had also testified he gave Andre Montgomery access to his fleet of vehicles, which Montgomery's sister Kalyn Griggs says was not true. She says Montgomery had to call for a ride whenever he needed to go somewhere.
Griggs said that Norman only made a brief appearance at Montgomery's funeral in Texas, wearing a bulletproof vest and flanked by security guards. Norman showed no emotion while there, Griggs said, and disrupted proceedings when he had to leave to catch a flight back to Los Angeles.
"Tim's a Norman, Andre's a Montgomery," Montgomery's aunt said. "He's the last lineage of the Montgomery family. If anything happened to Ms. Robbie it would go to him. Tim didn't want that."
Norman's sentencing is set for December 15. He faces life in prison.
This story previously misidentified one of Andre Montgomery's relatives. We sincerely regret the error.
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