Wanda Webb Holloway
(born 1954) is a woman from Channelview,
Texas, known for attempting to hire a hitman to kill the mother of her
daughter's junior high school cheerleading rival. The plan ultimately failed
when the man she asked to perform the hit turned her into the authorities.
Background
Holloway had an intense desire for her daughter, Shanna, to be
a cheerleader. In 1991, when Shanna narrowly missed out on a spot on her junior
high school squad, Holloway asked her ex-brother-in-law, Terry Harper, to hire a hitman to kill Verna Heath, mother of the 14-year-old girl who had beaten her into
the squad. Holloway believed that Heath's daughter would be so devastated by
her mother's death that she would drop out of the cheerleading team, thereby
giving the spot to Shanna.
However, unknown to Holloway, Harper had gone straight to
the police after Holloway approached him; she was arrested the next day.
First trial
Key evidence in the case for the prosecution, headed by Mike Anderson, came down to tapes
provided by Terry Harper along with
his testimony. These tapes revealed the words of Holloway offering her diamond
earrings in exchange for never seeing Verna
Heath in Channelview again. The
defense lawyer, Troy McKinney,
argued that Holloway’s ex-husband, Tony
Harper had conspired with his brother to frame Holloway. McKinney pointed
to the divorce between Tony Harper
and Wanda Holloway in 1980 and an
ensuing custody battle over their children.
Holloway was convicted of solicitation of capital murder in
the 1991 trial and sentenced to fifteen years in prison. However, the
conviction was overturned when it was discovered one of the jurors was on
probation for a drug-related felony and should have never been allowed to serve
on the jury; a mistrial was declared.
Second trial
Holloway hired a new defense lawyer, Jack Zimmerman. This time Wanda
Holloway admitted to the crime, pleading "no contest" (nolo
contendere), and Zimmerman successfully negotiated a plea deal for
Holloway.
On September 9, 1996, state district court judge George Godwin sentenced Holloway to ten
years in prison, with a fine of $10,000. On top of this, Holloway settled a civil suit
filed by the Heath family. On October 2, 1994, Holloway agreed to pay a total of $150,000 to the victims. It
was decided in court that $70,000 would be given to Verna and her husband,
$30,000 to the children of Verna, and $50,000 to cover the legal expenses of
the case.
Early release
Holloway was released on March 1, 1997, after serving just
six months of her sentence. The judge ordered her to serve the remaining 9.5
years on probation, and to complete 1,000 hours of community service.
In the media
Reenactments made about the incident include:
The Positively True
Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader-Murdering Mom, a 1993 HBO film which starred Holly Hunter as Wanda Holloway.
Willing to Kill: The
Texas Cheerleader Story, a 1992 ABC
film with Lesley Ann Warren as Wanda Holloway.
Mother Love, Deadly
Love, a book by Anne Maier written
in 1994
"Momsters: When
Moms Go Bad", Season 1, Episode 1: A Killer Routine, television
program on ID.
No comments:
Post a Comment