I was flabbergasted when a news headline out of St. Louis came out last night. Tim Norman, star of "Welcome To Sweetie Pies" on Oprah's OWN Network has been charged in a murder-for-hire plot. He is accused of hiring an "exotic dancer" from Memphis to come to St. Louis to murder his nephew. Tim Norman had just taken a life insurance policy out on his nephew and following his death, he unsuccessfully tried to collect,
Back story... If you aren't familiar with "Welcome To Sweetie Pies," the show is about the matriarch of the Montgomery family, Miss Robbie. She was a former back up dancer for Tina Turner and then husband Ike Turner. Following her performing days, she opened a successful chain of soul food restaurants in St. Louis called Sweetie Pies. Miss Robbie wasn't a spring chicken, but she remained fierce into her senior years and Oprah took notice. Oprah thought Miss Robbie and her family run business would make a great subject for a reality show on the OWN Network and thus "Welcome To Sweetie Pies" was born. Her son, Tim, was a major character on the show.
Another back story. I met Tim Norman many years ago. I was programming a hip/hop radio station in St. Louis and we did a "Stop the Violence" Town Hall Meeting. Tim had served ten years in prison for armed robbery when he was a teenager into his twenties. He came out rehabilitated and we used his story to inspire others living a street life to think twice about it. He was a role model and I was very happy to see his celebrity rise with "Welcome To Sweetie Pies."
Later on, there were rumors of issues with his mother. He moved out of St. Louis and opened other "Sweetie Pies" restaurants and there were family lawsuits over trademarks. He divorced his wife. He ended up dating Jennifer Williams, known for reality tv show "Basketball Lives." They had a tumultuous break up.
But none of the aforementioned drama was anything close to an uncle being accused of having his nephew murdered for money.
As it stands now, Tim is expected to be extradited to St. Louis to face the music. Tim's nephew, Andre, was murdered in 2016. Until now, the case remained unsolved. Miss Robbie publicly, all along, said that she believed someone purposely murdered her grandson because he had been called to come outside of a St. Louis recording studio when he was shot. She said it seemed like a set up from the beginning.