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The Texas Cheerleader Murder Plot is a documentary that deals with the facts of Wanda Holloway's hiring of a hitman to murder the mother of her daughter's cheerleading rival. This two-hour special aired on Investigation Discovery (ID) on December 18, 2024, and is available to stream on Max.
The Texas Cheerleader Murder Plot outlines the 1981 case that shocked Channelview, a town in Texas. Wanda Holloway, popularly known as the "Pom-Pom Mom, was arrested and convicted for the solicitation of capital murder.
She thought killing Verna Heath, who happened to be the mother of her daughter's cheerleading competitor, would help her daughter most definitely get into the cheerleading team. The interviews in The Texas Cheerleader Murder Plot include those from the significant players in this case.
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Holloway's daughter is one of the individuals interviewed, and her testimony brings an inside perspective regarding what happened. The Texas Cheerleader Murder Plot looks into psychological and social reasons that pushed Holloway to such drastic action.
Background of the Texas Cheerleader Murder Plot Case
Wanda Holloway of Channelview, Texas, raised her daughter, Shanna, who was obsessed with winning. Wanda was similarly obsessed with winning and thrust Shanna onto the cheerleading squad of Channelview High School.
At the same time, Amber Heath, the daughter of Verna Heath, Wanda's neighbor, was competing for a place on the squad. Amber was a good athlete and had already made the cheerleading team. This made Wanda dislike the Heath family, especially Verna, who Wanda felt was standing in Shanna's way. Determining to eliminate the competition led Wanda to take an illegal path.
About the Crime: The Texas Cheerleader Murder Plot
In her attempt to get Shanna on the cheerleading squad, Wanda Holloway had a plan: she wanted to hire a hitman to murder Verna Heath, Amber's mother. Wanda figured that Amber would be so distraught that she could not possibly continue trying for the cheerleading spot.
Wanda approached her former brother-in-law, Terry Harper, and asked him to arrange the murder. Wanda offered him jewelry as payment. Harper, however, reported the scheme to the authorities instead of going along with it.
Investigation
Following Harper's report, local law enforcement and the Harris County Sheriff's Office launched an investigation into Wanda's plan. For this purpose, Terry Harper agreed to work undercover with the police. Terry Harper wore a wire and recorded conversations with Wanda in which she discussed her plan to have Verna killed.
The tapes were the direct proof that Wanda had every intent and willingness to commit that crime. With this as evidence, the law apprehended Wanda Holloway in January 1991. She was arrested for solicitation of capital murder.
Resolution
The legal proceedings against Wanda were widely publicized. As per Newsweek, she was convicted and sentenced to 15 years in prison on her first trial. The conviction was, however, quashed due to a technicality: one of the jurors was not supposed to be a member of the jury.
On her second trial, Wanda pleaded "no contest." This is an admission of no guilt but acceptance of the punishment. She was sentenced to 10 years in prison, fined $10,000, and ordered to pay $150,000 in damages to the Heath family in a civil lawsuit. Wanda only served six months in jail. The rest of her sentence was served on probation, and she was required to do 1,000 hours of community service.
Aftermath
The consequences of Wanda Holloway's actions had far-reaching effects. Her relations with her daughter, Shanna, were very difficult. Shanna cut contact with her mother and commented publicly years later about how the incident affected her emotional life.
Even after Wanda's release from prison, Shanna did not warm up to her mother. In an interview in 2012, Shanna stated that she had only just started to process the events and continued to keep her distance. Wanda's actions also had a great impact on the Heath family as well as the community in Channelview.
It inspired numerous portrayals in the media, including the TV movie The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader-Murdering Mom. These dramatizations highlighted the bizarre and unsettling aspects of the case to ensure its place in public memory.
The Texas Cheerleader Murder Plot aired on December 18 on ID.
