A federal grand jury on Friday (Sept. 16) has convicted Tim Norman, former star of the St. Louis-based reality TV show “Welcome to Sweetie Pie’s” for arranging the shooting death of his own nephew.

Federal prosecutors said Norman, 43, hired two people to kill his 21-year-old nephew Andre Montgomery. He was gunned down in the 3900 block of Natural Bridge Road just after 8 p.m. on March 14, 2016 and then Norman tried to cash a $450,000 life insurance policy taken out on him months earlier. Norman was one of four people indicted in the conspiracy over his murder. Prosecutors said Norman paid $10,000 to an exotic dancer, Terica Ellis, to lure his nephew to the site where he was shot and paid $5,000 to Travell Anthony Hill to shoot Montgomery.

Norman was charged with conspiracy to commit murder for hire, murder for hire and conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud. The jury deliberated about 17 hours over three days before reaching its verdict in the murder-for-hire case against Norman, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.

Norman and Montgomery both starred in “Welcome to Sweetie Pie’s,” a long-running OWN reality show about a popular soul food business founded in the St. Louis area by Robbie Montgomery — Norman’s mother and Andre’s grandmother.

After the verdict, defense attorney Michael Leonard said that he and Norman were “extremely surprised and disappointed in the outcome” of the case. He said they plan to appeal and that Norman continues to be optimistic that he will eventually prevail. Leonard stated that the testimony during the trial of two co-conspirators was shown to be “extremely non-credible.” Leonard also argued in his closing statement that the murder plot presented by prosecutors was a “made up theory.”

Prosecutors are not seeking the death penalty but Norman could be sentenced to up to life in prison. His sentencing is set for Dec. 15.