Wanda Holloway is the Channelview, Texas, mother who was arrested in January 1991 for trying to hire a hitman to kill Verna Heath, the mother of her daughter’s junior high cheerleading rival. She believed that if Heath were killed, her daughter Amber would be too devastated to try out, clearing a spot on the squad for Holloway’s own daughter, Shanna. Holloway was convicted of solicitation of capital murder, saw that conviction overturned on appeal, later pleaded no contest, and served six months in prison before being released in 1997. She lives quietly in Texas today.
The Cheerleading Rivalry Behind the Plot
The Holloways and the Heaths knew each other well. In elementary school the two families were friendly enough to share coffee and carpools, and the daughters were sleepover friends. That changed as cheerleading tryouts approached at Alice Johnson Junior High.1Texas Monthly. The Cheerleader Murder Plot
In 1989, Holloway pulled Shanna out of a private Christian school and enrolled her at Alice Johnson specifically so she could try out for the seventh-grade squad. Verna Heath then lobbied successfully to let Amber, still at the private school, try out too. Amber made the squad. Shanna did not. The next year, Holloway and her ex-husband Tony Harper handed out promotional pencils and rulers to promote Shanna’s candidacy. The giveaways broke school election rules, and Shanna was disqualified. Verna Heath had helped flag the violation.1Texas Monthly. The Cheerleader Murder Plot
The Murder-for-Hire Scheme
By late 1990, Holloway had decided the surest way to clear a path for Shanna was to have Verna Heath killed. She approached Terry Harper, her former brother-in-law from her first marriage, and asked him to arrange a contract killing. She initially discussed having both Verna and Amber murdered, floating a price of $7,500 and reportedly commenting that “children are always more expensive.” She eventually narrowed the target to Verna alone, on the theory that Amber would be too grief-stricken to compete.2ABC13. Texas Cheerleader Murder Plot3Roanoke Times. Cheerleader Mom Case
Terry Harper refused. He told Holloway he would not harm a thirteen-year-old child, then confided in his brother Tony, who urged him to go to the police. Harper contacted the Harris County Sheriff’s Department and agreed to cooperate. Over three weeks he wore a hidden recording device during meetings with Holloway. The tapes captured her negotiating the price, narrowing the target to Verna, and eventually handing over a pair of diamond earrings worth roughly $1,500 as a down payment, with more cash promised once the job was done. On the recording, Holloway said, “I couldn’t pull the trigger myself, but I can sure do it this way.”1Texas Monthly. The Cheerleader Murder Plot4Encyclopedia.com. Wanda Holloway Trial 1991
She was arrested on January 30, 1991, and charged with solicitation of capital murder.
The 1991 Conviction
Holloway’s trial opened in Houston before State District Judge George Godwin. The prosecution’s case turned on the recordings and the diamond earrings. Jurors heard Holloway on tape saying, “I don’t care what you do with her… I want her gone.” The defense went after Terry Harper’s credibility, citing his prior arrests, and argued that Harper and his brother had set Holloway up as part of a custody dispute over her children from the first marriage. The jury was not persuaded.4Encyclopedia.com. Wanda Holloway Trial 1991
On September 3, 1991, jurors found Holloway guilty of solicitation of capital murder. She was sentenced to fifteen years in prison and fined $10,000.4Encyclopedia.com. Wanda Holloway Trial 1991
Why the Conviction Was Overturned
The verdict did not survive appeal. Holloway’s attorneys discovered that one of the jurors, Daniel Michael Enriquez, had been on deferred adjudication for felony cocaine possession while serving on the panel. Under Texas law, a person on deferred adjudication is treated as under indictment for a felony, and that status absolutely disqualifies someone from jury service. Enriquez had actually disclosed his status on a written juror questionnaire, noting “deferred adjudication” and “possession of controlled substance.” Neither side followed up during voir dire.5vLex. State v. Holloway6UPI. Pompon Mom Wants New Trial
The trial court granted a new trial. The State appealed, arguing that Holloway’s lawyers had known during the trial that Enriquez was disqualified and had strategically stayed silent as an insurance policy against conviction. The Court of Appeals of Texas, First District, rejected that argument, finding that a defense-side discussion of juror disqualification during trial had actually concerned an alternate juror named Robert Laskowski, not Enriquez. Because Texas law makes a verdict void when an absolutely disqualified juror sits, the appellate court affirmed the order granting a new trial in 1994.7CaseMine. State v. Holloway, No. 01-91-01296-CR
The 1996 Plea and Six Months Served
Facing a second trial, Holloway pleaded no contest to solicitation of capital murder in 1996 and was sentenced to ten years in prison.8SFGate. Texas Cheerleader Mom Gets 10 Years
She served six months. On February 28, 1997, Judge George Godwin ordered her release, saying she “wouldn’t benefit from more prison time,” and ordered her to perform 1,000 hours of community service.9Spokesman-Review. Cheerleader Mom Leaves Prison; Served Six Months
The Heath Family’s Civil Settlement
The Heaths pursued Holloway in civil court, alleging extreme emotional anguish. The case settled in 1994 for $150,000, paid by Holloway’s home insurance company. Under terms approved by a Texas state judge, Verna and Jack Heath received $70,000, their four children $30,000, and $50,000 went to legal fees. Verna Heath said publicly that the money would not change her lifestyle or cover her medical bills.10Los Angeles Times. Settlement Reached in Cheerleader Suit
Where Wanda Holloway Is Now
After her release in 1997, Holloway took a secretarial job and largely withdrew from public life. She remains in contact with her daughter Shanna, though the relationship has been described as functional rather than close, centered on Shanna’s children and grandchildren. Shanna shared photos of her mother’s 70th birthday celebration in February 2024, and the two were photographed together in Fredericksburg, Texas, in March 2025.11People. Where Is Wanda Holloway Now
The case itself has continued to draw attention. Two television dramatizations aired within two years of the arrest, and a two-hour Investigation Discovery documentary, The Texas Cheerleader Murder Plot, premiered on December 18, 2024. The documentary features Shanna, now Shanna Widner, speaking on camera for the first time and revisits the defense theory that Tony and Terry Harper manipulated events to frame Holloway.12Newsweek. Wanda Holloway Today: Texas Cheerleader Murder Plot
What Happened to Shanna, Holloway’s Daughter
Shanna was thirteen when her mother was arrested. She did not try out for cheerleading that year and spent her adolescence under the shadow of the case, later saying she felt as though she had “a flashing neon sign on my forehead that said, ‘Pom-Pom Mom’s Daughter.'”11People. Where Is Wanda Holloway Now
Now Shanna Widner, she has spoken publicly about years of anxiety and depression tied to the events. “It changed my whole life,” she told the San Antonio Express-News. “I wasted years being miserable and waking up with anxiety every single day.”13MySanAntonio. Texas Cheerleader Murder Plot: Wanda Holloway She has also said she spent a long time blaming herself: “I felt like it was my fault — if I had been better, then maybe this wouldn’t have happened.”14Yahoo Entertainment. Inside Texas Cheerleader Murder Plot Widner became a teacher and launched a website called “Smile More Worry Less,” offering courses on managing anxiety and depression.