St. Louis Woman Admits to Taking Out Life Insurance Policy on Boyfriend, Then Hiring a Hitman to Kill Him
A St. Louis County woman appeared in federal court Monday and admitted to taking out a life insurance policy on her boyfriend and later soliciting someone to kill him.
Prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri said Victoria R. Williams pleaded guilty to one count of murder-for-hire conspiracy, murder-for-hire, and money laundering conspiracy in the death of Charles Harris III.
Murder was Staged to Look Like a Robbery
Harris was fatally shot on Oct. 5, 2011, at his home in 10500 block of Landford Drive in north St. Louis County. The murder had been staged to look like a robbery. Harris and Williams were in a romantic relationship at the time of the murder.
At some point in 2010, Williams conspired with an acquaintance, Michael Grady, to have Harris killed, according to court documents. Grady directed Williams to obtain a life insurance policy through Globe Life in the amount of $250,000 and to make sure it would pay out if Harris were murdered.
In a recorded conversation in August 2010, Williams can be heard asking a Globe Life employee if the policy would provide coverage if someone was robbed and killed.
Williams Listed Herself as Beneciary, Attempted to Collect Proceeds from Life Insurance Companies After the Murder
Ultimately, Grady and Williams agreed to arrange for the hired killers to contact Harris at his home and kill him. Grady provided the shooters with guns. Meanwhile, Williams continued to make payments on the life insurance policy.
After the murder, Williams contacted the life insurance company to collect the proceeds of the insurance policy with Grady’s help. However, based on the suspicious nature of Harris’ death, Globe Life deposited the life insurance proceeds with the St. Louis County Circuit Court Clerk.
The county court issued a check in the amount of $224,000 to Williams on Feb. 28, 2014. Weeks later, Williams wrote a cashier’s check to Grady’s wife for $110,000. Williams later received $175,762.29 from a Cigna life insurance policy through Harris’ full-time employer. That policy listed Williams as the sole beneficiary.
Williams will be sentenced on Tuesday, Dec. 16. She faces life in prison and a $250,000 on each murder-for-hire charge and up to 20 years and a $500,000 fine for money laundering. Grady’s case is still pending.
