St. Louis County Woman Sentenced to 225 Months for Murder-for-Hire Plot Against Fiancé (St. Louis, IL) – A St. Louis County woman who secretly took out life insurance policies on her fiancé before arranging for him to be killed has been sentenced to more than 18 years in federal prison.
U.S. District Judge Audrey G. Fleissig on Thursday sentenced Victoria Rena Williams, 67, to 225 months in prison after she admitted to participating in a murder-for-hire scheme that led to the death of her fiancé, Charles Harris III, in 2011.
Williams pleaded guilty in September to conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire, aiding and abetting murder-for-hire, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
Prosecutors said Harris, who worked for an alarm company and sold suits out of his home, was described in court as a churchgoing man who was preparing to open his own clothing store when he was killed.
According to Williams’ plea agreement and evidence presented at the trial of co-conspirator Michael Grady, 70, the plot began in 2010 when Grady suggested that Williams obtain a $250,000 accidental death insurance policy on Harris. Williams took out the policy without Harris’ knowledge and confirmed it would pay out if he died during a robbery.
In October 2011, Williams arranged for Harris to meet with two supposed customers interested in buying suits from his home on Langford Drive in St. Louis County. Prosecutors said the meeting was a setup for the killing.
Harris was fatally shot in his home on Oct. 5, 2011.
Williams testified during Grady’s trial that she attempted to back out of the plan twice, but said Grady warned her it could be “bad for you” if she tried to withdraw again.
Following Harris’ death, Williams collected $224,444 from the accidental death policy after a dispute with the insurance company. She later obtained a cashier’s check for $110,000 payable to Grady’s wife. Prosecutors said Williams also received $175,762 from another insurance policy tied to Harris’ death.
Authorities said the person or persons who carried out the shooting, allegedly hired by Grady, have never been identified.
Grady was convicted by a jury Monday of the same three charges Williams faced. He is scheduled to be sentenced on June 4 and faces life in prison without parole. Grady is already serving a 226-month federal prison sentence for helping a violent drug trafficking conspiracy by attempting to identify people cooperating with investigators.
The case was investigated by the St. Louis County Police Department and the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ryan Finlen, Nino Przulj and Donald Boyce prosecuted the case.
St. Louis County Woman Sentenced to 225 Months for Murder-for-Hire Plot Against Fiancé
