Connect with us

Southwest

Daughter of notorious 'pom-pom mom' says cheerleading murder plot nearly destroyed her life

Published

on

Daughter of notorious 'pom-pom mom' says cheerleading murder plot nearly destroyed her life

Join Fox News for access to this content

Plus special access to select articles and other premium content with your account – free of charge.

By entering your email and pushing continue, you are agreeing to Fox News’ Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, which includes our Notice of Financial Incentive.

Please enter a valid email address.

Having trouble? Click here.

If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

At age 14, Shanna Holloway believed she was going to lose her mother for good.

Advertisement

“I can’t even step into a courtroom,” the 47-year-old told Fox News Digital. “When my mom was found guilty, I thought I would never see her again. I really believed I would not see her. Well, maybe I would see her, but I wouldn’t be able to touch her for 14 or 15 years.”

NETFLIX’S ‘CRIME SCENE: THE TEXAS KILLING FIELDS’: COULD MULTIPLE MURDERERS BE INVOLVED IN DECADES-LONG CASES?

Wanda Holloway, left, and her daughter Shanna leave the courtroom in Houston on March 6, 1991, after a child custody hearing concerning Shanna and her brother. Wanda was accused of trying to hire a hitman to kill the mother of a girl competing with Shanna to be a cheerleader.  (AP Photo/David Scarbrough)

In 1991, Wanda Holloway was charged with conspiring to kill the mother of her daughter’s cheerleading rival. The case, which rocked Channelview, Texas, and the rest of the nation, is now being explored in a true-crime docuseries on Investigation Discovery (ID), “The Texas Cheerleading Murder Plot.”

A film crew recording a scene in a restaurant.

“The Texas Cheerleading Murder Plot” is currently streaming. (Investigation Discovery)

According to the network, the special aims to illuminate Wanda’s “true emotions” and how Shanna coped with the aftermath of the high-profile trial.

Advertisement

Shanna, who still lives in Texas, is now a teacher and a mother of two. She described being haunted by her past for decades.

A close-up of Shanna wearing a white and black sweater.

Shanna still resides in Texas, where the case occurred. (Investigation Discovery)

“We had pep rallies at my school when I started teaching,” she recalled. “I remember one time when I was pregnant, I went to a pep rally. I started having contractions. My stomach started tightening just from being triggered.”

“Just the word ‘pom-pom,’ it’s triggering,” she said quietly.

Growing up, Shanna had a close bond with Wanda, who was recognized as a devoted mother in her blue-collar community. Like many girls, cheerleading caught Shanna’s eye. While she eventually lost interest, Wanda reportedly pushed her to still pursue it.

FOLLOW THE FOX TRUE CRIME TEAM ON X

Advertisement
Wanda Holloway kneeling down next to her daughter Shanna next to two Easter baskets.

Growing up, Shanna had a close bond with her mother. Those in the community said Wanda would have done anything for her daughter. (Investigation Discovery)

“I guess maybe I wasn’t very competitive,” said Shanna. “It’s not in my nature. And this was a period where you had to be very competitive. It wasn’t just for fun. You had to be able to tumble, and you had to be able to cheer, and you had to have the popularity. It was almost like a job.”

Wanda Holloway looking at her daughter Shanna who is surrounded by presents.

It appeared that Wanda, an avid churchgoer, would have gone to great lengths to ensure her daughter Shanna was part of her high school cheerleading squad. (Investigation Discovery)

Authorities said that Wanda attempted to hire a hitman to take out her nemesis, Verna Heath, People magazine reported. Texas Monthly also reported that both women “had the reputation of going all out for her daughter.”

According to reports, investigators believed Wanda came up with the scheme after Shanna failed to make the cheerleading squad. She blamed Heath and her daughter Amber for ruining Shanna’s chances, People revealed.

Shanna wearing a red dress next to her mother Wanda Holloway wearing a blue sweater.

While cheerleading was popular in Texas during the ‘80s and ’90s, Shanna said she lost interest. “I guess maybe I wasn’t very competitive,” she told Fox News Digital. (Investigation Discovery)

If Heath was eliminated, Amber would be too distraught to compete, investigators believed. This would then cement Shanna’s place on the squad.

According to reports, Wanda got in contact with her former brother-in-law, Terry Harper, and asked him if he could arrange the hit. Harper said he would, and then went to the Harris County Sheriff’s Office. He agreed to wear a wire to gather any evidence against Wanda.

Advertisement
Wanda Holloways house.

Wanda’s home at the time of the case. (Mark Perlstein/Getty Images)

Texas Monthly noted that the main reason Harper went to the police was that if anything happened to Heath or Amber, he wanted to be certain that he wouldn’t be considered a suspect.

SIGN UP TO GET THE TRUE CRIME NEWSLETTER

Wanda Holloway in a striped shirt and skirt posing next to her ex-husband wearing a white shirt and smiling.

The defense argued that Wanda’s ex-husband, Tony Harper, had conspired with his brother to frame her, Newsweek reported. (Investigation Discovery)

Shanna had no idea of what had occurred behind the scenes. The defense would later argue that Wanda’s ex-husband, Tony Harper, had conspired with his brother to frame her, Newsweek reported.

Wanda was arrested before the plot came to fruition. She was quickly labeled “Pom-Pom Mom” by the press. She was convicted of solicitation of capital murder in 1991, but the conviction was overturned due to a mistrial, Texas Monthly reported. 

According to the outlet, she was eventually sentenced to 10 years in prison in 1996. Wanda was released on probation in 1997.

Advertisement
Shanna Harper, daughter of Wanda Holloway, leaves the court room in Houston after a custody hearing concerning Shanna

Shanna said the high-profile case took a toll on her mental health for years. At one point, she no longer wanted to live. (AP Photo/David Scarborough)

Shanna said for years she struggled with the intense scrutiny she faced in her hometown following the trial.

“We didn’t talk about it… it was swept under the rug,” said Shanna. “I wasn’t allowed to talk about it. I was almost chastised if I brought it up. I couldn’t even speak about it without getting all red and sweaty and my chest getting tight… I had suppressed all that baggage that I hadn’t dealt with.”

Tony Harper in a suit posing and looking serious.

Tony Harper, ex-husband of murder conspirator Wanda Holloway. (Mark Perlstein/Getty Images)

“… I was having suicidal thoughts,” she admitted. “I never acted on it, but I did not want to be here anymore. I didn’t have anything to live for. I… couldn’t see the light at the end of the tunnel. I was overwhelmed, and I got so stuck in a negative mindset… I was prescribed medication… At some point, I was on seven different pills.”

GET REAL-TIME UPDATES DIRECTLY ON THE TRUE CRIME HUB

Wanda Holloway smiling and posing with her two children.

Wanda believes there are still misconceptions that exist about her family. (Investigation Discovery)

Shanna said that from ages 14 to 33, she didn’t talk about what had happened. It was at age 33 she found herself on her kitchen floor crying.

Advertisement

“It wasn’t something that I would do — cry,” said Shanna. “I just held it all in. But doing that causes physical damage. It gave me stomach issues, headaches… it affects people differently, but it affected my health. I felt like I couldn’t go on anymore… It eats you alive. It will catch up with you eventually if you don’t deal with it.”

“I couldn’t see a way out of the pain that was always there,” she added.

High school cheerleader Amber Heath, left, and her mother Verna Heath enter a courtroom

High school cheerleader Amber Heath, left, and her mother Verna Heath enter a courtroom in Houston on Sept. 3, 1991. (AP Photo/David Scarborough)

Shanna sought help for her mental health through counseling. For the first time in decades, she was encouraged to speak out about what had happened and how she privately dealt with it. She went on to launch a website, Smile More Worry Less, which offers online courses for others struggling with depression.

“I wanted to heal, and this is part of the healing process,” said Shanna. “I wanted to show that you can go through trauma like I did, be at the lowest of lows, and still make it back if you do the work and talk about it. That’s what the documentary also helped me do — talk about it.”

While Shanna has a relationship with Wanda today, her idea to speak out on camera received “a lot of pushback” from family members.

Advertisement

A close-up of Wanda Holloway wearing a grey sleeveless dress.

Shanna still has a relationship with her mother, Wanda. (Investigation Discovery)

“I was even threatened with lawsuits,” said Shanna. “I had to explain that this isn’t just me trying to bring this stuff up and hurt everybody. That’s not my goal… There are people out there hurting, and they don’t know what to do.”

Shanna hasn’t spoken to Amber since the incident, the New York Post reported. But today, Shanna hopes that in revisiting her past, others privately battling their own traumas will be encouraged to share their stories.

“I don’t think I’m 100%. I don’t think I ever will be,” she said. “But I can tell you I don’t wake up every single morning with anxiety anymore. I had a constant weight on my chest before I got on medications. I didn’t even know what it felt like to not have that anxiety in my chest because it had been there since I was 14.”

Shanna watching her mother Wanda Holloways trial on TV.

Shanna is seen here watching her mother’s trial on TV. (Investigation Discovery)

“I was so used to it,” Shanna reflected. “… But I didn’t have to feel this way this whole time… I feel like a huge weight or burden has been lifted off of me. And even the relationships with my mom and my dad, we’re starting to heal now because it’s being talked about for once.”

Advertisement

“The Texas Cheerleading Murder Plot” is available for streaming on Max.



Read the full article from Here

Continue Reading
Advertisement
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Los Angeles, Ca

Plane crash on Southern California golf course leaves 2 hospitalized

Published

on

Plane crash on Southern California golf course leaves 2 hospitalized

CARSON, Calif. (KTLA) – A small aircraft crash landed onto a golf course Sunday in Carson.  

Details are extremely limited and it’s unclear how the crash occurred, but officials with the Los Angeles County Fire Department said crews responded to the Victoria Golf Course, located at 340 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. at around 3:45 p.m., on reports of the downed plane.  

In footage of the crash posted to the Citizen App the damaged aircraft, which appears to be upside down, can be seen beneath a low-lying limb of a nearby tree just off what a practice putting green.  

The area where the plane came to a stop had been cordoned off with yellow tape by deputies with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, who were also at the crash site.  

  • Carson plane crash
  • Carson plane crash
  • Carson plane crash
  • Carson plane crash
  • Carson plane crash
  • Carson plane crash

Not far away, debris from the crash, possibly a part that came off the aircraft, can be seen on the ground.  

The golf course did not appear closed for the investigation as golfers very near to the crash site continued playing even as first responders worked nearby.  

Advertisement

It’s unclear how many people were in the aircraft when it went down, but at least two people were taken to the hospital with minor injuries, L.A. County Fire confirmed to KTLA.  

This story will be updated when additional details are made available.

Continue Reading

Southwest

Suspect shot, killed after driving truck into Texas mall in incident that left at least 5 injured: police

Published

on

Suspect shot, killed after driving truck into Texas mall in incident that left at least 5 injured: police

At least five people were injured, and a suspect was killed, after a man drove his pickup truck through the glass doors of a J.C. Penney in a mall in Texas, police said.

The incident happened on Saturday evening, just days before Christmas, at the Killeen Mall in Killeen, Texas – which is about 70 miles north of Austin.

In a press conference on Saturday evening, Texas Department of Public Safety Sgt. Bryan Washko said that the truck was driven “several hundred yards” through the entrance of the J.C. Penney store.

Startled shoppers were injured as the driver was “actively running people over” and a fifth went to the hospital on their own, Sergeant Washko said. Those injured ranged from 6 to 75 years old, he said.

5 DEAD, MANY INJURED AFTER MAN DRIVES INTO GERMAN CHRISTMAS MARKET IN SUSPECTED TERROR ATTACK: REPORT

Advertisement

WATCH:

The incident unfolded as authorities noticed that the suspect, who has not been identified, was seen “driving erratically,” and police attempted to pull him over.

CHILLING GOOGLE SEARCHES LEAD POLICE TO ARREST ACTIVE-DUTY MARINE IN ALLEGED MURDER OF ESCORT

Instead of stopping, the driver got off the highway, drove to the parking lot of the Killeen Mall and smashed his car through the doors of the J.C. Penney, Sergeant Washko said.

A look at the J.C. Penney window the suspect drove his truck into. (KXXV)

Advertisement

The man driving the truck was fatally shot by law enforcement, authorities said.

“There were officers from D.P.S., the Killeen Police Department and three other agencies that engaged in gunfire to eliminate this threat to the community,” Sergeant Washko said.

Fox News Digital has reached out to the Killeen Police Department for comment.

Advertisement



Read the full article from Here

Continue Reading

Los Angeles, Ca

Traffic chaos unfolds during KTLA reporter's live shot

Published

on

Traffic chaos unfolds during KTLA reporter's live shot

Any Los Angeles-area driver can relate — the freeway accidents that cause traffic jams always happen at the worst possible times.

That appeared to be the case on Sunday morning. As KTLA’s Gene Kang was preparing to talk about the holiday travel rush from an overpass over the 110 Freeway near downtown L.A., he witnessed an interesting traffic situation.

While KTLA cameras didn’t catch the collision occur, the aftermath was clear. The driver of a sedan appeared to have crashed into a concrete overpass, causing significant damage to the front end car.

A single-car collision on the 110 Freeway near downtown Los Angeles on Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024. (KTLA)

It wasn’t immediately clear if the driver or any other occupants were injured in the crash.

However, the cleanup forced officials to close two lanes on the 110, making just one lane open.

Advertisement

The traffic from that situation caused a large backup, as drivers are familiar with in L.A. While Kang was getting ready to report on some holiday travel tips, he witnessed multiple drivers performing illegal mauveurs, including driving right over a center median on the freeway.

That situation was clearly dangerous, as the drivers were steering right onto other lanes of the freeway, where others behind the wheel of their vehicles were going full speed.

Luckily, no other crashes occurred. The situation likely brought back some memories for Kang, who is no stranger to weird incidents while reporting live on KTLA.

In 2022, as he was talking about a hit-and-run on “one of the most dangerous roads in L.A.,” a car wreck happened in the background of one of his live shots. And in a weird twist-of-fate, it was also a hit-and-run. Of course.

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Trending