June 19, 2013

Crime History: 'Pom-Pom Mom' hires hitman to kill daughter's cheerleading rival

BY: SCOTT MCCABE JANUARY 28, 2013 | 8:00 PM
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On this day, Jan. 29, in 1991, Wanda Holloway, the Houston-area mother of an aspiring cheerleader, hired a hitman in a twisted plot to kill the mother of a rival cheerleader so her daughter could win a spot on the school squad.

The story became a media sensation, spawning several movies and earning Holloway the nickname the Texas "Pom-Pom Mom."

Holloway had tried to hire her former brother-in-law to kill her rival, handing him $2,000 diamond earrings as a down payment.

Holloway had hoped that the rival daughter would become so overwhelmed by grief that she would drop from the team and her spot would be awarded to Holloway's 13-year-old daughter.

But the ex-brother-in-law recorded their conversations and went to police.

Holloway eventually served six months behind bars.

-Scott McCabe

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