A woman from St. Louis County has been sentenced to 225 months in prison after pleading guilty to charges related to the murder-for-hire of her fiancé, Charles Harris III. U.S. District Judge Audrey G. Fleissig delivered the sentence on Thursday.
Victoria Rena Williams, age 67, admitted guilt in September to conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire, aiding and abetting murder-for-hire, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Michael Grady, 70, was convicted by a jury earlier this week on the same three counts.
Charles Harris III was described in court as a churchgoing man who worked for an alarm company and was preparing to open his own clothing store at the time of his death.
Court documents and testimony showed that the plot began in 2010 when Grady suggested that Williams obtain a $250,000 accidental death insurance policy on Harris without his knowledge. The policy would pay out if Harris died during a robbery.
In October 2011, Williams arranged for Harris—who sold suits from his home—to meet with two potential customers. She told jurors at Grady’s trial that she tried to withdraw from the plan twice but was pressured by Grady not to back out again: “it could be ‘bad for you,’” he warned her.
Harris was shot and killed at his home on Langford Drive on October 5, 2011. After an initial dispute with the insurance company, Williams eventually received $224,444 from one policy and later obtained a cashier’s check for $110,000 payable to Grady’s wife. She also received $175,762 from another insurance policy.
According to trial testimony, the individuals hired by Grady to carry out the shooting have not been identified.
Grady is scheduled for sentencing on June 4 and faces life imprisonment without parole. He is already serving a federal sentence of 226 months for aiding a large-scale drug conspiracy by trying to discover who was cooperating with authorities.
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 are prosecuting.
