Wanda Holloway, a 36-year-old mother from Channelview, Texas, gained national notoriety in 1991 when she was arrested for attempting to hire a hitman to kill the mother of her daughter's cheerleading rival. Her daughter, Shanna, had failed to secure a spot on the junior high cheerleading squad, and Holloway believed that eliminating Verna Heath, the mother of rival Amber Heath, would cause Amber to withdraw from the team, thereby opening a spot for Shanna. Holloway approached her former brother-in-law, Terry Harper, to arrange the murder. Instead of complying, Harper reported the plot to authorities and cooperated with law enforcement by recording conversations with Holloway. In these recordings, Holloway offered her diamond earrings as a down payment for the hit.