Mother Love, Deadly Love

If you are interested in the Texes cheerleading story this isthe book for you. It gives you lots of details . It is worth buying.I give this book 5 stars.

This book was definitely worth it! The book is beautifully written and Maier captures the essence of this fascinating trial. I would recommend anyone with any interest in the case--or in true crime books for that matter--to buy this book! Enjoy!

Anne Maier is truly a remarkable crime writer with the ability to make even the most humdrum details of a case interesting. This book is highly recommended for anyone interested in high quality crime fiction. It reads like a detective novel, yet contains all the factual data of a news article. Five Stars!!

Wanda Ann Holloway seemed to lead the perfect life. She was in her third marriage to a rich and prosperous husband who gave her everything money could buy: jewelry, clothes, cars. Wanda's only problem was Amber and Verna Heath, daughter and mother who had beat out her adored daughter Shanna in the Cheerleader Elections. In Channelview, all girls that wanted to be somebody were cheerleaders. It was a very high position. There were all kinds of school organizations dedicated to cheerleading, and the cheerleaders were ultimately elected by the students. Amber won, Shanna lost. This left Wanda mad and upset. The second time Shanna tried to win, she was disqualified for using rulers in her campaign which were considered "illegal" campaign items. From then on, all Wanda talked about where the disgusting Amber and Verna Heath, the women responsible for her daughter's misery. Amber could maneuver all sorts of back flips etc. that Shanna couldn't, this accentuated Wanda's madness. Many people, tired of hearing Wanda's constant nasty comments, would tell her to have them killed. Wanda, whose mind was full of venom, saw a bulb light up. She went to her ex-brother in law, who lived in a trailer park with his wife, and had a history of crimes, and asked him for a hit man after explaining everything. The second time she contacted him he called the police, who put him undercover. They wired him and taped Wanda talking about having Amber and Verna, who she described as "crap" having done away with because she just hated them. Finally, when they had enough taped to thoroughly incriminate Wanda, and she had given her diamond earrings as a down-payment, they arrested her. Bail was posted and she was only in jail for 24 hours. During the trial, Tony Harper, her ex-husband, Terry Harper, her ex-brother-in law, Marla Harper (Terry's Wife), Verna Heath, (the would-be victim) and Wanda herself, among others, testified. Finally, the jury found her guilty of solicitation of capital murder, and sentenced her to 15 years in prison with a $10,000 fine. Ironically, the 15 years were because Wanda had said she didn't care if Amber or Verna were shipped to Cuba for 15 years, but she just didn't want them around. Finally, her lawyers asked for a new trial because one juror, Enriquez, had a record and was on probation and had been convicted. The judge asked the prosecution and defense to come to terms, but they didn't so he sentenced Wanda to ten years in jail, but with parole in 6 months. Wanda was freed as of 1996, but the book didn't include that. Before Wanda was jailed she was interviewed in Inside Edition, and her lawyer and the Heaths and many other characters went on Larry King Live, The Maury Povich Show, "Geraldo", "Oprah!", "Donahue" and other shows. Besides that nobody supported Wanda, and she is known as the Cheerleader Mom, or Pom Pom Mom from hell. Such a bizarre plot had never been hatched before, and nobody will ever forget the infamous Wanda Ann Holloway