Cheerleader’s Mother Guilty in Murder Plot : Verdict: Prosecutors said she schemed to demoralize her daughter’s rival. The defense saw a post-divorce frame-up.

HOUSTON —  A jury on Tuesday convicted a woman of trying to hire a hit man to kill the mother of her daughter’s rival for a place on the high school cheerleading squad.

Wanda Holloway, 37, of Channelview, Tex., could be sentenced to life in prison.

Holloway was convicted of trying to hire someone to kill Verna Heath, mother of Amber Heath. In closing arguments earlier Tuesday, prosecutors said Holloway believed that Amber would be so distressed that she would drop out of the competition.

The defense had attacked the credibility of the state’s star witness.

Holloway burst into tears on hearing that she was found guilty of soliciting a murder. Relatives and friends surrounded her and called out to members of the news media to stay away.

Holloway also was accused of kidnaping, but no verdict on that charge was announced. Attorneys on both sides said they could not explain the circumstances of the jury’s decision because of the judge’s gag order.

Earlier Tuesday, prosecutor Casey O’Brien replayed several segments of conversations secretly taped for police by Holloway’s former brother-in-law, Terry Harper. He was the state’s star witness.

“You listen to that tape. You don’t hear fear in her voice. You hear hate. She’s consumed with hate,” O’Brien said.

On the tape, Harper told Holloway: “If you don’t want to do it, I’ll understand.”

“It’s not that I don’t want to do it. I just have to get the money,” she replied.

O’Brien said Holloway’s contention that she was afraid of Harper or the hit man was ludicrous. The prosecutor said she was so intent on getting Harper to find a killer that she obtained details about Heath such as a description of her car and its license plate numbers.

Defense attorney Stan Schneider told the jurors that the state had not proven its case.

“Terry Harper is unbelievable. He’s a liar,” Schneider said. He added that none of the other witnesses corroborated Harper’s testimony.

“Without Terry Harper, Wanda Holloway is innocent. They can’t substantiate Terry Harper,” Schneider said.

Defense attorneys said Holloway was framed by her ex-husband, Tony Harper, who is Terry Harper’s brother. Terry Harper’s estranged wife, Marla Harper, testified that Terry had hoped to get back into the family’s good graces by helping Tony win custody of his children from Holloway. Holloway and Harper were divorced in 1980.

Marla Harper said she heard her husband talking with his brother about the scheme in a New Year’s Eve telephone conversation. She said Terry Harper bragged that he would become rich and famous because of the deal. Tony Harper testified that he and his brother have been approached by at least 20 filmmakers seeking to buy the rights to the story.

Terry Harper has been married seven times, held 15 jobs during the past three years and has a record of numerous minor convictions.

Tony Harper testified that he never wanted full custody of his children, but did seek a modification of the custody arrangement because he wanted the children to have counseling that Holloway was reluctant to provide.