‘Cheerleader Mom’ Agrees to Pay Family of Rival $150,000

HOUSTON — The infamous “Texas Cheerleader Mom,” who is accused of hiring a hit man to kill the mother of her daughter’s cheerleading rival, has agreed to pay the woman $150,000 in a settlement approved by a Texas judge.

The money will be paid by the home insurance company of Wanda Holloway to Verna Heath, Holloway’s alleged target, to settle a longstanding civil lawsuit, according to an agreement announced by a state judge late Monday.

Holloway was convicted in 1991 of trying to hire someone to kill Heath and was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

But a new trial was ordered after one of the jurors was discovered to have been convicted of a drug offense. Holloway remains free on bail.

In a case that drew worldwide attention and spawned a series of television movies and book deals, officials allege that Holloway wanted Heath killed so that her daughter would become so upset she would drop out of cheerleading--opening a spot for Holloway’s own daughter at a junior high school in nearby Channelview.

The Heath family will receive about $100,000 of the total settlement after legal fees, according to lawyers in the case. Heath and her husband, Jack, will receive $70,000 and their four children will receive the remaining $30,000.