Robbie Montgomery toured the country during the '60s as a backup singer. She did shows with marquee names like Ike and Tina Turner, R&B immortal Dr. John, and blues legend Earl Hooker.

She would have probably gotten far with her music career. However, her lungs collapsed. She then jumped on to a new line of profession as a dialysis technician.

And while this wasn’t what she wanted to do, it was a funding endeavor for her dream project—a restaurant that opened its doors in 1996, Sweetie Pie’s.

She fronts the comfort food joint that feeds the taste buds and rests on the soul. The restaurant also hires reformed people who have served a prison sentence.

The Oprah Winfrey Network even picked up the restaurant as a reality show under the title, Welcome To Sweetie Pie’s. And while this sounds like a picturesque conclusion, it is riddled with tragedies that only seem to haunt and multiply.

Behind Montgomery’s bubbly smile lies tears that mourn the deaths of her children.

The First Tragedy

Montgomery had her first son with Art Lassiter, a musician known for his work with Ike. They weren’t husband and wife, but their son, Andre, was born in 1961.

Montgomery remembered him as being rebellious and wanting to live in the fast lane. Then, in 1995, Andre got into a rumble with two other men on the streets.

One hit him on the head with a baseball bat while the other stabbed him to death. Unfortunately, she only got to hear about the incident after a week.

A year before Andre was murdered, he had a son, Andre Jr, raised by Montgomery as a loving mother figure.

The Second Tragedy

Andre Jr. was a regular feature on the show Welcome To Sweetie Pie’s. He was a loveable personality and took after Montgomery’s warmth and charm.

He graduated from high school in 2013 in front of the whole world. Unfortunately, in 2016, he was killed in the St. Louis shooting in his home at Natural Bridge Avenue. 

Initially, this was a case that was shocking and mysterious. The man who had shot Andre Jr. in the head was not identified. The killer also shot another person who rushed to help the victim.

Montgomery and her second son (and uncle to Andre Jr.), Tim Norman, visited the murder site on the show to pay their respects. Unfortunately, the place of the shooting was also only a few blocks away from where Andre Sr. was slain.

Unearthing the Truth

After a lengthy investigation, Norman was accused of being involved in Andre Jr.’s murder. The conspiracy involved him, an exotic dancer named Terica Ellis with whom he had an affair, and a hired gun.

The plot began in 2014 when Andre Jr. received a life insurance policy of $450,000. At the time, he was just 18, so Norman acted as the sole beneficiary. 

Leading up to the murder, Ellis informed Norman about going to St. Louis, Missouri. On the day before the murder, Norman flew over from Los Angeles, and both of them stayed in touch with each other through disposable phones.

She also used the device to call Andre Jr. to know his whereabouts. She later met up with Andre Jr. in front of his house, and a shrouded man showed up to gun him down.

She fled the scene and drove towards Tennessee. In the following days, she deposited more than $9000 in various bank accounts. Soon after, Norman made multiple attempts to cash the funds, which all amounted to the insurance amount.

It was, however, unsuccessful, and the law eventually caught up with the fishiness of this incident. Now, both Norman and Ellis are behind bars, along with Waiel Yaghnam, the insurance agent involved.

But, while justice is served, the pain caused to Montgomery is without solace.