To Kill A Cheerleader | A Girl's Best Friend is Her Mother | 2

It's a little after 7 p.m.

on January 14th, 1991.

Wanda Holloway turns her Jeep Grand Wagoneer into the parking lot of Grandys, a fast food restaurant advertising southern style food for the whole family.

36-year-old Wanda's not here for a meal, though.

She steers her car away from the building's entrance and heads to a parking space that's outside the homey glow of the restaurant.

A couple of spaces up is a car she recognizes.

It belongs to her ex-husband's brother, Terry Harper.

Just a few seconds after Wanda cuts her ignition, the passenger door opens and Terry slides into the seat beside her.

At 35, Terry doesn't look much like his older brother, Wanda's first husband Tony.

His dark, wavy hair is thicker and he's got a neat mustache that adds much-needed personality to his round face.

Wanda's glad the family resemblance isn't strong.

She doesn't want to be reminded of her failed first marriage right now.

She has to focus on the task at hand, protecting her daughter Shanna.

After some awkward small talk, Wanda steers the conversation towards business.

She fishes around in her purse, then pulls out a ziplock bag containing a small pair of diamond earrings.

She hands them to Terry, who holds them up to the light inspecting them.

Those are.75 carats each, she tells him slowly.

Then, not trusting him to do the math on his own, she says that makes it a carat and a half of diamonds right there.

That's plenty, right?

Terry nods as he pockets the earrings.

He tells her she'll get them back in a month.

That's their deal.

The guy Terry's hiring is gonna hold on to the diamonds until Wanda pays him the full amount for the job.

$2,500 to kill Verna Heath.

Wanda had initially wanted to kill Verna's daughter Amber too.

She's Shanna's biggest competition for a spot on the high school cheerleading squad.

But it's cheaper to have her mother taken out instead, and Wanda doesn't want to wait until she can get the money together for both.

She wants this done now, before the Heaths can do more damage.

When she thinks about it, the mother is the one who's behind it all, so it just makes good financial sense to do one and not the other.

Kill the mother and the daughter will be too distraught to try out for the team.

It's perfect.

Before he leaves, Terry fixes Wanda with a stare and asks if she's sure she wants to go through with this.

Wanda's eyes go steely.

She's sure she needs that woman gone.

Seconds later, Terry's walking away and Wanda's alone in her car again, thinking about how good things will be if she once burned the heaths out of the picture.

Then, at last, she'll have everything.

Then, she'll win.

From Airship, I'm Jeremy Schwartz, and this is American Criminal.

When she left her second husband and moved back to her hometown of Channelview, Wanda Webb got to work making the best life it could be for her and her two young children.

It was the start of a period of stability for the family, which had first been rocked by Wanda's bitter divorce from the children's father, and then her second brief marriage to an older, wealthier man.

Now, Wanda was committed to her fresh start.

She bought a house, got a job, and returned to her old church.

But she also started fixating on a goal for her daughter, Shanna.

Like plenty of Texas parents, Wanda hoped her little girl would one day be a cheerleader.

More than hoped, actually.

She was counting on it.

But as Wanda took steps to ensure that Shanna was armed with all the athletic abilities she'd need to one day make the squad, she never stopped to consider whether there would be any girls who could beat her daughter.

And when she was finally forced to confront that fact, her reaction would make headlines around the world.

This is episode two in our three-part series on Wanda Holloway.

A girl's best friend is her mother.

It's early 1983 in Sterling Green, Texas.

Wanda Webb is standing in her new living room, directing the movers where to place furniture.

Less than a month ago, 29-year-old Wanda left her second husband behind in Beaumont and drove the 80 miles back east to her hometown.

Using her savings from the sale of her first home, as well as the money she got in the divorce, she bought a three-bedroom bungalow on a tidy little street.

She's back where her life began, but unlike her childhood, she's on the north side of Channel View now, the good side.

Looking around her new home, Wanda feels like she's really starting to move up in the world.

And she doesn't intend on stopping here.

Following her move back to Channel View, Wanda needs to find another job.

During her second marriage, she'd been able to focus just on being a full-time mother.

But now she has two growing kids to support.

So after a short search, she manages to line up a position as a secretary at a power company in Houston, about a 30-minute drive away.

With her finances taken care of, Wanda enrolls her children, Shane and Shanna, at Channel View Christian Academy.

It's the best choice, Wanda thinks.

That way, they'll be getting a solid education in a suitably religious environment.

Like many of her neighbors, the church is a central pillar in Wanda's life, always has been, thanks in part to her strict father.

But unlike her father, Wanda insists on her kids being involved in a variety of extracurriculars.

Shane and Shanna each take up piano, and Shane learns guitar and plays on several sports teams.

Shanna also does gymnastics and dance, two disciplines Wanda knows her daughter will need if she ever wants to make it as a cheerleader.

Now, getting her kids to all those activities, plus making sure dinner's on the table, as well as working a full-time job, is a lot for one parent to manage on her own.

So it's a good thing that Wanda's friendly with some of the other moms at her kid's school.

In particular, she befriends one woman whose daughter is in Shanna's class, Verna Heath.

Like Wanda, Verna Heath grew up in a small town in the shadow of Houston.

But aside from that, their lives were different in a lot of ways.

Highland sits just across the San Jacinto River from Channel View, and it's where Verna's mother ran a dance studio.

She taught everything from baton twirling and piano to gymnastics and dance, and her girls filled the ranks of the area's cheerleading and drill squads.

Verna herself was no exception to this rule.

In high school, she was a major ed in the school band, which meant she was usually at the head of the column of musicians, baton and hand.

And in 1971, she was the national champion at strutting, which is basically a combination of baton twirling and rhythmic gymnastics.

All of this was happening for Verna in Highland, while in Channelview, young Wanda wasn't even allowed to try out for her school's drill team.

These days, though, the women's lives look remarkably similar.

They're both working moms, their kids go to school together, and they live in the same neighborhood.

In fact, their homes have the exact same floor plan.

And, like Wanda, Verna is eager for her daughter to be a star.

Little Amber Heath was given a baton to play with practically as soon as she could stand up, and she's been winning twirling contests since she was a toddler.

These days, she also takes dance and gymnastics classes at her grandmother's studio, where Verna teaches too.

Because Verna's job doesn't take up as much time as Wanda's does, she's only too happy to help out her neighbor.

So she picks up Shane and Shanna most mornings to drive them to school with her lot so that Wanda can make it to Houston in time for work.

Then, at the end of the day, the kids all go to the Heaths until Wanda or her mom can pick them up.

Unsurprisingly, Shanna and Amber become pretty good friends, but they're also competitors, even if they're not conscious of that fact.

When they're both still pretty young, there's an open spot for a cheerleader for a local little league team, and it's reserved for the girl who sells the most candy bars.

Obviously, Wanda wants that spot for Shanna real bad, and Verna obviously wants it for Amber.

Both women hustle, bugging their friends, families, and even people at their churches to get them to buy candy.

In the end, Verna and Amber come out on top.

Wanda and Shanna come away with nothing.

Not that Shanna cares.

And to be honest, Wanda's not that put out by it at this stage either.

She's not gonna let a little thing like this get in the way of her friendship with Verna Heath.

Brought together by proximity and their daughters, the two women spend a good chunk of time together.

They go shopping together, take their kids swimming in the summer, and Verna sometimes even brings Wanda with her to visit her parents in Highland.

When Verna's recovering after giving birth to her fourth child, Wanda pitches in to help.

But Verna Heath isn't the only person in Wanda's life now that she's moved back to Channel View.

Since returning to town, Wanda's taken on the role of organist at her missionary Baptist church, which is where she meets CD.

Holloway.

CD is the church choir master.

He's also a thrice-divorce business man with a hefty bank balance and a bit of a thing for younger women.

He's tall and quiet and polite, and he's about 20 years older than Wanda.

But they hit it off anyway and start dating.

Now, it's entirely possible that Wanda is attracted to CD for his personality and charm and looks.

But it seems like there are other factors at play too.

When she and CD have only been going out for a couple of months, Wanda starts talking about the relationship with her friends.

Nothing out of the ordinary there.

But what Wanda is talking about the most is how rich she's going to be once she marries CD.

See, he owns an oil field construction company, so he's loaded.

He's got his own plane, drives a Lincoln town car, and always seems to carry around a roll of cash, totaling anywhere up to 10 grand, just in case there's some kind of emergency.

So even before things have time to get serious, Wanda's already making plans to move their new family out of Channel View and head over to River Oaks, which is one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in Houston.

The fairy tale Wanda's imagining for her romance, though, won't come true, at least not in the way she hopes it will.

In 1986, the couple go on an overnight church trip with some other members of their congregation, and they get engaged pretty quickly after that.

The rumor is they got a little too close that night.

And because their fellow churchgoers were aware of what happened, Wanda and CD felt that they had no choice but to make things official.

Not that Wanda's worried.

She's been married twice before, so she knows what it's all about.

She doesn't mind that the wedding is a small, understated affair this time.

She's just looking forward to the lifestyle upgrade included in becoming Mrs.

Holloway.

Except that upgrade never really happens.

CD doesn't want to move to an upscale suburb in Houston.

Turns out he doesn't even want to live in one of Channelview's bigger homes.

Instead, he insists on moving in with Wanda and the kids, in their three-bedroom home in Sterling Green.

It's a nice house, but it's not quite what Wanda had in mind.

Still, she finds a way to move past her disappointment when CD gives her a proper engagement ring, a canary diamond that's worth more than 175 grand.

He also buys her a midnight blue jeep that retails for 40K, so it's not like he's being stingy with his money.

With financial security, Wanda is able to quit her secretary job and focus on other things.

CD doesn't give her full access to his accounts, but he pays her a healthy allowance each month, which she puts to good use, turning herself into one of the most fashionable women in Channel View.

She wears the best clothes, gets regular perms and manicures, and even starts working out at the gym several times a week.

As for the modest family home, Wanda uses C.D.'s credit cards to redecorate the place, including buying custom Pakistani rugs to match the furniture.

And she keeps the house immaculate at all times.

A maid comes by to pitch in, but Wanda insists on a pristine environment and doesn't mind doing her part to keep things in order.

But it's not just the house that Wanda wants to be perfect.

She also devotes plenty of time focusing on her daughter.

They're best friends, they tell people.

Wanda loves taking Shannon on shopping trips to Houston to buy the matching designer outfits that are far nicer than anything they could ever find here in Channel View.

In short, life is good for Wanda Holloway.

She's living the dream she imagined for herself way back in high school.

She's married, she's got money, she looks great, and she has two kids she adores.

But things aren't perfect.

Not just yet.

In a couple of years though, they will be.

Because that's when Shannon will be old enough to try out for cheerleader.

Then things will be perfect.

Or else.

It's the spring of 1988, and Wanda Holloway is in the gymnasium at Channel View Christian Academy.

Sitting on the bottom row of the bleachers, 34-year-old Wanda watches as a dozen or so young girls practice cartwheels, roundoffs and hand springs.

Among them is her daughter Shanna.

A few weeks ago, 10-year-old Shanna came home with a letter from the schools saying they were going to start running optional after school gymnastics classes.

Shanna has already been doing gymnastics for a while, but Wanda is eager for her to improve her skills, so she signed her up.

But Shanna is not the only one in the class Wanda's got her eye on.

Amber Heath is practicing the same skills as everyone else.

Only it's clear to Wanda that Amber's better than the rest of the girls.

Wanda's eyes narrow as she watches Amber execute what looks like a flawless round-off back handspring, something Wanda knows Shanna can't do.

That's a problem Wanda needs to deal with.

Shanna's too young to try out for any school cheerleading teams right now, but next year's a different story.

And if there are things that Shanna can't do that the other girls can, then those girls will be more likely to make the squad.

Wanda drums her long red nails on her purse while she watches the girls do some cool down stretches.

Amber even looks more flexible than Shanna.

As soon as the girls are dismissed, Wanda makes a beeline for their coach.

Smiling sweetly, Wanda says how much she enjoyed watching the class today.

Then with no other preamble, she starts in on the gaps in her daughter's skill set.

Shanna needs to be a stronger tumbler, Wanda says.

She needs to.

So what are they gonna do about that?

What are they gonna do about that right now?

Having seen the level of talent Shanna will be up against in a year, Wanda decides that it's time to buckle down and get serious about this cheerleading thing.

So she puts her husband's CD's credit card to good use again and has a small stage built in a corner of the garage, complete with custom lighting and a mirror, all designed so Shanna can watch herself as she practices her skills outside of regular classes.

In Wanda's mind, securing a place on the cheerleading squad as soon as she starts junior high is her daughter's highest priority.

It's more important even than her schoolwork.

When Shanna gets home each afternoon, Wanda rushes her through whatever homework she's been assigned so that she can get out to her little garage studio and start drilling.

Sometimes she tells Shanna not to worry about the homework at all, and gives it to Shane to take care of instead.

Or Wanda does it herself.

Clearly, this isn't something Wanda wants to take any chances with.

She's been preparing for Shanna to be a cheerleader for years, and the first big test is fast approaching.

In Channel View's public school system, cheerleading begins in junior high, seventh and eighth grades.

In the spring of each year, sixth grade hopefuls from the two elementary schools that feed into Alice Johnson Junior High are invited to audition for a spot on next year's squad.

Channel View Christian, where Shanna's currently enrolled, isn't one of those schools.

But Wanda does plan on sending her to Alice Johnson eventually.

So at the end of fifth grade, Wanda pulls her out of Channel View Christian and enrolls her at the local public school, Cobb Elementary.

That way, Shanna will be able to try out from one of the slots come spring.

Amber Heath, meanwhile, stays at Channel View Christian.

Clearly the Heaths aren't serious about this the way that Wanda is.

As the tryouts loom closer, Wanda starts fixating on them.

Everything has been building to this for so long, there's a dangerous level of expectation.

Suddenly, Shane's extracurriculars take a back seat to Shanna's dance and gymnastics training.

It's like making her daughter a cheerleader is all Wanda can focus on.

Not that she'd ever admit that she's worried about the tryouts even to herself.

Wanda's confident that Shanna's a shoo-in for one of the spots on the squad.

She has to be after all the practice Wanda's insisted on.

If Amber were competing, she'd be the biggest competition in the field, which might make things closer.

But she's still over at Channel View Christian.

So Wanda's sure that Shanna's got this in the bag.

What Wanda doesn't know, however, is that even though Amber's still at Channel View Christian, her mother's planning on sending her to Alice Johnson for seventh grade.

And Verna Heath is just as committed to the cheerleader life as she is.

Verna knows all about the upcoming tryouts for the cheerleading squad, and has spent as much time as Wanda has in preparing her daughter for the big shot.

So in the months before the tryouts take place, Verna pays a visit to the administrators at the junior high and asks them to make an exception for her daughter.

Seeing as how Amber is going to be attending the school starting in the fall, Verna wants her to be allowed to audition.

The school doesn't see a problem with this.

It seems only fair to them.

After all, the cheerleaders are like ambassadors for the entire student body.

They want the best girls on the squad.

And to that end, in March 1989, a week before the tryouts, they hold a clinic for all the hopefuls.

Girls who were signed up for the tryouts are invited to the school gym to learn the routines and cheers they'll need to perform.

And Amber Heath is among them.

Like plenty of other moms, Wanda tags along to lend her encouragement and see how Shanna does.

But people notice that Wanda's not just focusing on her own daughter.

By this stage, she's heard all about Amber being allowed to try out.

And it seems like she's not impressed.

Maybe her frustration stems from Amber being included in the group from Cobb Elementary.

That places her and Shanna in direct competition for one of the two slots reserved for students from Cobb.

The whole time the girls are on the floor, Wanda's eyes are trained on Amber.

And she's making small critiques on her technique.

Or commenting that she's doing a routine too fast.

It seems like Wanda's nervous and trying to convince herself that Amber Heath isn't anything special.

And with only a few days until the tryouts, that's about all Wanda can do now.

The rest is up to Shanna.

Well, Shanna and a complex selection process.

Here's the way it's all going to go down.

There are four open slots on the squad for seventh grade girls.

Two from each of the local elementary schools.

All of the hopeful students will audition in front of a panel of college cheerleaders, performing cheers and stunts.

At the end of that, the judges will select six semi-finalists to move forward.

Those semi-finalists then perform for the student body of Alice Johnson Junior High, who then vote on who they think should be a cheerleader.

So the path to the squad won't be a straight line for any of the girls.

They have to nail two different auditions, and then win over a bunch of kids they don't know.

It's no wonder that Wanda's nervous.

Any parent would be.

On the first day of the tryouts, Wanda once again joins the other mothers on the sidelines, watching as their girls perform for the judges.

And just like during the clinic a week ago, she seems to fixate on 11-year-old Amber.

But this time, instead of offering critiques, she tries something else.

She cheers loudly for Shanna whenever Amber's performing, even if Shanna's nowhere to be seen.

To a cynical person, it might seem like Wanda's making a bizarre play to psych out the competition.

No one can prove that she means anything by it, though.

She's just a supportive mom who wants her daughter to know she loves her.

Wanda's strange behavior doesn't put Amber off, though.

At the end of the tryouts, both she and Shanna are named as two of the six finalists.

Wanda's thrilled.

She knew her daughter had what it takes.

Likewise, Verna Heath is ecstatic.

Both mothers can practically hear the rustle of pom-poms already.

Before they get there, though, the girls have to make it through the popular vote.

The finalists make flyers and posters, and there are two days of campaigning before they perform in front of the entire school.

Some of the girls even have small gifts to hand out.

Pencils, gum, that sort of thing.

Amber hands out Heath candy bars to the students, capitalizing on her last name, while appealing to her future classmates' love of junk food.

Then comes the all-school assembly.

The girls do their thing, and the students cast their votes for who they think should be a cheerleader next year.

And this isn't some rinky-dink process either.

The kids will fill in ballots on Scantron forms, using pencils to mark the names of the candidate they like the best.

The school's librarian feeds the ballots into a computer which spits out the results.

She seals that into an envelope, which she gives to the school's cheerleading sponsor.

Look, like I said before, this stuff is a big deal in Texas.

All right, anyway, it's then up to the sponsor to deliver the sealed results to the current cheerleading squad so they can be the ones to break the news to the finalists.

It's a little tradition, and the sponsor Donna Jackson is on her way to hand off the envelope when she's accosted in the hall by a very well-dressed mother.

Wanda Holloway's nostrils flare as she accuses Donna of already telling some of the girls that they've made the team.

She seems angry about it, like Donna's broken some sacred rule.

But Donna's nonplussed.

She's got no idea where Wanda could have heard this rumor.

She's literally just left the library with the results.

Even she doesn't know who's in and who's out.

Wanda looks like she doesn't believe Donna, but she steps aside to let her through anyway.

Donna gets out of there as quick as she can.

Minutes later, the news is out.

The two girls named to the team from the Cobb Elementary Pool are Amber and another girl called Summer.

Shanna reacts to the loss with maturity and grace.

Wanda's another story.

She stews on the results of the election for a few days, getting more and more angry.

It's not fair.

Amber Heath never went to Cobb Elementary, so her getting a place over Shanna is just wrong.

The more Wanda fumes, the more worked up she gets.

Eventually, she decides that she has to take action.

Come hell or high water, she's gonna get her daughter on that squad.

It's March 1989 in Channel View, Texas, just a few days after the cheerleader tryouts at Alice Johnson Junior High.

Wanda Holloway is in a room next to the school gymnasium, the office of the cheerleader sponsor Donna Jackson, the person responsible for the squad.

She checks her watch, wondering how long it will take for her to get an answer.

Earlier this afternoon, Wanda made up her mind to deal with the injustice that's been done here.

She marched into Donna's office, unannounced, and demanded to know the results of the popular vote.

She has to know how close the race was.

She isn't sure why, but she feels like knowing the numbers will help put things into perspective.

Donna was surprised by the request, and said she'd have to go run it by the principal.

She left 20 minutes ago.

Wanda's just starting to get annoyed when Donna finally returns, saying that the principal has given her permission to tell Wanda the final tally.

Wanda leans forward as Donna reaches into her desk drawer and pulls out an envelope.

Inside is a computer printer, which she hands to Wanda.

Her eyes hungrily skim the page.

The girl who came in first received some 150 votes.

Amber Heath got about 120, which put her in second place.

Then Wanda sees her daughter's name.

Shanna received just 40 votes.

Wanda feels herself deflate.

She swallows.

Shanna wasn't even close.

It's heartbreaking.

Why didn't the other children vote for her daughter?

What is it about her that they didn't like?

Wanda holds back tears as she hands the paper back to Donna and thanks her for her time.

She manages to make it back to her car before finally breaking down in tears.

Over the next few weeks, Wanda can't stop thinking about those results.

Shanna was third, behind Amber.

So if Amber hadn't been there, Shanna would have made the squad at Simple Math.

She vents about the situation to anyone who listened, CD., her son, her friends, her parents, anyone.

Eventually, she decides that there's more she can do on Shanna's behalf.

So before the new school year starts, Wanda requests a closed door meeting with the school's board to discuss the matter.

When she's before the board, Wanda lays out everything for them.

She explains that the bylaws clearly state that the four seventh grade cheerleaders will only be chosen from students at the two local elementary schools.

Because she was enrolled at a private school during the tryouts, Amber Heath's inclusion violated the school's cheerleading constitution.

When she feels like she's made her point, Wanda pivots to making a request.

She wants the school to add her daughter to the cheerleading squad.

She doesn't want them to remove Amber.

She's not a monster.

She just wants them to do right by Shanna.

That's all.

But for whatever reason, the school's board denies that request.

Apparently, adding an extra girl to the junior high cheerleading squad is unthinkable.

But they're not indifferent to Wanda's complaint.

They tell her that they'll formally amend their own regulations so that anyone who tries out for the squad in the future must be enrolled at one of the region's two elementary schools.

There will be no more exceptions made for the Amber Heaths of the world.

Fat lot of good that does Wanda now.

In the weeks following her private meeting with the school board, news of Wanda's complaints make their way around Channelview.

It's a small town, so before long, it seems like everyone's heard.

Wanda feels like Verna acts coolly towards her after that, but the two of them never discussed the situation.

And if she loses a friend over this, Wanda can live with it.

With the school year starting, there's only about six months until the next cheerleader tryouts.

And she's intent on Shanna doing better this time.

If she wants a shot at eventually getting on the high school squad, she has to get on to the junior high one first.

So Wanda continues her daughter's gymnastics and dance training and insists that Shanna keep drilling her skills in the garage studio.

She even has the idea to hire a private cheerleading tutor for Shanna and starts paying one of the Channelview High School cheerleaders to coach her.

She's not leaving anything to chance.

But while Wanda focuses on improving her daughter's ability, the most crucial part of the tryout process is going to be different for the 1990 season.

Hopeful students will still audition for a panel of judges with finalists moving forward to the next round.

That's the same.

But the campaigning portion is going to look a lot different this year.

In the past, the finalists have done anything they could to pull ahead in the popular vote.

In recent years, that's included passing out small gifts and candies to students.

Things have gotten a bit much though.

Parents have started complaining about the tactic, which handicaps girls whose parents can't afford to buy votes with chocolate bars.

Plus, teachers are sick of their students coming to class hopped up on sugar.

So, to even the playing field, Donna Jackson announces a new rule.

There can be no candies or food given out during the campaigning period.

Furthermore, finalists are only allowed to hang two posters in specially designated areas.

This ruling frustrates Wanda.

She has been talking to anyone who will listen about the upcoming tryouts, seeking advice on what Shanna can do during the campaign to improve her chances.

But now, that seems like it's going to be even more of a crapshoot than before.

She is so obsessed that she even asks for her ex-husband's opinion.

Normally, Wanda talks to Tony as little as possible.

But one day, she calls him to discuss the upcoming tryouts, as well as the new rule.

Equally concerned as Wanda about his daughter's social prospects, Tony thinks of a cunning workaround.

He points out that the new rule specifically outlaws food and candy.

It doesn't say anything about other trinkets.

So he says Wanda should order pencils and rulers with Shanna's name on them.

What kind of teachers would object to their students having free school supplies?

Wanda loves this idea, so she and Tony split the $200 to have the custom stationery made.

When she picks up the boxes in the weeks leading up to the tryouts, Wanda finally starts to relax.

This year, they've got it all sewn up.

A week before the first tryout session, Wanda attends a meeting at the school with the parents of the other hopeful cheerleaders.

There, Donna Jackson reiterates the new rules for the campaign, reminding everyone that the girls are not allowed to hand out any food items.

Hearing this, Wanda puts her hand up to clarify.

She has pencils and rulers to give out, which is in keeping with the wording of the rules.

That's okay, right?

Well, Donna shuts that down right away.

Any kind of favors are forbidden, she says.

If Shanna brings them to school, she'll be disqualified.

Wanda's stunned.

She's been so excited for a school full of kids to be using stationary bearing her daughter's name.

Now, the items are useless.

She's still not giving up.

On the eve of the campaign, she helps Shanna make the two posters she'll be allowed to hang up, along with a handful of small flyers in the shape of cheerleading megaphones.

Covered in glitter, the megaphones will be an eye-catching way for Shanna and her friends to drum up support.

Wanda starts gluing small wooden dowels to them to act as handles, but there's a problem.

She only has 10 handles, but there are 25 megaphones.

When Wanda turns to CD to complain about the issue, he points to the box of rulers sitting in the corner of the room.

Why doesn't she use those?

Wanda cannot see the problem with that.

She grabs 15 of the branded rulers and keeps gluing.

The next morning is the first day the girls are allowed to campaign, and Shanna heads off to school to hang her posters and hand out her little megaphones.

It doesn't take long for the you-know-what to hit the fan.

When Donna Jackson sees one of the megaphones with the ruler attached, she's furious.

She specifically told Mrs.

Holloway that Shanna wasn't allowed to give out any gifts.

She immediately goes to the school's principal to fill her in.

She calls an assistant superintendent of the school district, who says he'll come to the school to discuss the matter right away.

Listen, I wasn't playing when I said this is serious business.

By the time the superintendent arrives, some of the other cheerleader mothers, including Verna Heath, have heard about the rulers and have made complaints about them.

Everyone is in agreement.

Something has to be done.

This is unacceptable behavior.

Meanwhile, Wanda's blissfully unaware of any of this.

She thinks that she and Shanna have towed the line 100%.

So when she gets a call to come to the school the next morning, she's got no idea what it could be about.

Wanda's shown into the principal's office where Shanna's already waiting.

They're told that because Shanna brought the rulers to school and handed them out to the other students, she's been disqualified from the competition.

To Shanna, the news is unexpected and a little frustrating, but she shrugs it off pretty easily.

She's told she'll be excused if she wants to take the day to go home.

But the 12-year-old says she's okay and heads back to class.

Wanda doesn't take the news so well.

She's devastated, like uncontrolled sobbing devastated.

Through her tears, she begs the principal to reconsider.

Using the rulers was her and her husband's doing.

They shouldn't punish Shanna for it.

But her pleas don't do any good.

Shanna is out.

When she finally composes herself, Wanda makes her way home to process what just happened.

And it doesn't take her long to go from sadness to all out fury.

That little b****** Amber Heath has ruined everything.

Her and her mother.

If they hadn't cheated their way onto the team last year, Shanna would have a spot on the squad already.

But because of them, because of Verna's complaints, Shanna's been kept off the team again.

And Wanda isn't going to take that line down.

From Airship, this is episode two in our series on Wanda Holloway.

On the next episode, Wanda Holloway does the only logical thing she can do in her situation.

Find someone willing to kill Amber and Verna Heath.

We use many different sources while preparing this episode.

A couple we can recommend are Mother Love, Deadly Love by Anne McDonald Mayer, and the Texas Monthly article, The Cheerleader Murder Plot by Mimi Schwartz.

This episode may contain reenactments or dramatized details.

And while in some cases, we can't know exactly what happened, all our dramatizations are based on historical research.

American Criminal is hosted, edited, and executive produced by me, Jeremy Schwartz.

Audio editing by Mohammed Shazi.

Sound design by Matthew Phillip.

Music by Thrum.

This episode is written and researched by Joel Callan, managing producer, Emily Burke.

Executive producers are Joel Callan, William Simpson, and Lindsey Graham.