Inside the Texas Cheerleader MURDER PLOT

Shanna Widner’s life imploded when her mother was arrested for scheming to eliminate her daughter’s biggest competitor. Now Shanna is revealing what really happened

At 13, Shanna Widner adored her mother, Wanda Holloway. “She was very involved. All my friends loved coming over because she took us to do things and made sure we were entertained, and we always had a great time,” Shanna tells In  Touch. “I had such a cool mom. I was very blessed.”

Then her world came crashing down. In January 1991, Wanda was arrested for scheming to hire a hit man to kill a rival mom whose 13-yearold daughter kept beating Shanna for a place on the middle school cheerleading squad. The news stunned their Channelview, Texas, community and gripped the nation. Nearly 34 years later, a new documentary — The Texas Cheerleader Murder Plot, which debuted on Investigation Discovery on Dec. 18 and is available to stream on Max — is revisiting the infamous story, as Shanna, now 47, shares for the first time the truth about what happened — and how she’s made peace with the fact that her mother was branded a monster.

THE WILD CASE