Chicago Man Hires Friends To Kill His Mother For Her Life Insurance Policy

While most of us were trying to get in a jolly spirit for the holidays on Christmas and Christmas Eve, some pretty terrible events were making it into the news, including this story of a man from the West Side of Chicago who has been charged in the murder of his own mother. All of this over money.

According to the Chicago Tribune, 24-year-old Qawmane Wilson arranged for his friends to murder his mother, Yolanda Holmes, 45, in September 2012. Holmes was the successful owner of the popular Chicago hair salon, Nappy Headz, and she was also known for organizing community events at her shop. Police say that Wilson wanted to get his hands on the more than $90,000 in her bank accounts, and to also have access to the two life insurance policies she had that he was a beneficiary of. Wilson’s friends, 22-year-old Eugene Spencer and 23-year-old Loriana Johnson were the ones who carried out Wilson’s plans on Sept. 12, 2012. They went to her home in the wee hours of the morning after Wilson called and woke his mother up to say he needed to come by. An autopsy showed that the mother was stabbed multiple times and also sustained a gunshot wound to her head. Spencer was the one who attacked Holmes, while Johnson was the driver. The boyfriend of Holmes was also in the home at the time of her murder, and he was pistol whipped by Spencer after being awoken by the sound of a gun firing and getting into a “struggle” with the young man.

Assistant Attorney Maura White says that a week after Holmes’ horrific death, Wilson emptied his mother’s bank accounts and was, of course, the beneficiary to her life insurance policies. Wilson was an aspiring rapper by the name of Young QC, and in his Instagram account, he can be seen showing off that money, all while running around with his mother’s name tattooed on his right shoulder. Disgusting.

But after a thorough investigation, Wilson was arrested and charged with murder and home invasion in the death of his mother, as was Ms. Johnson. As for Eugene Spencer, the hit man in this case, he received charges of first degree murder, as well as home invasion and aggravated discharge of a firearm. Phone records showed that Wilson contacted Spencer and Johnson before, after and even during the murder. All three are being held without bail.

Employees at the slain woman’s salon say that Holmes would have given anything for her son, so to hear that he would stoop to such lows for her money is terrible. This includes stylist Ayonna Anderson, who was good friends with Holmes. She said this to the Chicago Tribune:

“Her son she took care of … he could’ve gotten anything from her. It’s so heartbreaking. She was trying to build a future for her son to have. But I guess money is the root of all evil.”