FELON WHO ARRANGED 2011 MURDER OF ST. LOUIS COUNTY MAN SENTENCED TO LIFE IN FEDERAL PRISON

ST. LOUIS — A federal judge has sentenced Michael Grady to life in prison for arranging the 2011 murder of a St. Louis County man as part of a plan to collect and divide life-insurance proceeds.

U.S. District Judge Audrey G. Fleissig imposed the sentence on July 22, 2026, following Grady’s convictions for conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire, aiding and abetting murder-for-hire, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

The life sentence will run consecutively to the 226-month federal prison sentence Grady is already serving for assisting a large-scale and violent drug conspiracy. That sentence amounts to 18 years and 10 months.

Grady, now 71, was convicted by a federal jury in St. Louis in March 2026. Evidence and testimony presented at trial established that he developed a plan to kill Charles Harris III and obtain part of an insurance payout intended to benefit Harris’ financially struggling fiancée, Victoria Rena Williams.

In 2010, Grady encouraged Williams to obtain a $250,000 accidental-death insurance policy on Harris. Williams secured the policy without Harris’ knowledge after confirming that it would pay if he were killed during a robbery.

Harris worked for an alarm company and also sold suits from his home. Williams arranged a meeting between Harris and the person or people who would carry out the killing by presenting them as customers interested in purchasing suits.

On October 5, 2011, Harris was fatally shot inside his home on Langford Drive in St. Louis County.

The identity of the shooter or shooters remains unknown. Trial testimony established that investigators had not determined who fired the fatal shots.

After a dispute with the insurance company, Williams received $224,444 from the accidental-death policy. She then obtained a cashier’s check for $110,000 payable to Grady’s wife.

Williams also collected $175,762 through another insurance policy. Combined, the two insurance payments provided her with $400,206 following Harris’ death.

The evidence showed that Grady’s involvement extended beyond knowledge of the insurance arrangement. The jury found him guilty of developing the murder-for-hire conspiracy, aiding and abetting the killing, and participating in a conspiracy to launder proceeds connected to the crime.

The fact that the gunman or gunmen have not been identified did not prevent the government from prosecuting those who organized and financially benefited from the murder. Federal murder-for-hire law reaches the people who plan, arrange, finance, or assist a killing, not only the person who physically carries it out.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Nino Przulj addressed the court before the sentence was imposed and contrasted Harris’ life with Grady’s conduct.

“Charles Harris was a hardworking man. He was a good man,” Przulj said. “Mr. Grady is the polar opposite.”

Williams, now 68, pleaded guilty to the same three offenses for which Grady was convicted. She was sentenced in March 2026 to 225 months in federal prison, equivalent to 18 years and nine months.

Her guilty plea and Grady’s jury convictions established their criminal responsibility for the conspiracy. The murder itself occurred nearly 15 years before Grady received his life sentence.

Grady was already serving a lengthy federal sentence for conduct connected to violent drug trafficking in the St. Louis area. In that case, he was convicted of aiding a large-scale drug conspiracy by attempting to determine who was cooperating with investigators and prosecutors.

FBI St. Louis Division Special Agent in Charge Chris Crocker said the earlier conviction did not prevent authorities from pursuing Grady after evidence connecting him to Harris’ murder emerged.

“This is not the first time the FBI has investigated Michael Grady. He is currently serving a 19-year federal prison sentence for providing long-term support to some of the St. Louis area’s most prolific and violent drug traffickers,” Crocker said. “But a prison sentence was never going to shield him from accountability. When evidence of his involvement in this murder surfaced, the FBI and St. Louis County Police remained steadfast in our commitment to securing justice for the victim and ensuring Grady answered for this crime.”

The St. Louis County Police Department and Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the murder-for-hire and money-laundering investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ryan Finlen, Nino Przulj, and Donald Boyce prosecuted the case on behalf of the federal government.

Michael Grady’s convictions followed a jury trial and are not unresolved allegations. A federal jury found that he arranged the killing of Charles Harris III as part of an insurance scheme, aided and abetted the murder-for-hire, and conspired to launder money obtained after Harris’ death.

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