Murder-for-hire grandma sentenced
A Town Creek woman convicted of trying to hire someone to kill her grandson’s mom, a former Athens-Limestone Hospital EMT, has been sentenced to 60 years in prison.
Sandra Hill Treadway, 56, of 6337 Alabama 101, in the Hatton community, was sentenced Tuesday in Lawrence County Circuit Court.
Jurors found Treadway guilty Aug. 17 of trying to hire a hitman to kill Lyndsey Brook Grindol in November 2015. Treadway’s grandson is the son of Grindol and Treadway’s son, Matt.
Before Treadway’s arrest on Nov. 3, 2015, Matthew had temporary custody of his and Grindol’s child. The boy lived with Sandra and Matthew at Sandra’s Town Creek home. Investigators believe Treadway objected to Grindol’s attempts to try to gain custody of the boy.
Grindol was an emergency medical technician with Athens-Limestone Emergency Medical Services at the time of Treadway’s arrest but she no longer works there, an official said Wednesday. In late 2016, Grindol listed her address as Piney Chapel Road in Athens, according to court records.
The plot
Investigators said Treadway solicited a man to murder Grindol but the man informed police, who launched an undercover operation. Treadway met an undercover officer, who she thought was a hitman, in the Dollar General parking lot in Moulton and paid him a $750 down payment on Oct. 22, 2015, in exchange for killing Grindol. Treadway agreed to pay the rest of the $1,250 fee after Grindol was murdered, investigators said.
Treadway gave the “hitman” detailed information about Grindol, including her address, a photograph and her vehicle’s tag number. Investigators contacted Grindol and persuaded her to participate in a staged crime scene, which included taking photos of her “dead” body. After investigators staged Grindol’s murder and after Treadway saw a picture of Grindol’s murder scene, the “hitman” got Treadway to meet him in the Woodland parking lot in Moulton to complete the transaction.
Defense attorney Tim Case, who argued Treadway was entrapped, plans to appeal.
In addition to the prison time, Circuit Judge Mark Craig also fined Treadway $60,000 in connection with the murder-for-hire scheme.