A prominent Lake of the Ozarks broker and self-proclaimed “cheer mom” has been arrested for allegedly trying to hit her former mother-in-law.
Prosecutors in Camden County say Leigh Ann Bauman, 43, offered to pay $ 1,500 to people in St. Louis to make the death of her former mother-in-law “look like an accident.” She was reportedly concerned that the woman was causing problems with her relationship with her children.
According to a press release from the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office, Bauman was admitted discussing the plan. She had multiple opportunities to change her mind when a witness who was an informant asked if she was sure she wanted to commit the murder, prosecutors said, but she went ahead, at one point acknowledging that she was a Christian, but and noted that she could always ask for forgiveness later.
The broker is also said to have made no secret about her alleged plans. After texting her daughter saying, ‘Your grandmother will die,’ Bauman reportedly plowed through with the plan, pushing for the death of her former mother-in-law in the small town of Hermann.
Her alleged murder plot fell apart when a person’s attorney who was asked to hire people to carry out the murder contacted the Missouri Highway Patrol. She was arrested on Thursday and charged with conspiracy to commit murder and is currently being held without bond in Camden County Jail.
“We are very grateful for what the witness has done in this case,” Camden County district attorney Caleb Cunningham said Friday. “We encourage everyone to contact the police if there is a crime or suspected crime.”
“A local real estate agent had several political connections and the witness was aware of these political connections,” said Cunningham. “Out of an abundance of caution, DDCC was used to avoid any form of impropriety,” he said, referring to the Missouri Highway Patrol Division of Drug and Crime Control.
Bauman, who describes herself on her Facebook page as a real estate agent, artist, entrepreneur and ‘cheer mom’, regularly posted online about her ‘track record of success’. Although she was best known as a broker, with nearly 20 years in the industry, she also apparently set a world record in a yacht race last year. Her LinkedIn account also mentions work in pharmaceutical sales and an acting and modeling career, with appearances on Days of our lives and in Nike commercials.