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The 2014 murder-for-hire plot laid for Tiffany Pugh had her shot to death in her East Point home by her husband's best friend, Adrian Harley. Tiffany was the wife of the popular strip club musician, DJ Awesome, also known as Andre Pugh, who had hired the hit over financial and marital issues.
The 30-year-old mother-of-two from Atlanta was shot while she was at home with her two children. A trail of texts and call records uncovered the mystery that the latest episode of Dateline NBC will feature. The official synopsis of the episode reads:
"When the wife of a popular Atlanta DJ is found murdered in her home, detectives try to unravel what led to her killing."
The episode, titled Sound and Fury, airs on May 10, 2024, at 9 pm EST on NBC.
Five details about Tiffany Pugh's murder explored
1) Tiffany Pugh was shot thrice, but the last bullet missed her
On November 23, 2014, the East Point Police Department officers arrived at Tiffany Pugh's East Point home to find her shot to death, per The Atlantic Journal-Constitution. Pugh was home with her two children when she was killed. There were two bullet wounds - one in her chest and one in her eye. A third bullet had missed her and hit the wall.
Tiffany's husband, Andre Pugh, had been at work at Club Onyx that night and had been on the way to another strip club on Campbelton Road when he allegedly received an alert from his home alarm company.
2) The police officers saw a heartbreaking scene when they responded to Andre Pugh's 911 call
As Andre allegedly tried to reach Tiffany and found her cell phone unresponsive, he dialed 911 and waited outside the house. As an officer arrived at the scene, the police report said that he waived his arms and said,
“My kids are in there. She is not picking up the phone.”
According to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the East Point officer found the youngest son, the 2-year-old boy, straddling his dead mother and crying,
“Mommy. No mommy. Please!"
The home security cameras captured the child running around helplessly looking for help for Tiffany who had been shot at a close range.
3) Andre Pugh and Tiffany Pugh were on the verge of a divorce
As the investigations began, the East Point Police Department officers interrogated Andre. However, they found out that the couple had been going through a difficult marriage with Tiffany's, something that Andre had not mentioned during his statement to the police.
The authorities learned that Tiffany had been intending to end the marriage and the records of several text messages revealed more on the matter. Per Oxygen, the detectives noted:
“He was kind of begging her not to leave him.”
Tiffany Pugh was the sole breadwinner of the family as a successful professional working with Delta Airlines.
4) Andre had reportedly hired his best friend, Adrian Harley, for the murder
Faced with the possibility of a divorce and unable to switch the mortgage to his name, Andre Pugh reportedly plotted the murder of his wife with his best friend's help. The crime scene left no evidence or shell casings except the video of a black car with a broken light making the rounds in the block, as captured on a neighbor's security camera.
The cell records showed Andre contacted and met Adrian Harley (37) in downtown Atlanta half an hour before the murder, per Marietta Daily Journal. Harley turned defensive during interrogation and gave the authorities a poor alibi.
5) Andre Pugh and Adrian Harley were sentenced to life in prison
The cellphone records turned both Andre Pugh and Adrian Harley into suspects. A search warrant of Harley's car matched the one recorded on Tiffany Pugh's neighbor's security camera. Both men were arrested from Club Onyx on December 5, 2014.
The County District Attorney Paul Howard’s spokesman Chris Hopper shared:
“Harley was the best man at Pugh’s wedding and, ironically, Pugh chose Harley to serve as a pallbearer at the young mother’s funeral.”
Andre Pugh and Adrian Harley are serving their life sentences in Hancock State Prison and Smith State Prison respectively. They have no chance of parole.
Catch the latest episode of Dateline on NBC on Friday, May 10, 2024.
