• Sarah Hartsfield convicted of killing husband Joseph with insulin overdose in January 2023
• Former Army sergeant’s history includes fatal shooting of fiancé and alleged murder plot
• Jury deliberated only one hour before convicting Hartsfield of first-degree murder in Texas

CHAMBERS COUNTY, Texas (TDR) — A Texas woman with a grim relationship history was sentenced to life in prison Thursday after being convicted of murdering her fifth husband with a fatal dose of insulin, capping a trial that focused as much on her troubled past as on the January 2023 death.

Sarah Hartsfield, 50, a former U.S. Army sergeant, was convicted of first-degree murder Oct. 8 after roughly one hour of deliberations and seven days of testimony in a Chambers County courtroom east of Houston. The jury of four women and eight men heard evidence about the death of Joseph Hartsfield, 46, her fifth and most recent husband.

Joseph Hartsfield died Jan. 15, 2023, after being hospitalized with complications from insulin toxicity. The diabetic man was admitted to Houston Methodist Hospital on Jan. 7 with dangerously low blood sugar that didn’t respond to glucose treatment, according to court documents.

Freedom-Loving Beachwear by Red Beach Nation - Save 10% With Code RVM10

Timeline of fatal incident

Prosecutors alleged Hartsfield ignored alerts from a phone app about her husband’s critically low blood sugar and waited at least an hour to call 911 after finding him unresponsive. Investigators found up to 10 insulin pens on his side of the bed.

Detective Skyler Rocz, the lead investigator, testified that phone data showed Hartsfield was awake and active online during the medical crisis, contradicting her claim that she was asleep and on narcotic pain medication following recent surgery.

On the morning of Jan. 7, hours before Joseph was hospitalized, messages were sent from his phone to hers showing his driver’s license, a wedding photo, bank account details and a key for his Apple Legacy Contact, which allowed her to access his phone data after his death.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE THE DUPREE REPORT

“It is my opinion that she created the Legacy Contact info and sent it to her phone,” Rocz testified. Investigators also recovered dozens of deleted text messages between the couple showing arguments and threats to kick him out of their bed in the week before his death.

Family concerns and warnings

Joseph’s mother, Helen Hartsfield, testified that her son had expressed fears for his safety and was planning to leave Sarah in the weeks before his death. The couple had been married for less than a year when he died.

Helen said Sarah was controlling, often complained about Joseph’s income and work, and had conflicts with his son. She testified that Sarah once admitted to killing a man in self-defense, which left her fearful for her son’s safety.

At the hospital, Helen said Sarah tried to keep the family from seeing Joseph, only allowing her in after she begged. Hospital staff raised concerns to law enforcement about inconsistencies in the case, prompting the investigation.

Troubled history revealed

Prosecutors spent significant time examining events from Sarah Hartsfield’s past. She admitted to fatally shooting her fiancé, David Bragg, in self-defense in Minnesota in 2018. She was initially cleared of wrongdoing, but local prosecutor Chad Larson reopened the case after her 2023 indictment. A detective testified the case remains active, though no charges are forthcoming, describing some details of her account as “odd” and “abnormal.”

Hartsfield’s third husband, Christopher Donohue, sought a protection order against her in 2020. In an affidavit, Donohue alleged that Hartsfield’s fourth husband, David George, told him she had been pushing him for months to kill Donohue’s new wife. She allegedly gave George a pistol to carry out the act.

In an interview with Dateline, George said he had no intention of following through with the alleged plot. Hartsfield has never been charged with a crime in the alleged murder plot.

Prosecutors also presented allegations of child abuse and a 2014 fire at a family home in Missouri. Hartsfield has not been charged in either case.

Children testify about abuse

During the sentencing phase, three of Hartsfield’s four children testified about alleged abuse they suffered while living with her. Daughters described periods of extreme physical punishment lasting hours, emotional abuse including threats and manipulation, and being prevented from speaking to their father.

Defense maintains innocence

Defense attorney Case Darwin argued that Joseph’s death was a tragic medical event, not a crime. He said Joseph, who was diabetic and taking medicine that made him more sensitive to insulin, had most likely caused his own death.

Darwin maintained there was no direct evidence proving Sarah administered the insulin to her husband. However, prosecutors presented circumstantial evidence including the phone data, deleted messages and her behavior at the hospital.

In her closing argument, Chambers County Assistant District Attorney Mallory Vargas said Hartsfield believed she’d get away with murder “because it’s what she’s always done.”

“What a wild coincidence that no person can leave her without consequences,” Vargas said.

Chambers County Sheriff Brian Hawthorne told reporters outside the courthouse that Hartsfield “is not that kind sleepy little person that she makes herself out to be.”

“You can just look at her overall history and you can tell that there’s a very evil side to her,” Hawthorne said.

Hartsfield maintained her innocence throughout the trial. She had pleaded not guilty and told reporters from jail, “If I’m guilty of anything, it’s picking horrible husbands.”

Can patterns of suspicious deaths in someone’s romantic history serve as evidence in murder trials, or should each case stand alone?

Slug: SEO Headline:

Focus Keyphrase:

Description: Tags:

Freedom-Loving Beachwear by Red Beach Nation - Save 10% With Code RVM10