A Texas woman will spend the rest of her life in prison for the murder of her fifth husband in light of accusations of murdering her former fiancé.
A Chambers County district judge handed 50-year-old Sarah Hartsfield a life term in prison without the possibility of parole for the death of her husband, Joseph Hartsfield. After about an hour of deliberation, Hartsfield was found guilty and convicted by a jury of first-degree murder.
"What a wild coincidence that no person can leave her without consequences," said Chambers County Assistant District Attorney Mallory Vargas, according to AOL.
On Jan. 7, 2023, paramedics responded to the home shared by the defendant and Joseph Hartsfield after receiving a 911 distress call from his wife. The victim was rushed to a nearby hospital in the Houston area, where he was admitted as hypoglycemic and unresponsive. Despite life-saving measures, Joseph Hartfield’s blood level continued to crash, which led medical authorities to believe the victim had been administered something that was resistant to the glucose given to him at the hospital.
After Joseph Hartsfield's death, an autopsy report showed the victim had been injected with a high dose of insulin. However, the medical examiner could not determine whether the cause of death was accidental, suicide, or homicide.
During the trial, prosecutors presented the jury with evidence that contradicted the defendant’s testimony that she had been asleep due to a narcotic pain medication the hours before her husband became hypoglycemic. However, investigators determined the defendant had been on her phone every hour before the first responders showed up. Also, they discovered messages were sent from Joseph Hartsfield’s phone to his wife’s phone with a picture of his driver’s license, a wedding picture, details of a bank account the victim just opened, and a key for his Apple Legacy Contact.
“He told me he was worried she would kill him in his sleep. I tried so hard to get him not to go back,” said Joseph Hartsfield’s sister, Jeannie Hartsfield, during the trial, reported NBC News.
Hartsfield’s past with her former fiancé also had fatal consequences. According to prosecutors, Hartsfield shot her former fiancé to death in 2018. Though she claimed self-defense and authorities initially agreed, the case was reopened upon her indictment for murder regarding Joseph Hartsfield.
The FBI also investigated the defendant in the past after she was implicated in a murder plot and accused of asking her fourth husband to murder her third husband’s wife. Hartsfield was never charged for either crime.
The defendant was transferred to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and ordered to pay a fine of $10,000.
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