Sarah Hartsfield trial Day 7: Chambers County woman charged with husband's murder
HOUSTON - The trial of Sarah Jean Hartsfield continued into a seventh day on Tuesday.
She is charged with the murder of her husband in Chambers County.
Click here for a recap of Day 1.
Click here for a recap of Day 2.
Click here for a recap of Day 3.
Click here for a recap of Day 4.
Click here for a recap of Day 5.
Click here for a recap of Day 6.
How to get updates:
The court is not allowing the trial to be livestreamed. However, FOX 26 is at the trial and will bring you updates throughout the day in this story and on the free FOX LOCAL app.
Skyler Rocz, lead investigator
On Tuesday, Skyler Rocz, the lead investigator in the case, testified that:
- Sarah was very matter-of-fact when questioned at the hospital.
- When conducting the investigation at the Hartsfield home, Officer Rocz noticed several insulin pens.
- Sarah didn't show any signs of remorse. She showed no crying or emotions while they searched her home for evidence.
- Sarah told the investigator that she discovered Joseph's condition at 1 p.m. but didn't call 911 until 2 p.m.
- While Joseph was still in the hospital on Jan. 10, Sarah was discussing Joseph's life insurance policy.
- According to Facebook messages, Sarah was messaging a friend during the time his blood sugar had been low for hours.
- She was messaging someone on Facebook before calling 911.
- Statements that Sarah gave the investigator about Joseph's death and what she told the media contradict each other.
Sarah Hartsfield charged with murder
The backstory:
Joseph Hartsfield died in January 2023. He was Sarah Jean Hartsfield’s fifth husband.
The Chambers County Sheriff’s Office says they were called to a Baytown hospital on the evening of Jan. 7, 2023, about the suspicious illness of an emergency room patient – Joseph. He had been brought in by ambulance from Beach City, where he lived.
According to the sheriff’s office, inconsistencies and other factors discovered during the investigation "made the illness appear more suspicious in nature."
Joseph later died. The sheriff’s office said they believed his death was the result of "foul play."
Sarah Hartsfield murder trial: Day 3 for woman accused in husband's death
The trial continues for a Liberty County woman accused of playing a role in her husband's insulin-related death. FOX 26's Jillian Hartmann gives a recap of Day 3.
The district attorney was contacted, and the case was later presented to a grand jury. On Feb. 3, 2023, the grand jury indicted Sarah on a felony murder charge.
According to the sheriff’s office, Joseph was diabetic, and they believe his insulin level was suspiciously high hours before his death and before Sarah called 911.
Sarah pleaded not guilty to the murder charge. She has remained in jail for the two-and-a-half years since she was charged.
What they're saying:
"This is one of the more interesting cases in particular because it has a lot of medical aspects to it. It’s a very technical case, has taken creativity and ingenuity on the detectives and deputies to put this murder together," Chambers County Sheriff Brian Hawthorne said.
Local perspective:
Beach City, Texas, is located to the east of Houston, near the Trinity Bay.
Sarah Hartsfield's former partner's death
Dig deeper:
Following Sarah’s indictment in 2023, the Douglas County Attorney in Minnesota confirmed that the investigation into a previous death involving Sarah was active again as they followed up on new information the sheriff’s office had received. However, no charges have come from that investigation.
FOX 9 reported that in 2019 the Douglas County Attorney's Office decided not to move forward with charges against Sarah Donohue – now Sarah Hartsfield – after she shot and killed her then-fiancé David Bragg inside a home in Garfield, Minn., in 2018.
According to FOX 9, deputies responded to a home in Garfield on May 9, 2018, for a report of a domestic disturbance during which shots were fired.
At the scene, they found Bragg dead inside the home. According to a letter from the Douglas County Attorney in 2019, Sarah had claimed that Bragg had assaulted her and fired shots at her on a staircase, and she responded by shooting at him, killing him.
At the time, prosecutors said that evidence at the home seemed to support Sarah's version of events.
"The facts reveal that Mr. Bragg discharged his firearm at Ms. Donohue from a close proximity while the two were engaged in an altercation that had become physical," wrote Douglas County Attorney Chad Larson in 2019. "Under the circumstances, Ms. Donohue was justified in shooting Mr. Bragg as a matter of self-defense as she was facing lethal force and had no reasonable possibility of retreating from the threat. Therefore, I am declining to file criminal charges against Ms. Donohue in relation to Mr. Bragg's death."
The Source: The information in this article comes from the Chambers County Sheriff's Office, court records and court proceedings. Information about David Bragg's death comes from previous reporting by FOX 9 in Minneapolis and the Douglas County Attorney's Office.