Sarah Hartsfield is serving a life sentence at the William P. Hobby Unit in Marlin, Texas, after a jury found her guilty of fatally injecting her fifth husband, Joseph Hartsfield, with insulin in January 2023.
At a Glance
- Sarah Hartsfield called 911 on Jan. 7, 2023, saying Joseph was unresponsive; he died 11 days later
- Autopsy listed “complications from toxic effects of insulin” as a cause of death
- Prosecutors reopened the 2018 self-defense shooting of fiancé David Bragg during the investigation
- A 2025 jury took one hour to convict her of first-degree murder; she will be eligible for parole in 2053
- Why it matters: The case revealed a pattern of alleged violence across five marriages and multiple states
A Suspicious 911 Call
On Jan. 7, 2023, Sarah dialed 911 to report that Joseph, a diabetic, was unconscious in their Texas home. She told investigators she had left the bedroom to get him juice and jam, returned to find he had vomited on himself, and then called for help.
Hospital staff alerted the Chambers County Sheriff’s Office the same day, citing a “suspicious illness.” Joseph was “brain dead” on arrival and remained on life support until Jan. 18. A nurse noticed that although Joseph received glucose, his blood sugar kept crashing-an indicator, according to an affidavit, of “too much insulin in his system.” Detectives later found eight to ten insulin pens on his side of the bed.
History of Alleged Threats
While assembling the murder case, investigators uncovered multiple allegations from Sarah’s past relationships:
- Five marriages: Sheriff Brian Hawthorne told local outlets that every former partner “feared for their life”
- 2014 house fire: Brother Cody Smith testified Sarah torched their grandmother’s home hours after it was willed to him; the house and the family dog perished. Sarah denies involvement and was never charged
- 2021 murder-for-hire plot: Fourth husband David George claimed Sarah asked him to kill the new wife of third husband Christopher Donohue. George drove from Texas to Arizona with flowers, met the couple on security video, but said he never intended to shoot anyone. The FBI was alerted by another of Sarah’s daughters; both George and Sarah denied her involvement
Re-examining a 2018 Shooting
On May 9, 2018, Sarah fatally shot fiancé David Bragg in Minnesota, claiming self-defense after an argument about child-visitation timing. She told authorities Bragg tried to shoot her first. A county attorney deemed the shooting justified because Sarah had “no reasonable possibility of retreating.”
During the 2025 murder trial, a detective testified Bragg’s gun had no magazine, calling the incident “abnormal.” After Sarah was indicted for Joseph’s death, Douglas County authorities reopened the Bragg case; no additional charges have been filed.
Trial and Life Sentence
Prosecutors argued Sarah administered a lethal insulin dose because Joseph planned to leave her. His sister, Jeannie Hartsfield, testified he worried Sarah would “kill him in his sleep.” Digital evidence presented in court included:
- Text messages from Joseph’s phone to Sarah containing his driver’s-license and bank-account data
- A video-later deleted-sent to her daughter an hour before Joseph died showing him “gasping”
The defense countered that Joseph’s prescribed medication increased insulin sensitivity and maintained there was no direct proof Sarah injected him. After a seven-day trial in October 2025, the jury deliberated about one hour and returned a first-degree murder verdict. Assistant District Attorney Mallory Vargas told jurors Sarah “thought she had gotten away with it because it’s what she’s always done.”
Appeals and Parole Eligibility
Sarah filed a motion for a new trial and an appeal the week after sentencing. Her trial attorneys were granted permission to withdraw, citing an unresolvable conflict, and a new appellate team was appointed. She will be eligible for parole in 2053, when she is in her late 70s.
