A Texas woman with an extensive marriage record has been arrested for murdering her fifth husband, four years after she shot dead her ex-0fiance but escaped from getting caught. Sarah Hartsfield, 48, allegedly killed her diabetic husband Joseph Hartsfield in January with heavy doses of insulin.
However, she didn't call 911 for more than six hours. Investigation revealed that foul play was involved in her husband's death. Further investigation opened up a can of worms. Sarah's sweeping dating history during the course of the investigation revealed that it was filled with abuse, threats and arrests and even murder. However, she escaped on all occasions.
Cold-Blooded Murder
According to ABC Houston, Minnesota investigators have reopened the investigation of Hartsfield's dead fiancé David Bragg, whom she shot dead in 'self-defense' back in 2018. This comes as Hartsfield sits in custody at the Chambers County Jail.
Children and ex-husbands who are still alive of the accused woman have since come forward, saying they knew "she'd end up in jail someday."
Hartsfield was arrested in February, but it wasn't the first time.
According to the news source, she was first arrested on March 11, 1996, for physically assaulting her second husband, Michael Traxler, at their Rio Bonito home.
Hartsfield was going by a different last name at the time. She spent about a week in jail before the charges were dropped for an undisclosed reason. Her ex-husband was issued a citation in the meantime.
At that time, Hartsfield appeared to have only recently married her second husband before being arrested.
Her relationships, according to the prosecution, were "short-lived."
Hartsfield's first husband, who was relieved his ex-wife could no longer harm others following their January 1996 divorce, has since come forward.
Hartsfield and Titus Knoernschild were high school sweethearts. In his junior year, he recalled falling in love with his divorced wife. Two years later, the two got married.
Their brief union ended in a messy divorce because Knoernschild claimed he was threatened by Hartsfield and was afraid for his life. "I'm glad she has finally been caught for who she is. I'm just sorry another person had to die to get her caught," he told the news outlet.
He further claimed that Hartsfield had advised him not to "be surprised" if his ex-spouse did not survive the divorce. "I was honestly surprised to get out of my marriage alive cause I was in the army, I had a $200,000 life insurance on myself," he said.
Monster Wife
Knoernschild confirmed that his former best friend was his ex-wife's second husband. She later married Christopher Donohue, a military man, in 1999, which was her third marriage overall.
She had four children, making it Hartsfield's longest relationship. Ryan Donohue, Hartsfield's son from her third marriage, has spoken out against his mother's detention.
The 22-year-old admitted to NBC that he was aware that his mother's poor choices would eventually land her in jail. "It's unreal seeing my mom in that jumpsuit now,' Donohue told the news outlet. 'I've waited for it my whole life."
Donohue recalled that when he and his brothers were younger, their mother had been cruel to them. He claimed that his father had to intervene to defend them. "My mom made his life a lot harder," Donohue said.
Donohue occasionally also missed school for extended periods after suffering severe bruises. Later, Hartsfield would apologize to her children and put the responsibility for her unhappiness on their father.
Christopher Donohue, the father of Ryan Donohue, and Hartsfield were married for a staggering 19 years when he filed for divorce in 2018, two years after relocating to South Korea without her.
By 2017, Hartsfield had already moved on with David Bragg, another service member.
According to Donohue, when Hartsfield and Bragg relocated to Minnesota Bragg had a contract position set up in the solar industry.
When Donohue told the news outlet that Bragg was abusive toward him when he would visit his mother.
He recalled being shoved against a wall for trivial matters, like who had the right of way to the lavatory. His mother dismissed the mistreatment, saying that he "deserved it."
Bragg once confronted Donohue with a gun. On May 9, 2018, Hartsfield shot Bragg in their house, putting an end to their romance.
Hartsfield described how Bragg thought she was leaving him for her ex-husband, who had just flown into Minnesota from South Korea, during a hearing in February.
She alleged that Bragg fired a shot at her that almost hit her in the head. She allegedly shot back at him at that point, hitting him "without aiming," according to the news source.
It's unclear what new evidence Minnesota investigators have received to reopen the case of Bragg's death.
Hartsfield didn't take long to mourn Bragg's passing. In less than a year, she was embracing her brand-new love, David George, in 2019.
According to her son, George stayed with her in the Minnesota home where Hartsfield shot Bragg while working for a gas business. The two-year union came to an end in 2021 after claims that Hartsfield had instructed George to kill the new wife of her ex-husband, Christopher Donohue.
Soon after, Hartsfield found herself using dating apps and sleeping with Joseph Hartsfield. In February 2022, the couple was hitched.
Their honeymoon phase was brief as NBC recovered Sarah's Facebook messages where she referred to her late husband as a 'nightmare.' Hartsfield is accused of poisoning Joseph just on January 7, one month before their one-year wedding anniversary. A week later, he died in the hospital.
