Texas woman married five times kills newest husband by poisoning him with insulin
A Texas woman with an extended marriage certificate was charged with murdering her fifth husband by poisoning him with insulin – four years after shooting and killing her ex-fiancé.
Sarah Hartsfield, 48, is accused of killing her diabetic husband Joseph Hartsfield in January by poisoning him with high levels of insulin and not calling 911 until about six hours later.
Investigators ruled the 46-year-old’s death was the result of foul play and discovered Hartsfield’s extensive dating history that was supposedly filled with abuse, threats and arrests on assault charges.
While Hartsfield is behind bars in Chambers County Jail, ABCHouston reported that Minnesota detectives have reopened the case of her late fiancé David Bragg, whom she shot dead in “self-defense” in 2018.
The accused woman’s children and surviving ex-husbands have since come forward, claiming they knew “one day she would end up in jail.”
Sarah Hartsfield, 48, allegedly killed her fifth diabetic husband with insulin in January. Pictured: Hartsfield at the time of her February arrest
Hartsfield is accused of killing Joseph Hartsfield by poisoning him with high levels of insulin and not calling 911 until about six hours later. In the photo: Joseph Hartsfield
While Hartsfield was arrested in February, it wasn’t her first time behind bars.
She was arrested on March 11, 1996, for assaulting her second husband, Michael Traxler, at their home on Rio Bonito, according to the news outlet.
At that time, Hartsfield had a different surname. She remained in jail for about a week until the charges were dropped for an unknown reason. Meanwhile, her then husband received a report.
It seemed that Hartsfield had only been with her second husband for a few months before she was arrested.
Prosecutors have explained that her relationships are “short-lived.”
Hartsfield’s first husband, whom she divorced in January 1996, has since been relieved that his ex-wife couldn’t hurt anyone else.
Titus Knoernschild and Hartsfield were sweethearts in high school. He recalled falling in love with his estranged wife in his freshman year. Two years later, the two got married.
Their short-lived marriage ended in a messy divorce, as Knoernschild claimed he received threats from Hartsfield and feared for his life.
“I’m glad she’s finally been caught for who she is. I’m just sorry that another person had to die to get to her,” he told the news outlet.
He added that Hartsfield reportedly told him “don’t be surprised if he doesn’t make it through the divorce.”
“I was honestly surprised that I got out of my marriage alive because I was in the military and had a $200,000 life insurance policy on myself,” he said.
Knoernschild confirmed that his ex-husband’s second husband was his former best friend. She then went on to her third marriage in 1999 to military man Christopher Donohue.
The relationship was Hartsfield’s longest and she had four children.
She fatally shot her ex-fiance in 2018 in ‘self-defense’, but police have since reopened the case after receiving new information
Titus Knoernschild, Hartsfield’s first husband, has since been relieved that his ex-wife was behind bars and could no longer hurt anyone else. The two were high school sweethearts and married right out of high school before divorcing two years later in January 1996. In the photo: Titus Knoernschild
Hartsfield’s son, Ryan Donohue from her third marriage, has spoken out about his mother’s arrest.
The 22 year old told NBC that he knew that his mother’s bad decisions would one day lead to her being behind bars.
“It’s surreal to see my mom in that jumpsuit right now,” Donohue told the news outlet. “I’ve been waiting for it all my life.”
Donohue recalled his mother insulting him and his siblings when they were younger. He said his dad had to jump in to protect them.
“My mother made his life a lot harder,” Donohue said, referring to his father.
Sometimes Donohue missed school for long periods after suffering severe bruises.
Hartsfield later apologized to her children, blaming their father for making her unhappy.
Hartsfield’s marriage to Ryan Donohue’s father, Christopher, lasted a whopping 19 years until he filed for divorce in 2018 – two years after moving to South Korea without her.
Meanwhile, Hartsfield had already moved on in 2017 with another serviceman, David Bragg.
Sarah’s son, Ryan Donohue from her third marriage to Christopher Donohue, has spoken out about his mother’s arrest. He recalled being abused by her as a child and skipping school due to extreme bruising
Hartsfield and Bragg moved to Minnesota, where, according to Donohue, Bragg had a job in solar energy.
Donohue told the news outlet that Bragg insulted him when he visited his mother.
He remembered being pushed against a wall over simple issues like whose turn it was to go to the bathroom. His mother brushed off the abuse, claiming he “deserved it.”
On one occasion, Bragg held a shotgun to Donohue.
Bragg’s relationship with Hartsfield ended on May 9, 2018 when he was shot by her in their home.
At a hearing in February, Hartsfield explained how Bragg felt she would leave him for her ex-husband, who had just arrived in Minnesota from South Korea.
She claimed that Bragg shot at her and nearly missed her head. That’s when she reportedly shot back at him, hitting him “without aiming,” the news outlet reported.
It’s unclear what new evidence Minnesota investigators have received to reopen the case of Bragg’s death.
Joseph Hartsfield was Sarah’s fifth husband. The two married in February 2022 – a year after her fourth divorce
Their honeymoon was cut short when NBC recovered Sarah’s Facebook posts calling her late husband a “nightmare.” Pictured: Where Hartsfield and Joseph lived in Texas
It didn’t take long for Hartsfield to mourn Bragg’s death. Within a year, in 2019, she found her arms wrapped around new beau David George.
George worked for a gas company in Minnesota and the two lived together in the house where Hartsfield shot Bragg, according to her son.
The two-year marriage ended in 2021 amid allegations that Hartsfield told George to kill her ex-husband, Christopher Donohue’s new wife.
Soon after, Hartsfield found herself on dating apps and in Joseph Hartsfield’s bed. The two got married in February 2022.
Their honeymoon was short NBC recovered Sarah’s Facebook posts calling her late husband a “nightmare.”
Just a month before their first birthday, Hartsfield allegedly poisoned Joseph on January 7. A week later he died in hospital.