Texas Woman Killed Husband with Fatal Dose of Insulin Years After She Killed Fiancé By KC Baker

A Texas woman who said she killed a former fiancé in self-defense has been convicted of murdering her fifth husband in 2023 — and now, prosecutors have reopened the investigation into the 2018 killing.

Sarah Hartsfield, 50, was found guilty of murder on Wednesday, Oct. 8 in the 2023 death of her most recent husband, Joseph Hartsfield, who died from a fatal dose of insulin, NBC News reports.

“What a wild coincidence that no person can leave her without consequences,” Chambers County Assistant Prosecutor Mallory Vargas said in her closing arguments, per the outlet.

Sarah’s attorney, Case Darwin, had argued Joseph — who was diabetic — likely caused his own death, according to NBC News. Darwin said Joseph was taking medicine at the time that made him more sensitive to insulin.

But on Thursday, Sarah was sentenced to life in prison for his death, Click2Houston reports.

Telling the jury about Sarah’s “deceptions, clever little half-truths and performance,” Vargas added in her closing arguments that “Joe Hartsfield was drawn to the defendant and got caught in her web.” The two had met online and been married for less than a year when he said they were having trouble in their marriage, NBC News reports.

He said he was afraid she would kill him in his sleep, his sister, Jeannie Hartsfield, testified.

His fears were realized on Jan. 7, 2023, when Sarah called 911 to report her husband was unresponsive, 6KFDM reports.

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A nurse treating Joseph at the hospital said his blood sugar levels kept dropping precipitously despite the glucose he had been given to raise them, she testified, according to NBC News. After he died, an autopsy revealed that he had been given too much insulin which can cause blood sugar levels to drop, the medical examiner said, per the outlet.

Evidence pointing to Sarah murdering her husband included data from her phone that showed she was using it “almost every hour” before she called 911, even though she told police she was asleep, a detective testified.

She also deleted messages and a video showing her husband gasping for air that she sent to her daughter an hour and a half before she called 911, Vargas said.

During the trial, Vargas brought up information about Sarah’s past marriages and relationships to illustrate a “pattern” of suspicious behavior, Click2Houston reports.

A grand jury in Minnesota had previously found that she fatally shot her fiancé in self-defense. Prosecutors have since reopened the 2018 case after she was indicted in Joseph’s murder.