Jury selection has begun in the high-profile murder trial of Sarah Hartsfield, the Texas woman accused of killing her fifth husband with insulin.
This event is the newest development in a high-profile Texas case involving a 50-year-old woman accused of killing her husband, Joseph Hartsfield, in January 2023. Hartsfield has declared her innocence by pleading not guilty.
According to a grand jury indictment, filed in February 2023, prosecutors allege she “intentionally and knowingly cause[d] the death of an individual, namely Joseph Hartsfield, by a manner and means unknown to the grand jury.”
Joseph’s obituary says he died in a hospital “due to complications of an ischemic stroke, with his loving wife at his side.” Hartsfield is currently in custody at the Chambers County Jail in Texas and is held on a reduced bond of $2 million.
Sarah Hartsfield, who was married five times and engaged at least one other time, was charged with killing husband number five. (Chambers County Sheriff’s Office)
By the late 1990s, Sarah had remarried, and her third marriage eventually ended in divorce in 2018. Around that time, she became engaged to David Bragg in Minnesota. On May 9, 2018, Sarah shot and killed Bragg in his home. She told investigators that he fired at her first and that she returned fire. Douglas County prosecutors ruled the killing a justifiable act of self-defense at the time, according to FOX9 Minneapolis.
Not long after Bragg’s death, Sarah married her fourth husband around 2019. That marriage also ended in divorce by 2021.
The Chambers County Sheriff’s Office at Sarah Hartsfield’s home during her arrest on Feb. 3. (Chambers County Sheriff’s Office)
Sarah’s fifth marriage was to Joseph Hartsfield, whom she wed in 2022. Friends and neighbors told Click2Houston that Joseph was unhappy in the marriage and had been planning to leave. On Jan. 7, 2023, Joseph was found unresponsive after a diabetic emergency.
Prosecutors allege Sarah injected him with excessive insulin and delayed calling 911. He died days later. The Harris County Medical Examiner ruled the cause of death as complications from toxic insulin exposure.
In February 2023, Sarah was arrested and indicted for Joseph’s murder.
Her trial is scheduled to begin on Tuesday with opening statements after jury selection.
