Andre McDonald’s Testimony Seemingly Backfires in Murder Trial; Jury Deliberates
In the Murder Trial of his wife, Andreen McDonald, Andre McDonald is the prime suspect and is facing a charge of first-degree murder. Andreen disappeared and was reported missing by concerned companions and family members on February 28, 2019.
She was found by law enforcement in Bexar County (on private property) four months after the report was filed in July 2019. Following the discovery of her body, her husband Andre McDonald was charged with her murder.
The lengthy trial has become a high-profile case in the media and during his testimony in court, it seems that his recount of events has put his freedom in jeopardy. According to reports, McDonald’s cooperation with authority figures consisted of contradictory declarations about where his wife was, followed by a lack of collaboration upon hiring an attorney.
Closing arguments saw prosecutors stating that Andreen was killed by her husband at home during a confrontation about her having an affair, wanting to open her own business secretly, and plotting to kill him. Described as a “cover-up”, Steven Speir (prosecutor) said, “This is a man who is only concerned about himself. Blames his wife for everything he did to her,” and mentioned that after committing such a heinous deed, he mauled her remains with a hammer and burned what was left in order to cover his tracks.
Speir stated, “(But) he’s sorry that he got caught,” however, “It’s time for justice for Andreen. It’s time for justice for her daughter. It’s time to find him guilty of murder.”
The defences rebuttal introduced, however, that the trial was one of discovering the “kind and degree of responsibility” that McDonald should shoulder. Concluding that it was a murder borne of necessity, defense attorney John Convery boiled down the events of the deciding moment to self defence. He also revealed that McDonald contacted his in-laws three days before the start of the trial to tell his side of the story.
Describing Andreen’s actions as “looking for a fight”, Convery said, “It’s Andreen (who) charges after him in the bedroom, she’s taunting him. Spitting in someone’s face is an assault. She charges Andre, (is) probably stronger than him. He has the right to use proportionate force.”
On Thursday, February 2, a jury commenced its mediation in the murder trial for around six hours, after which they were dismissed by Frank Castro, 399th District Court Judge, who asked the jury to return today at 9:15.
The jury was presented with the choice to contemplate manslaughter as an alternate option to first-degree murder.
Castro was chosen as the party to decide McDonald’s sentence if he is found guilty, and if found guilty, McDonald is looking at serving a maximum of life imprisonment, as opposed to up to 20 years in prison if he is only charged with manslaughter.
Watch Thursday’s court proceedings below, the audio comes in at about 1:11:00s into the video
