A woman allegedly kills her fifth husband. A hookah bar owner on trial again. Plus, a Dateline LIVE preview
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What led to the trial of a woman accused of poisoning her fifth husband?
Olipa kerran hyvä haltia, joka loihti taikasauvallaan herkullisen jouluaterian kaikille metsän asukeille. Siinä oli tarjolla jos jonkin maista herkkua. Oli rosollia, silakkaa, kinkkua, laatikoita, graavattua lohta ja... Jaha, joo, tämähän ei ollutkaan joulusatu, tämähän olikin ostoslista. Ja se on pitkä. No, onneksi kaikki ainekset herkulliseen jouluun saat. S-Marketista. Joulu on ruokaa. S-Market.
From our family to yours, happy holidays. Hey guys, it's Blaine. You're listening in to Dateline's morning meeting. It's a big week. Our team is catching up on breaking crime news.
There's ring footage.
This is all on camera. Is this going to throw a wrench in the whole trial? Is it going to be a delay? We figured this was going to happen. Welcome to Dateline True Crime Weekly. I'm Andrea Canning. It's September 25th, and here's what's on our docket. In California, after serving almost 14 years in prison, a man convicted of murdering his girlfriend and setting their house on fire gets a new trial. The federal judge says the prosecution misrepresented the evidence at trial. In Dateline Roundup, a judge makes a critical ruling in the case of the alleged Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Huerman. Karen Reed is back in court, this time for her civil case. And Barry Morphew, the man charged with his wife's murder for a second time, gets some big news.
Barry Morphew was released after posting a $3 million bond.
Plus, I'm joined by my fellow Dateline correspondents. We'll be in Nashville this week for our first ever Dateline Live event, and we're going to give you a sneak preview.
Everybody getting together will be a wonderful thing.
Before all that, we're heading to a courthouse in Chambers County, Texas, where a woman accused of poisoning her fifth husband is heading to trial. On January 7th, 2023, Sarah Hartsfield called 911 in a panic from her home in Beach City, Texas. She told investigators that her diabetic husband, Joseph, had experienced a crash in his blood sugar overnight. Paramedics rushed Joseph to the hospital where doctors noticed something strange. His medical condition didn't seem to match the story Sarah was telling them. A nurse made a call of her own to the police to report her suspicion that Joseph had been poisoned. Days later, he was dead. A detective began taking a closer look at Sarah and quickly learned that she was no stranger to law enforcement.
In 2018, she came under scrutiny from police after fatally shooting her fiancé. She said she shot him in self-defense. In 2021, her ex-husband accused her of plotting to murder his new wife, something Sarah denies. But Sarah was never charged with any crimes until three weeks after Joseph's mysterious death, the detective arrested Sarah for his murder. She has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder. Next week, Sarah's trial will begin, and prosecutors have announced their plans to call witnesses from her past. Dateline Field producer Rachel White, who has crossed the country investigating Sarah's case, is here to bring us up to speed. Hey, Rachel.
Hi, Andrea.
Rachel, to start, tell us about Sarah and Joseph's relationship.
Sure. So they had gotten married really quickly after meeting. They had only known each other for about three months, and that wedding happened in February of 2022.
Were there any signs that the relationship was in trouble?
Yeah. A friend that we spoke to shared some messages that she had back and forth with Sarah in December, right before Joseph ended up dying, where Sarah had called him a nightmare. And she also told that same friend that she had planned to end the relationship.
Okay.
Did Joseph want out of the relationship, too? Were they at that point?
Yeah. So according to a search warrant affidavit on January 3rd, 2023, just a couple of days before Joseph was rushed to the hospital, he had actually asked a family member if he could stay with them because he was planning to divorce Sarah. Other members of Joseph's family also told investigators that they had voiced their concerns that Sarah might try to harm him.
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Chapters
4 chapters
1
What led to the trial of a woman accused of poisoning her fifth husband?
0:00–6:57
2
What details emerged about the relationship between Sarah Hartsfield and her husband?
6:57–14:18
3
What evidence did investigators find that raised suspicions against Sarah?
14:18–25:55
4
How did Sarah Hartsfield's past influence the investigation?
25:55–30:58
Speakers
6 identifiedMore from Dateline NBC
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