CHAMBERS COUNTY, Texas – Jurors have returned a life sentence for Sarah Hartsfield a day after she was found guilty of murdering her husband in 2023.
On Wednesday, jurors heard nearly two hours of closing arguments from state prosecutors and the defense and about one hour of deliberations.
Prosecutors presented evidence to jurors throughout the trial, which consisted of text messages, voicemails, and written explanations that Sarah had sent to various people and media outlets over the years.
A juror on the case spoke with KPRC 2’s Bryce Newberry after the case ended and answered several questions.
Q: 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞?
A: It appeared to take an hour to get the guilty verdict, but he said they ate lunch first, and on the first vote, all 12 hands went up. “It felt a little awkward that quickly,” he said. They had a brief discussion about any second thoughts and overall, it only took about 15 minutes to find her guilty.
Q: 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐤𝐞𝐲 𝐩𝐢𝐞𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞?
A: The Apple Legacy Contact being set up and sent from his phone to her phone during Joe’s critically low sugar level is what sealed the deal for this juror.
Q: 𝐖𝐚𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐭?
A: No. It was hard to hear about her path of destruction, this juror said. “It’s disappointing that somebody didn’t do something about this before this.”
Q: 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐝𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐭?
A: “Everything about her was an act. I looked at her a lot … I wanted to see her reaction,” he said. He noticed Sarah rolled her eyes a lot, acted shocked and like her kids were lying. “Not only does she not get it, she doesn’t even get that she doesn’t get it … she thinks she’s done nothing wrong.”
He doesn’t think Sarah would have been able to convince the jury of her innocence if she took the stand.
Bottom line? “We all took this as a responsibility. We all took it seriously.”
10 a.m. - Jury returns life sentence
A jury returned a life sentence to Hartsfield after the state’s request, as well as a $10,000 fine.
Hartsfield will be eligible for parole in 30 years.
Family members also delivered impact statements. Sarah’s late husband’s brother and sister, Tony and Jeannie Hartsfield, spoke first; however, she didn’t turn around. Jeannie noted how Sarah has left a lasting trail of destruction in almost everyone’s life and has become a monster. No excuse would be good enough for irreversible damage, and said Sarah hated the family because of the love and the bond that they had.
Jeannie also hopes Sarah will grow into the Christian she claimed to be before, thanking everyone who worked diligently on the case, not only in bringing justice for Joseph Hartfield, but justice for everyone negatively impacted by Sarah’s actions throughout her life.
Their mother, Helen Hartsfield, did not want to speak.
9:30 a.m. - Closing Arguments begin
During closing arguments of the punishment phase of Sarah Hartsfield’s insulin murder trial, Chambers County prosecutor Mallory Vargas asked the jury to sentence her to life in prison.
She said it would be the only clear way for Chambers County to send a clear and decisive message to “serial killers,” noting that what the defendant did has forever changed the people who loved her husband, Joseph Hartsfield.
The defense asked the jury to consider a sentence that would allow her to, at some point, see her children in the future. Attorney Case Darwin argued that although it’s clear her children don’t like her, it would give Sarah something to work toward in the future. He also noted her time in the military.
Darwin told the jury that no one knows what it’s like to be a child victim of sexual abuse or to grow up in the foster care system, which were both parts of Sarah’s childhood. He acknowledged that Sarah is not a victim and needs time to think about what she has done.
The jury started deliberating a sentence just before 9:30 on Thursday morning, the ninth day of her murder trial.
9:00 a.m. - Court back in session
The judge read the following punishment charging document to the jury: