by Sharelle Burt
December 12, 2023
Conviction and all… Andre McDonald is standing on victim-blaming.
Andre McDonald, the Air Force major convicted of manslaughter in the death of Andreen, his millionaire businesswoman wife, blames her for it, according to a report from 48 Hours.
He was convicted of manslaughter after pleading not guilty to the March 2019 murder. Andreen McDonald vanished in San Antonio. After hundreds began to search, her remains were found just six miles from the couple’s lavish home in a gated community.
Andre McDonald admitted to law enforcement that the last time he saw his wife was the night before as they argued about their lucrative assisted living business. He left the house to calm down, and when he returned, he thought Andreen McDonald was sleeping in their daughter’s bedroom.
He was arrested for her murder but stayed tight-lipped about what happened on the night of her death. That was until Jan. 30, 2023, the fourth day of the trial, when he testified that their heated argument led her death. Andre McDonald said he learned his wife and business partner had started another business a year earlier without him knowing.
“Basically, that meant to me, pretty much, that she was robbing me,” he testified. He remained steady when he left the house, but this time, on the stand, he said when he returned, Andreen McDonald was waiting for him to continue their argument. Things escalated. Divorce and the idea of splitting the business in half came up, which he said made Andreen McDonald angry.
Andre McDonald claimed the argument grew from verbal to physical when she attacked him. He said he was ducking her punches, when suddenly, Andreen fell. That’s when he kicked her twice.
“The second kick, I think I heard, like, some type of wheezing, you know, coming out of her,” Andre McDonald testified. “And then also, like, in the background, I could hear, like, some footsteps.” Those footsteps were those of the couple’s daughter, Alayna. He left Andreen McDonald on the floor, injured but alive, to put their little girl to bed.
When he returned 30 minutes later, she was dead.
According to the U.S. Sun, the defense team said Andre McDonald committed the crime in self-defense, pointing out that he feared for his life since Andreen McDonald was a powerlifter, lifting close to 300 pounds. However, a jury didn’t buy it, and sentenced Andre McDonald to 20 years in prison.
Watch how the entire case unfolded on CBS’ 48 Hours above.
