SAN ANTONIO — The trial of Air Force Major Andre McDonald continued for a second day Tuesday after bombshell testimony related to a murder confession in court Monday.
McDonald faces life in prison if found guilty of killing his wife in 2019.
Testimony from Andreen's sister and mother detailed a phone call Friday from McDonald to the two women, in which he confessed to killing his wife after a business-related argument.
“I think he took off her clothes and burn it and then put her body in the car,” Johnson said. “He said that it was because he found out what she was doing about the business."
The women testified that they believed he made the confession because he wanted them to know what happened.
Witnesses Tuesday included law enforcement and a former hospital worker who recounted his brief interaction with the defendant.
Brandon Gordon was working for Methodist Hospital during the time of Andreen’s disappearance.
The prosecution presented surveillance video from March 1, 2019, when Gordon had a short exchange with McDonald at the hospital.
McDonald is shown walking into the hospital and walking up to the front desk.
Gordon described McDonald as being in a rush as he asked if his wife was an admitted patient at the hospital. Gordon only asked for a last name to which the defendant stated, McDonald.
“We have a button to press to open the door and he kind of stared off at me, went to the door and just left after that,” Gordon said.
Bexar County Sheriff’s Deputy Filiberto Gonzalez recalled his visit to the McDonald’s home in north Bexar County to perform a welfare check on March 1, the same day the defendant went to the hospital.
Gonzalez joined four women, including Andreen’s friend Carol Ann Ghanbar, who expressed concern over her disappearance after not answering the phone and failing to show up to work.
The deputy observed a burn pile in the backyard, blood on a bathroom light switch and noticed the floor gave off a strong odor of cleaning supplies.
Twenty-five minutes after Gonzalez arrived at the residence, he interacted with McDonald who had just arrived from the hospital. McDonald confirmed to Gonzalez that his wife was at the hospital but stopped short of providing any more substantive answers.
“I followed up and said, who told you that and then he said the guy at the front desk or the person at the front desk. I asked him what’s wrong with her. He said he didn’t know and I go, did you see her and he said no. And then I remember I responded to him. I go, if my wife was at the hospital I would want to see her what’s wrong with her,” Gonzalez said.
Gordon testified there was a woman by the name of McDonald present at the hospital and he assumed this was the defendant’s wife. But it wasn’t Andreen.
One of the prosecutors asked Gordon, “So it was just a coincidence that you had a woman named McDonald, is that possible?”
“Yes, with a wife and kid. Just so happen they were both African-American as well, so McDonalds is not a very common name so that’s why I proceeded to open the door," Gordon replied.
In addition to the hospital surveillance, the prosecution showed the jury text chains between Andre and Andreen, which illustrated a disagreement about a business decision the defendant just learned about.
In one of the WhatsApp messages, McDonald stated:
"Well, I'm done arguing. Point is, there is zero chance that I'm letting you purchase that building under that company. I'm not giving you 100% authority over any aspect of our business. I'm not going to insult you or yell at you, I'm just going to live by my own principles that protect myself from you under all circumstance."
Last week, McDonald's defense team worked to get certain evidence thrown out, saying law enforcement violated McDonald’s fourth amendment rights when they searched his home on March 1 and 2.
There have been some questions about if McDonald still holds his rank as major. We're told he does, partly because the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office filed charges against him.
The U.S. Air Force Reserve hasn’t taken disciplinary action against him so far.
The trial is expected to last a few weeks.
