SAN ANTONIO — Day four of the Andre McDonald murder trial featured testimony from law enforcement who guided the jury through evidence found in the defendant’s home, including an ax, hatchet and heavy-duty work gloves.
Four witnesses took the stand, answering questions about evidence documented at the home of Andre and Andreen McDonald after a search warrant was served on March 2, 2019.
Earlier in the week, the prosecution presented surveillance video of the defendant walking through a Lowe’s home improvement store buying a list of the aforementioned items on March 2, a day after Andreen went missing.
Investigators recovered a torn-up receipt from the home improvement store, which listed a number of items, including gasoline cans, a shovel, knives, trash bags, and flashlights.
Authorities arrested McDonald outside Nagel’s Gun Shop on March 3 for tampering with evidence.
The prosecution presented pictures and video of the scene where investigators found Andreen McDonald’s remains off Specht Road east of Camp Bullis in July 2019.
Judge Frank Castro dismissed the jury for the day just before noon since he had veterans court in the afternoon.
The trial will resume at 9 a.m. on Friday.
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On Thursday, the prosecution revealed surveillance video of the defendant, cell phone logs and photos of Andreen's skeletal remains.
The prosecution presented evidence of Andre and Andreen McDonald’s text message chains and how the conversations aligned with the location of their devices from Feb. 28 to March 1, 2019.
Tuesday, the prosecution showed the jury text chains between Andre and Andreen, which illustrated another disagreement.
The previous day, shocking 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."
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 it's the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office that filed charges against him and not military officials.
The U.S. Air Force Reserve hasn’t taken disciplinary action against him so far.
The ongoing trial is expected to last at least a few weeks.
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