Sarah Hartsfield, 48, appeared via Zoom at her first court appearance and pleaded not guilty to murdering Joseph Hartsfield in January.
The incident took place in Chambers County, where Hartsfield is currently being held in jail on $4.5 million bond. As Hartsfield has no prior convictions and has never missed court, her attorney asked a Chambers County Judge to lower her bond to $4.5 million.
The judge agreed to lower Hartsfield’s bond to $4.5 million, but required her to wear an ankle monitor if she posts bond. In the hours before his death and before Hartsfield called 911, Hartsfield’s ex-husband’s insulin level was suspiciously high, according to the Chambers County Sheriff’s Office.
Hartsfield was married five times, and two of her partners died while in her presence. The Minnesota authorities reopened an old case involving Hartsfield, where she shot and killed her fiancé David Bragg during an argument that turned physical in Garfield, Minnesota, five years ago.
The Douglas County Attorney found that Hartsfield shot Bragg in self-defense because he fired a gun at her. The authorities declined to file charges against Hartsfield in Bragg’s death, but investigators have now re-opened the case.
According to Kirkwood, he was unaware that the case had been reopened. He said Hartsfield emphatically maintains her innocence.
Hartsfield’s past relationships, as well as her constant moving across dozens of cities across the country, were examined by state prosecutors. A protective order is currently in place against one of her ex-partners and two daughters.