Garrett Moreland (6:33)

I've actually heard they usually do pretty well too.

Peyton Moreland (6:37)

Really? Yeah.

Garrett Moreland (6:38)

Mm. Don't ask me how I know this, but I know this well.

Peyton Moreland (6:41)

Luckily for her, her husband Andre was willing to lend a hand. He liquidated his 401k and sold his car to give Andrin the money she needed to get Starlight Homes, that's what she was naming it, off the ground. Now, at the beginning, Andre only had three or four residents, but with her wonderful reputation, that actually quickly grew. So over the years, Starlight Homes Assisted living becomes a multi million dollar company. And eventually Andre was actually able to open a second location in the San Antonio area.

Garrett Moreland (7:13)

By the way, I told you, by.

Peyton Moreland (7:14)

Then, Andre and Andre were equal partners in the business, splitting it 50 50. Andreen managed the business, did most of the work when it came to the day to day operations, and meanwhile, Andre took more of a back seat considering he was still working for the Air Force, having moved up the ranks by that point from captain to major. Though while the business itself was doing well, the couple was facing some challenges at home, particularly with their daughter. Elena was having a hard time with her speech and was later diagnosed with autism. This couldn't have been easy for the couple or their marriage, but a lot of their friends said if that was the case, like this was super hard on them, it really didn't show. Andreen was always volunteering what little free time she had to the causes she cared about. She still found time to show appreciation to her husband. On February 16, 2019, she threw Andre a lavish 40th birthday party at their beautiful San Antonio home. For a lot of people, that was actually the last time they would see Andreen McDonald smile. Now, one thing everyone knew about Andreen was she loved working out. For her, going to the gym was equivalent to going to church. She woke up early every morning to get to the gym by 5:30am so she could still get to work at 8. She never skipped a day. And she was strong because of this. According to Andre, her husband, she could lift about 300 pounds. She was practically a bodybuilder, so she wasn't messing around.

Garrett Moreland (8:52)

Dang.

Peyton Moreland (8:52)

But on the morning of March 1, 2019, just two weeks after that lavish party, Andreen doesn't show up to work that morning. After a few hours pass, some of her employees call to check on her, but it seems like her cell phone is off again. This is 2019. So they call the gym to see if her personal trainer had met with her that morning. And they say the same thing. No, Andre never showed, and the trainer hadn't even been able to get in touch with her.

Garrett Moreland (9:21)

Okay?

Peyton Moreland (9:21)

Now, by this point, they're also trying to get in touch with Andreen's family. Now, eventually, one of Andreen's employees actually gets a hold of her mother, Maureen, who is also living in the San Antonio area now. So she has come to America. And when she says she also hasn't heard from her daughter, they go, the employees go and pick Maureen up and take her back to Andreen's house. They also call Andre, who's like, I haven't seen my wife or heard from her this morning either.

Garrett Moreland (9:52)

Okay?

Peyton Moreland (9:53)

He woke up, got his daughter off to school, and then went to work over at Lackland Air Force Base. So now he's worried, too. He's like, what do you mean she didn't show up to work? So he's rushing back to the house to check, but no one's home. Then he goes over to a local hospital to check for her there. He knows that his wife suffers from really bad migraines. So his theory is maybe she had one so bad she needed to go to the doctors. When he asks the front desk if anyone has checked in with the last name McDonald, they say, yeah, actually, there is someone in room three by the name of McDonald.

Garrett Moreland (10:31)

It's got to be different McDonald.

Peyton Moreland (10:33)

So instead of going to room three, he's at the hospital. He's driven there, okay? He leaves the front desk, doesn't go to room three, goes back out to his car and drives back home without going in to check if that McDonald is his wife.

Garrett Moreland (10:50)

He says, okay, okay.

Peyton Moreland (10:52)

He forgot his cell phone, and he thought, okay, I found her. It's more important that Bullshit. I let everyone know she's okay. Because at this point, everyone's looking, everyone's worried. It's more important I let them know she's okay before going in to check on her.

Garrett Moreland (11:07)

And that's just crazy, because there's no way. If you were to, like, take a 100 people and ask them what they would do, I promise you, every single one would say, I would be running to that room to see if my significant other was there. Unless they were all murderers, then different story.

Peyton Moreland (11:24)

So by the time he's back at his house, though, so are the police, because everyone has been looking for her. They have called the police, and that's because while he was at the hospital, her mother, Maureen, had arrived at the home, and she had discovered some pretty scary things around the home. Called the police because she feels like they are signs of foul play. Now, unfortunately, Andre gets there. He's like, yeah, she's at the hospital, though. So police call the hospital that Andre was just at to confirm whether Andreen had checked or not and was in room three. They find out, yeah, actually, there is someone in room three with the last name McDonald. But it wasn't on dream.

Garrett Moreland (12:02)

Yeah.

Peyton Moreland (12:02)

Which he clearly there's some confusion. Why couldn't he have figured that out at the place over the police figuring out on the phone? But which means Andreen really is still missing, and leaving her daughter in business behind is not something anyone believes she would ever willingly do. This is a theory that's supported by evidence that is left all over the home. So let me get into the crime scene. The fact that her phone, purse, keys, wallet, and car are all still at the house in 2019 is a really big deal. There's also blood stains and hair on the light switch of the couple's bathroom. On top of that, they discover a shovel, two gas cans concealed in trash bags, a torn receipt from a Lowe's hardware store, a hammer in the trash can, and worst of all, a small burnt patch of grass in the backyard with what looks like a piece of one of Andreen's shirts in it. Okay, so, of course, one of the first people they speak to is Andre. Not only does his story about going to the hospital and coming back seem a little weird, especially about the part how he didn't go in and check on her before he left. He also tells police, well, yeah, we did get in a fight the night before. He says they had been at a tax preparer's office earlier in the day, and that's when he learned that Andreen had opened a separate business without his knowledge. He said when they got home that night, they got into an argument, but he Got into his car. He drove down to a gas station to cool off. He said they keep arguing over text messages there. But eventually he calmed down, went home to speak to Andreen in person. Clear the air. Only by the time he got home, he said Andreen was already asleep in the guest room. He figured that's where she was the next morning when he woke up, didn't see her, and left to take his daughter to school. Here's what's weird, though, about this, because obviously Andre's seeming suspicious. But police check out security cameras from the gas station and the hospital, and they confirmed that Andre was at both of those locations when he said he was. They also don't notice anything suspicious on Andre. He has no bruising, no scratches, anything indicating he had been in a fight. Plus, the two did seem to continue their argument over text into the late night hours of February 28, just like he said the night before she was reported missing. Not to mention, Andre denies wholeheartedly that he has anything to do with his wife's disappearance. Okay, have you ever bought like $150 perfume or cologne, Decided to really go in on this and then hate it? It's painful. But micro perfumes, make sure you never have to do that again.

Garrett Moreland (14:56)

Honestly, this is so smart.

Peyton Moreland (14:58)

It is so nice.

Garrett Moreland (14:59)

Is probably one of the smartest things. This is smart.

Peyton Moreland (15:03)

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Garrett Moreland (15:33)

And I know this might not be entirely. I mean, it's part of what they do as a business, but it's actually also cool to be able to buy like a bunch of different ones.

Peyton Moreland (15:40)

Yeah.

Garrett Moreland (15:41)

And swap and use the ones that are luxury. It's. Yeah, it's amazing.

Peyton Moreland (15:44)

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Garrett Moreland (15:55)

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Peyton Moreland (16:43)

Guys, we have talked about Bombas forever, but they are amazing. One of my favorite things about Bombas is that they give a pair for every single pair that is bought, which is just huge. And by the way, Bombas is really stepping up their slipper and slide game this season. They've got new shapes, new styles, fluffy things. I have more than just socks from bombas. I have shirts, slippers. I love all of it.

Garrett Moreland (17:08)

We love bombas. I mean, if you listen to the podcast, you've heard us talk about bombas. Honestly, we both. We both like them. They have great stuff.

Peyton Moreland (17:16)

So head over to bombas.com husband and use code husband for 20% off your first purchase. That's Bombas. B O M B A S.com husbandcode husband at checkout. So this whole thing is pretty unusual here you have a suspect, an Air Force major, mind you, admitting to fighting with his wife the night before she disappeared. But there seems to be video evidence corroborating at least part of his story. But at the moment, police weren't even totally sure this was a homicide investigation. So the following day, Saturday, March 2, a team of about 70 people go out searching for Andreen McDonald.

Garrett Moreland (17:55)

I was gonna say. So there's no body right now, which is kind of a big issue. Yeah, just that now.

Peyton Moreland (18:04)

Meanwhile, police are looking deeper into Andre's story and honestly, just the history of the couple in general, trying to figure out everything about them. This is always the first step in a missing person's investigation. Where they have a spouse. What are the finances? What are. Is there, you know, an affair going on? What are the dirty secrets? Do they fight a lot? How do friends see their relationship? So police find while their businesses were doing well, it seems Andreen wasn't interested in always working with her husband during that meeting the day before she went missing. Like I mentioned, Andreen had opened a new business and had omitted Andre's name from the paperwork. Apparently, Andre felt like Andreen was trying to secretly swirl away some earnings for herself into this new business account, even though the two were married. And in the State of Texas. He would still be entitled to half her earnings. So police have to wonder, though, would this have been enough to set Andre off? This hardly seems like a motive for murder. More just kind of like a marital hiccup. Though apparently, there's a lot more to the story. Turns out the marriage itself had been on shaky ground for a while. And according to some, Andre had been physically abusive toward Andreen in the past during their relationship, which may be why she started to stray from the marriage. Police find out Andrin had sought comfort in an old flame and an ex named Auburn Hall. He was a businessman who had been living in her hometown of Port Antonio, Jamaica. The two had dated back when they were teenagers, and two years prior, back in 2017, they had actually reunited while Andreen was home in Jamaica doing some charity work. And then they kind of just keep talking. It's long distance. That's until 2018. Andreen gets two new tattoos, and one includes a date on her wrist, but she doesn't tell Andre what the date is for.

Garrett Moreland (20:09)

That's. That's.

Peyton Moreland (20:11)

It's a bold choice.

Garrett Moreland (20:12)

That's. That's. That's wild.

Peyton Moreland (20:14)

It's a bold choice.

Garrett Moreland (20:15)

That's pretty insane. Also, it seems like every time you do a case like this, like, same. It's all just the same money issue, right?

Peyton Moreland (20:23)

Infidelity.

Garrett Moreland (20:24)

Infidelity. Like, it all seems to wrap up the same.

Peyton Moreland (20:28)

Domestic abuse. Yeah, it's always the same aisle.

Garrett Moreland (20:31)

Yeah, it always is. Yep.

Peyton Moreland (20:33)

So this whole date on her wrist that she can't explain made Andre suspicious, especially when he kept asking, what's the significance of this? No real answer. So after some social media digging, Andre discovers the truth. The date was Aubin's birthday.

Garrett Moreland (20:50)

Oh, my gosh, dude, that's. To be married to someone and do.

Peyton Moreland (20:54)

That, have a tattoo. The other thing is, like, that might.

Garrett Moreland (20:57)

Be worse than, like, having an affair. You know what I'm saying?

Peyton Moreland (21:01)

Because you're making it permanent on your body.

Garrett Moreland (21:03)

That's crazy. That's crazy.

Peyton Moreland (21:05)

Also, the second tattoo she got, when Andrey's going through social media, he realizes that it's a replica of one of Aubyn's. So now they have matching tattoos. They share the same tattoo. Does that make sense?

Garrett Moreland (21:20)

Yeah, that makes sense. Yes.

Peyton Moreland (21:21)

So this sets Andre off, who told her to call off the affair, get the tattoos covered immediately. Either that or they were getting a.

Garrett Moreland (21:29)

Divorce, which, yeah, duh.

Peyton Moreland (21:31)

Fair.

Garrett Moreland (21:32)

Yeah.

Peyton Moreland (21:32)

He told her that she was never allowed to go to Jamaica again without him, which, again, fair.

Garrett Moreland (21:38)

Okay.

Peyton Moreland (21:39)

It's just hard because that's also her hometown.

Garrett Moreland (21:41)

Yeah.

Peyton Moreland (21:41)

I mean, so Andre, not wanting to risk her business and everything she'd built over the years, did what she was told. She got the tattoos covered up. She cut off off contact with Auburn, or so she said. Apparently, she also told a friend around this time that if anything were to happen to her, it would be because of Andre.

Garrett Moreland (22:00)

Interesting.

Peyton Moreland (22:00)

In fact, the couple's friend Andrew Russell, showed police text messages between him and Andreen. Messages where she said, quote, someone's gonna snap. Andrew said he had even seen it for himself recently. Andrew was at the couple's home in December of 2018 when the two got into a physical fight. He actually walked into the kitchen and found the couple, Andreen and Andre, wrestling each other on their floor. He said the next day, the couple was just laughing it off, like it was happened all the time type thing. And Andrew's sitting here like, now this is dangerous. Like, that's not normal behavior.

Garrett Moreland (22:37)

Yeah, it's not okay.

Peyton Moreland (22:38)

So knowing that Andre had motive and had been physically abusive towards his wife in the past, police are ready to secure an arrest warrant. Especially because by that afternoon of March 2nd, Andre was no longer willing to speak to police. He had lawyered up, stopped answering questions. He appeared to just kind of be closing in. So that Same day, around 2:00pm, investigators tailed him to a gun shop where he purchased a 9 millimeter handgun and bullets. So when police see this, they're like, we gotta, we gotta step in. Like, where is he going with this gun when he knows he's a suspect? Like, is he going back to his house? He has a daughter there. So they confront Andre outside the gun store as he was walking back to his car. And after a somewhat pretty violent confrontation, police get him in handcuffs, turn him over to military authorities so they can perform a mental evaluation.

Garrett Moreland (23:34)

I wonder if he, I assume he was going to go take his own life and possibly the life of the daughter. The daughter as well.

Peyton Moreland (23:40)

So at the same time, investigators continued to compile evidence against Andre. And they found the evidence pretty quickly. You remember police found a ripped up Lowe's Hardware receipt at the couple's home. So they go to the store, ask to check security footage. Sure enough, Andre is on camera on March 1st buying a bunch of really suspicious things. We've seen this a hundred times. He buys a hatchet, heavy duty trash bags, gloves, an axe, a log splitter, two 5 gallon gas cans. All things you might need if you were gonna, I don't know, kill someone and get rid of the body.

Garrett Moreland (24:13)

Yeah, basically.

Peyton Moreland (24:15)

Please keep in Mind, they found that patch of burnt grass in the McDonald's backyard that had a piece of Andreen's clothing in it.

Garrett Moreland (24:21)

They should almost. I mean, there's nothing you can do about it. And it's so far and few in between that this actually happens. So I understand why it's not a thing. But, like, anytime someone's in Lowe's buying anything that looks like a kill kit, it's like, no flagged, like, sorry, you can't buy it, or the police are coming. I don't know.

Peyton Moreland (24:39)

You have to do an interview to get checked. I mean, they could put it in place.

Garrett Moreland (24:43)

It's just. It's. It's so far and few, and it's.

Peyton Moreland (24:45)

Like a kill kit can look similar to.

Garrett Moreland (24:48)

Yeah, it can look like a bunch of different things. So. Yeah.

Peyton Moreland (24:52)

What do they do next? Please go back to the house with a search warrant to collect these specific items, or at least any that they hadn't recovered. And when they get there, they check Andreen's car and they find that shovel, the ax, the trash bags. Honestly, a lot of items from that purchase from Lowe's. And even more damning, they discover a pile of clothes in the garage. Clothes that belonged to Andre and had traces of blood on them. By this point, they also have some information that came back about the hammer they found in the trash the day before. The lab says it has traces of DNA on it, and it appears to be a match to Ondrin's. So not only do they have evidence that Andre bought all this stuff that looks like you're gonna try to dispose of a body, they also have a hammer with her DNA on it, which feels like a murder weapon.

Garrett Moreland (25:44)

Yep.

Peyton Moreland (25:46)

Obviously, they just need to confirm that this is more than a missing person's case, because it's only day two. And while investigators are moving pretty fast gathering evidence, a suspect, it's proving to take a bit longer to find Andrin, or rather her body. The only thing everyone knows, however, is there's no way that this mother left her businesses and her young daughter behind with no notice. Well, the following day, March 3, the Air Force finishes their mental evaluation on Major Andre McDonald. Well, I'm not totally sure what the results are. I know that they do release him.

Garrett Moreland (26:21)

It's hard because, I mean, let's be honest, I feel like it is pretty easy to lie and cheat your way through mental Evaluate evaluations.

Peyton Moreland (26:30)

Yeah, you know, like, I think a psychiatry. I don't know.

Garrett Moreland (26:34)

It's hard. It's hard because I think every. Yeah, I Just think it's something that's probably pretty easy to do. And I could be wrong, but because.

Peyton Moreland (26:41)

Low key, you just lie. How are they gonna diagnose you if you're lying about your symptoms or your reasoning?

Garrett Moreland (26:46)

Exactly what I'm saying. Unless that person knows you're lying. And even then, like, it's opinion.

Peyton Moreland (26:54)

It's kind of like when you take those, I don't know if I'm outing myself here, but when you take those behavioral, like, oh, what's your score? What type of, what's your love language? What? Yes.

Garrett Moreland (27:05)

Yeah, you could lie on those.

Peyton Moreland (27:06)

Yeah. And you're taking it and you're like, well, what's the, like, right answer? Not necessarily right answer, but like, as a perfectionist, sometimes when I see those questions, I'm like, well, the person I want to be, like the perfection person of me, wants this to be the answer. Yeah, I just, I have to be, like, really honest with myself.

Garrett Moreland (27:23)

And granted, yeah, you could. Yeah. I mean, you can analyze someone's body language. You can analyze how they're answering the questions. I mean, there's a lot you can analyze. But I also feel like it's also easy to lie on them. Just my opinion, my two cents.

Peyton Moreland (27:37)

Yeah. So the Air Force releases him, and then the local authorities arrest him, but not for killing Andrew. Instead, they arrest him for evidence tampering, since they found the Lowe's receipt was torn up in the family's trash. Of course, this is just a precursor until they find the body. That's what they're hoping for, but we know how hard that is when you don't have a body. Unfortunately, Andre doesn't stay behind bars for long. He's released on $300,000 bail and is placed under house arrest. He's only allowed to go to and from work with an equal monitor.

Garrett Moreland (28:13)

I, I, I feel like I should know the answer to this. And it's been five years into this. I've never asked this question. So hopefully you know the answer. If not, I will look it up real quick when you release on, on bail. Right. Or bond, whatever you want to call it, say it's half a million dollars. Are you required to put up that half a million dollars in cash then? Or can you? Because I know there's places that loan chart, like, will bond, like, there's places that will do loans for it. So I assume they'll put up the money and you pay them back.

Peyton Moreland (28:45)

That's what I think it is.

Garrett Moreland (28:46)

I mean, it's both. I'm sure there's Or. I'm sure there's both. Obviously there's both options, but because sometimes we're doing cases and someone's on, like, in a million dollars, and they pay.

Peyton Moreland (28:57)

It, I feel like that's so rare.

Garrett Moreland (28:59)

Like, how do they have a million dollars cash just sitting around? Like, here you go.

Peyton Moreland (29:03)

You know what's also crazy about bail?

Garrett Moreland (29:05)

I need to look this up real quick.

Peyton Moreland (29:07)

They determine bail based off of you, like, your history. So obviously, like, flight risk and stuff. Like, you won't really get a chance for bail if they feel like you're a flight risk. But for me, because he was arrested at the gun store, I'm shocked he got bail because what's to say he's just not gonna go buy another gun? Second, they base it off of, like, how much money you have, so they just try to make it difficult based on that. That's why, like, sometimes people with severe charges aren't in the millions because the state doesn't think they'll even have a. Oh, my gosh.

Garrett Moreland (29:45)

Okay. Sorry to interrupt.

Peyton Moreland (29:47)

Good.

Garrett Moreland (29:48)

So there's a couple of different things I didn't know, and this could be wrong. This is what I found online. Doing some research real quick. Couple of things. Right. Bail is money. The court requires to release someone from jail while they wait for court. Okay. If they show up to all court dates, the bail money gets returned minus small fees. If they skip court, the bail is lost. I don't know how I didn't know.

Peyton Moreland (30:10)

This is this state by state.

Garrett Moreland (30:12)

I think this is how it works everywhere. I guess we'll find out. Example. A listener will correct us a. Example. Bail is $5,000. You pay $5,000 directly to the court. In jail, you get most of it back at the end. As long as the person goes to court 100% upfront. Yes. B, use a bail bondsman. Bondsman. This is what most people do. This is basically a loan, but the part you pay is a fee. You won't get back. Example bail is $5,000. You pay the bondsman 10%. 500. They cover the 5,000 of the court. 500 is not refundable. And then the person has to show up to court. If you don't show up to court, then they come after you for the full amount.

Peyton Moreland (30:56)

Interesting.

Garrett Moreland (30:57)

That's crazy. Yeah. Anyway, so in case those who didn't know that. I didn't know that for some reason, I thought that, like, the $300,000 or whatever you paid, I thought that they kept. I guess it makes way more sense now that they get it back. I don't know how I'm five years into this and I never looked this up.

Peyton Moreland (31:15)

Imagine you're like a crazy, a bondsman for someone who has charges of like, financial fraud.

Garrett Moreland (31:22)

Oh, yeah.

Peyton Moreland (31:23)

I bet you their charges is like taking people's money and not paying it back and going on the run. And then as the bondsman, you're like, you have to show up.

Garrett Moreland (31:30)

And also, I bet you they don't get it. I bet you they're like, sorry, dude, I'm not doing this for you. That's funny, actually.

Peyton Moreland (31:35)

Okay.

Garrett Moreland (31:36)

Anyways, some good information. Yep.

Peyton Moreland (31:38)

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Garrett Moreland (33:34)

Claws look, if you have a dog or you have a cat or you have any animal, whatever is, you got parrot, you got lizard, whatever you got, they are amazing. We, Peyton and I are huge pet parents. We absolutely love Daisy Pet. Parents can send their pet's wish to chewy.com chewy claws and it might just come true. And your wish spreads the joy because each wish means five meals get donated to pets in need. And pets do need help.

Peyton Moreland (34:03)

I really really love that these wishes trigger a donation of five meals to shelters and rescues across the again, you just submit through Chewy app, they'll double the donation. A wish for a pet really is the wish that keeps on giving.

Garrett Moreland (34:18)

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Peyton Moreland (34:30)

We love Chewy. I love what they stand for. I love that they're taking care of animals and mine let them take care of yours too. So obviously he's released. He also can't have any contact with his daughter. And throughout his bond hearing he's like laughing and smiling. It's, it's odd. Meanwhile, his wife, the mother of his child, is still missing and he's at court, presumably because he killed her. So around the same time, the sheriff's office holds a news conference encouraging anyone with more information on Andrine and her whereabouts to come forward. At this point, droves of people around the San Antonio area start coming out to help search for the missing mother. This includes the Texas Search and Rescue Teams and a volunteer search party formed by ex Air Force Airman Bobby Green who may have known the couple personally. Even the FBI gets involved in the investigation and a five thousand dollar reward is offered to anyone with valuable information. Unfortunately, none of these, none of these actions turn up anything of value. That is until April 4, 2019. This is five weeks after Andreen's disappearance. That day, a hiker is walking along a trail adjacent to a highway and they come across some charred human remains. The Sheriff's department is called out to the scene feeling optimistic that this was Andreen. However, they determine the remains belong to someone of much smaller stature. A female, around 5 foot 2 or 5 foot 4. They were eventually identified as 39 year old Norma Pacheco. So while one missing person might have been found that day, the search for Andreen McDonald continues. Still, Andreen's family and friends never give up hope. And on July 11, 2019, 133 days after her disappearance, everything changes. That day, a man named Clifton Clabundy went out to a 50 acre private ranch just six miles from Andreen's home. He said he was wandering around the Property looking for a cow skull to use as a decoration when he was met with an overwhelming stench. He did find a skull. It was just not a cow skull. He realized it was human and immediately called the police. When the sheriff's office arrived, they found a body buried under wood and other animal parts. They believed it had been set on fire. Amongst that was a wig that was believed to be Andreen's, as well as a body part with a cross tattoo, which Andreen had. The remains were collected and examined by a medical examiner Shortly after. And after confirming dental records, they were certain they had found the body of 29 year old Andreen McDonald. Okay, now, because she'd been out in the field so long.

Garrett Moreland (37:16)

That's insane, dude.

Peyton Moreland (37:17)

And partially burned. The medical examiner was really unable to say exactly what caused Andreen's death. But she had many injuries that suggested it had been a blunt object, like a hammer. Maybe the one that her DNA was on. Back at home, she also had a fractured spinal cord.

Garrett Moreland (37:36)

Oh, my God.

Peyton Moreland (37:36)

A broken rib, a broken jaw. And with that, police were more than able to secure a new arrest warrant for Andre, this time for murder charges. With his GPS ankle bracelet on, it was easy for officers to find him at his house. Two days later, on July 13, he was taken into custody, where this time his bail was set at $2 million. For the next two years, he sat behind bars until his bail was reduced, finally getting out on bond while he waited his court date in 2023. Meanwhile, the prosecution began putting together their theories on what had happened, mainly because Andre was pleading not guilty and was refusing to talk about what had happened the night his wife died. The state was basically hinging their case on domestic violence and the fact that he was essentially losing his wife. She was keeping secrets, opening new business accounts. But when it came time for Andre's court appearance, he took the stand as the only witness for his defense. And he tells a story that paints himself as the victim. So here's what he says at court.

Garrett Moreland (38:43)

Of course, dude. Of course.

Peyton Moreland (38:44)

He claimed that on the night of February 28, 2019, he and Andreen had that appointment at their tax preparer's office, where he found out that she'd started a new company without his knowledge. But the way Andre saw it, Andreen was stealing money from him. Back at the house, the two got into a heated argument, which was when he left to go to the gas station to cool down. That's obviously shown on security footage. However, he said when he was finally home, Andreen was waiting for him, not asleep. In the guest, like he'd originally said, he said Andreen was angrier than before. He said he spoke about how they should just get divorced, split their business in half, go their separate ways. But that enraged his wife. He claims that's when she charged him. She spit in his face, he grabbed her head, they headbutted each other, accidentally splitting open her face. And when Andreen realized she was bleeding, she began yelling that Andre had attacked her. And that's when she began throwing punches.

Garrett Moreland (39:42)

She.

Peyton Moreland (39:42)

He says he finally got her to the ground and kicked her a few times to protect himself. Like the whole thing was self defense.

Garrett Moreland (39:48)

Which is so funny because, dude, I mean, no offense, I mean, I mean, I guess offense because he killed someone, so I don't really care. But like, she obviously didn't want to be in a marriage. I mean, she was having an affair with him. So it just is a little story is just so ironic. Exactly.

Peyton Moreland (40:07)

Also, the next part of his story, he claims that his whole self defense, she's on the floor, she's wheezing, and that's when their 7 year old daughter enters the room. So Andre's like, oh, he sees Elena, he picks her up, he takes her back to bed, he sits in there, tries to calm her down for 30 minutes, and by the time he gets back out, his wife has died. Okay, so he wasn't even in the room when she took her last breath. This is what he's saying. A trial. To try and support this, the defense played several videos that showed Andreen working out how strong she was. Basically, they were like, even though she's the girl and he's the guy, she was stronger than him. But when the prosecution asked, well, then why did you never call 91 1? He was like, well, you know, I just had to get my wife out of there before my daughter could see. Andre said he took her to the field, stripped her naked, burned her clothes, but this is not adding up. The hammer.

Garrett Moreland (41:00)

And then also, like, why would you strip her naked? Like, what is all this?

Peyton Moreland (41:04)

Well, also like a hammer with DNA on it is not kicking someone's belly till they die.

Garrett Moreland (41:10)

No, it's. You're not getting out of this one. That's crazy. That's crazy.

Peyton Moreland (41:14)

And then also, we know Andre went to Lowe's the next day to buy all of the products. So there's, there's no way he took the body to the field while his daughter was asleep because he didn't buy the products to get rid of the body until the next day. It's a Whole thing, basically. The jury returned with a verdict Finding Andre McDonald, the Air Force major, guilty of manslaughter. He was given the maximum sentence of 20 years behind bars and given an additional five years for tampering with evidence.

Garrett Moreland (41:47)

Wow. So he'll get out in 25 years.

Peyton Moreland (41:49)

Unfortunately, and I don't know exactly what at trial convinced the jury that this wasn't pretty. Maybe because he bought the supplies after. So it wasn't premeditated. They had to have come up with a reason for it to be, man.

Garrett Moreland (42:02)

Which I guess I could see, but it still.

Peyton Moreland (42:05)

Or if they do believe his story, that could still be considered manslaughter. Yeah, that kind of she left him no choice type thing, but not necessarily self defense.

Garrett Moreland (42:18)

Yeah.

Peyton Moreland (42:18)

Unfortunately, in the wake of Andre's conviction, the businesses were closed. Andreen's parents did get a few small wins. They were awarded custody of their granddaughter. They also pursued a civil suit against Andre that same year as his conviction. In 2023, Andreen's estate was awarded $210 million in damages, which Andre was responsible for. The real interesting reveal to come out of all this was just a day after Andre was sentenced, news broke that his father back in Jamaica was also awaiting trial. So he gets sentenced, and then the news is like, oh, this guy that just got sentenced for murder, murdering his wife. His father is in Jamaica awaiting trial for the murder of his ex wife and the murder for hire of his current wife.

Garrett Moreland (43:07)

The apple does not fall far from the tree, does it?

Peyton Moreland (43:11)

So in 20.

Garrett Moreland (43:11)

Crazy.

Peyton Moreland (43:12)

In 2024, his father was found guilty of murdering the ex wife and murder for hire for the current wife and sentenced to life in prison.

Garrett Moreland (43:19)

What are the chances? That's got to be, like, first time ever. If we're speaking, like, analytically, that's got to be, like, very rare for father and son. Yeah.

Peyton Moreland (43:31)

Crazy Andre has filed a pill. It's been denied. Perhaps one of the most heartbreaking parts of all of this, though, is that the daughter has been through all of this. During Andre's sentencing hearing, his daughter wrote him a letter that was read. It said, to my dad, you killed my mother. You took away my life, and you broke my heart. You hurt my feelings.

Garrett Moreland (43:49)

You.

Peyton Moreland (43:49)

You'll pay for what you did. You'll be punished forever.

Garrett Moreland (43:52)

Yeah.

Peyton Moreland (43:53)

Elena has since gotten some help through a foundation called Eagles Flight Advocacy and Outreach, which lends support to people living struggling with autism. And if you would like to look into that organization, you can find them atEagles Flight SA.com and that is the murder of Andreen McDonald.

Garrett Moreland (44:12)

It would be really hard to be a child and have to deal with that the rest of your life. Extremely difficult. Well, the whole situation would be extremely difficult.

Peyton Moreland (44:22)

That level of betrayal.

Garrett Moreland (44:24)

Yeah.

Peyton Moreland (44:24)

All right, you guys, that was our episode, and we will see you next time with another one. I love it.

Garrett Moreland (44:29)

And I hate it.

Peyton Moreland (44:30)

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