Verdict in Mcdonald case sends a chilling message
In some ways, Andreen Mcdonald’s case fits in the classic category of an oppressive and insecure husband controlling his wife. Looking at Andreen Mcdonald one would never guess she was dealing with a dreadful, unhappy marriage to Air Force Maj. Andre Mcdonald, now convicted of manslaughter.
Unfortunately, there were ways in which she was atypical, and these attributes were used against her in her killer’s trial.
Andreen Mcdonald was an outstanding African American businesswoman who owned and managed several elder care facilities. Her family, friends and employees loved and respected her. The people she served revered her. She diligently cared for her physical well-being and it showed. She was tall and muscular. Her killer’s defense team used these traits to set her up as accomplished, powerful, intimidating, scary and threatening to her husband. Andre Mcdonald had a shorter stature, but nevertheless, as a member of the military, he was trained to kill.
Domestic violence is a devastating crime. Not understanding the multilayered complex dynamics of domestic violence makes it easy to fall into the trap of blaming the victim. Killed by her husband, Andreen Mcdonald
was discredited and portrayed as a lying, violent, conniving and sneaky cheater. Andre Mcdonald and his defense team systematically used this to divert the jurors’ attention away from him. This practice, unfortunately, is pervasive in domestic violence cases.
It’s unlikely Andreen Mcdonald did all the things he accused her of, but she’s no longer alive to counter the allegations. The claim that Andreen Mcdonald was cutting her husband out of a lucrative deal as the rationale for how evil she was is easily countered with the fact that we live in a community property state. Andreen didn’t have to be killed for that.
This case — in which the jury decided to convict on the lesser charge of manslaughter, not murder — also included the clever smokescreen of Andre Mcdonald admitting guilt. How self-serving and insidious it was for him to call Andreen Mcdonald’s family and admit that he killed her but claim it was in self-defense.
Andre Mcdonald was sentenced to 20 years in prison, and he will have to serve half his sentence before he is eligible for parole. I respect the judge urging the jurors to come to a decision, but I also would have been OK with a mistrial in order to strive for life in prison for him.
Men who use violence against their loved ones will come down harder and more severely when they feel threatened and fear they are losing control over them. This case depicted this dynamic in overkill. That Andre
Mcdonald went back to Andreen Mcdonald’s burial site to hammer on her skull a few more times demonstrates he had to make sure she was dead because if not, she’d have a lot to say.
An enormous amount of money was spent to monitor, arrest, detain, investigate and prosecute Andre Mcdonald. The message delivered in this trial is that our systems cannot be trusted. They are failing us. Women and girls are in danger.
Patricia S. Castillo, L.M.S.W., is co-founder and executive director of the P.E.A.C.E. Initiative. She serves as one of the tri-chairs of the Bexar County Task Force on Domestic Violence, a subcommittee of the Collaborative Commission on Domestic Violence.