Advocate decries decision in murder case
A jury’s decision to convict Air Force Maj. Andre Mcdonald of manslaughter but not murder in the killing of his wife prompted a prominent San Antonio women’s advocate to say he “got away with murder.”
Patricia Castillo, executive director of the nonprofit P.E.A.C.E. (Putting an End to Abuse through Community Efforts) Initiative, has worked for decades to reduce violence against women and families.
“We haven’t fallen for his smokescreen,” Castillo said in an interview. “We know what he did and what his defense team did.”
In a Facebook post, Castillo said: “He got away with murder ... members of the jury fell for his gaslighting. Rest in power Andreen.”
A Bexar County jury on Friday found Mcdonald, 43, not guilty of murder, bitterly disappointing prosecutors, investigators and the family of the victim, Andreen Nicole Mcdonald, 29. The jury instead convicted Andre Mcdonald of manslaughter.
After hearing the verdict, a beaming Mcdonald held up two fingers in a “V” shape as he looked toward his family members in the courtroom.
“To me, he was showing that he was victorious,” Castillo said. “And I don’t think it’s a peace sign. I really doubt that that guy knows one iota about what it means to live in peace.”
A hearing will begin today to determine Mcdonald’s sentence. If he receives the maximum sentence of 20 years for manslaughter, he could serve less than half that time with credit for good behavior and time served.
Testifying in his own defense at the trial, Mcdonald admitted to killing his wife Feb. 28, 2019. His lawyers argued that he acted in self-defense after the two got into a physical altercation.
Mcdonald told the jury that Andreen spit in his face, insulted his mother and called him a gay slur in Jamaican Creole. He said he knocked her to the floor and “gave her a couple of kicks to knock the wind out of her.”
The fight began after he learned that she had cut him out of his ownership stake in a business she ran, Mcdonald said.
“I was trying to defend myself,” he told the jury. “She’s bigger than me.”
Sheriff Javier Salazar, reacting to the jury’s decision Friday evening, called Mcdonald an “arrogant” person who thought he’d be able to get off scot-free.
Salazar recalled encountering Mcdonald after he was booked on a charge of murder.
“What I saw was eyes that were just devoid of any sort of human emotion,” Salazar said, “and just an arrogance about him, an air of ‘I’m going to get away with this, I’m smarter than everyone else, I’m certainly smarter than these cops.’ ”
The sheriff added, “I think we proved him wrong.”
Salazar said that after the verdict, Mcdonald “seemed to have a little more humility about him.”
Salazar said he had been “disturbed” by Mcdonald’s trial testimony about how he killed his wife and later mutilated her remains and set them ablaze.
“I was really quite shocked” by Mcdonald’s “matter of fact manner” and “nonchalance,” Salazar said.
The sheriff said that although he and his investigators were disappointed by the jury’s decision, “we will live with the result.” He added, “If the family is able to find peace and closure, then I’m happy with that outcome.”
Salazar said he gave Andreen’s father, Paul Anderson, the handcuffs Mcdonald wore while in sheriff’s custody. He called it “a token of our appreciation for everything he’s gone through.”