Tonight Friday (December 9 2023) “48 Hours” A woman who turned her assisted living business into a million-dollar company vanished
The December 9 edition of “CBS 48 Hours” starts at 10PM ET/PT on CBS.Millionaire business owner Andreen McDonald was known for her strict workout regimen. On the morning of March 1, 2019, when she didn’t show up for work, her employees called the gym, which was her usual first stop in her morning routine. They found out she never showed up there either, which raised red flags. What happened to the businesswoman, wife and mother? Correspondent Peter Van Sant reports on 48 HOURS: “Andreen McDonald: A Millionaire Vanishes”.
Andreen and Andre McDonald were a San Antonio power couple who seemingly had it all – a gorgeous home, high-end vehicles and a successful business that funded their lavish lifestyle. Then she disappeared. “Her purse was still there, her keys were on the counter and her vehicles were still there,” investigator Frank Stubbs tells Van Sant.
Stubbs saw something startling while searching the home. “I found there was blood on the wall in an area that was kind of odd, there was blood and hair on a light switch,” Stubbs says.
As investigators searched the couple’s house, Major Andre McDonald sat outside. McDonald, a cyber warfare analyst for the U.S. Air Force, was married to Andreen McDonald for 10 years. He told investigators that the last time he had seen his wife was the night before.
The day after Andreen was reported missing, investigators discovered newly purchased items inside one of the McDonalds’ cars that were not there during their initial search, including a shovel and ax. And in a trash can, some clothing that appeared to be Andre McDonald’s.
“We found blood on the pocket of the jeans,” says Stubbs. Although investigators had suspicions about Andre McDonald, without a body, none of the evidence collected proved that a murder had occurred.
Law enforcement, along with volunteers, family and friends, searched for Andreen McDonald for months. The search ended in July 2019 – 133 days after her disappearance – when a local farmer made a gruesome discovery.
“I saw what appeared to be a human skull,” the farmer tells Van Sant.
Less than 48 hours later, Andre McDonald was arrested for the murder of his wife. He pleaded not guilty to the charge.
During his murder trial in early 2023, McDonald recalled fighting with his wife, and his unique self-defense claim raised eyebrows.
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