Home / Houston News / Witnesses found blood, hair in missing woman’s bathroom after entering through unlocked back door

Witnesses found blood, hair in missing woman’s bathroom after entering through unlocked back door


Andreen Nicole Mcdonald, 29, the wife of Air Force Maj. Andre McDonald, is seen in an undated courtesy photo provided Saturday, March 2, 2019 by the Bear County Sheriff Department. She has been missing since Friday, March 1, 2019. Her husband was arrested Sunday on charges of tampering with evidence related to her disappearance.
Before she went missing, Andreen McDonald told a close friend that if she ever disappeared, it would be because her husband, Air Force Major Andre McDonald, had killed her, according to court documents.
On Friday, after Andreen McDonald didn’t show up to the gym or to work, two places part of her usual routine, the close friend and another woman went to her home.
They knocked at the front door. No answer. So they went around back and discovered an unlocked way in. They went inside and found evidence that seemed to confirm their suspicions, according to investigators.
Andreen McDonald’s car in the garage. Blood stains on a light switch. A fresh burn pile out back.
Andre McDonald, 40, was arrested Sunday on a charge of tampering with evidence in the case of his missing wife. He was booked into the Bexar County Jail and his bail set at $2 million.
Though Andreen McDonald hasn’t been found, Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar said authorities believe she is dead.
Andre McDonald’s recently released arrest affidavit provided more details about what led investigators to suspect him.
According to the document, the blood and hair in the master bathroom of his North Bexar County home, in the 1000 block of Solitude Cove, were first discovered by acquaintances of Andreen McDonald who were looking for her after she didn’t show up to work on Thursday.
“The first witness said that the Missing Person (Andreen McDonald) told her many times if she ever went missing it would be because the Suspect killed her,” the affidavit says.
The two witnesses, described as a woman and one of her employees, went and knocked at the McDonald residence on Friday. When they received no answer, the women went to an unlocked back door and entered the house, according to their statements to detectives.
“The first witness said she and the second witness gained access to the residence through the back door, after no one answered their knock,” writes Dep. Mark Waits in McDonald’s arrest affidavit.
Johnny Garcia, a spokesman for the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office, said the women are “very close” friends of Andreen McDonald’s.
“They were tight knit with each other,” he said. “They know her routine, and they’re used to seeing her at certain places at certain times.”
Inside the home, the two women found blood and hair on a light switch in the couple’s master bathroom. One of the women observed “what she described as a fire on the ground,” the affidavit says. She said she saw a zipper in the fire.
The two women then left the residence. One of them drove to pick up Andreen McDonald’s mother and bring her to the home, according to the affidavit. At some point, Andre McDonald returned to his house and spoke with at least one of the witnesses but they “weren’t able to get many answers” out of him. According to the affidavit, as the second witness returned to the home with Andreen McDonald’s mother, they spotted Andre leaving the residence. Only then did they contact the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office.
The two witnesses and Andreen McDonald’s mother met with Deputy F. Gonzalez at home on Solitude Cove around 1:20 p.m. Friday. They reported Andreen’s disappearance and said they “suspected foul play.” Andreen McDonald’s mother led Deputy Gonzalez into the master bathroom and showed him the blood and hair. He also noticed a burn pile in the backyard, and he found Andreen McDonald’s purse, ID, keys and other personal belongings in the home.
Garcia said that despite the questionable legality of Andreen McDonald’s friends entering her home, deputies followed proper procedure.
Deputies detained Andre McDonald for questioning. The affidavit says he told investigators that his wife was being treated at Baptist Emergency Hospital on U.S. 281, but when authorities contacted the hospital, they were told she was not there. McDonald then said he didn’t know where she was, and he noted the two had been in an argument the night prior. According to the affidavit, McDonald declined to comment further and requested an attorney.
Bexar County records indicate McDonald had previously filed for divorce from his wife in 2017 but later dropped proceedings.
Authorities executed a search warrant at the home on Saturday, during which the blood found in the bathroom was found to be human. They also seized a Chevy Malibu that contained a small amount of presumed blood evidence, the affidavit says.
The same day, investigators followed Andre McDonald as he visited Nagel’s Gun Shop, where he bought a gun and ammunition. According to the affidavit, another deputy then went to the Solitude Cove residence to “make sure it was secure.” Garcia said sheriff’s office authorities were concerned for Andre’s well-being, but when the deputy arrived, he found additional evidence.
“When he approached the residence, he could see inside of the Porche Macan and noticed a shovel that was not present during the previous search of the residence,” the affidavit says. Deputies then secured a second search warrant.
The second warrant led to the discovery of two torn up receipts indicating Andre McDonald had purchased a shovel, an axe, a hatchet, heavy duty large plastic bags, gloves and two 5-gallon gas cans. Investigators found many of those items in the back of McDonald’s Porche, and they also discovered heavy coveralls in a trash can. Further, another fire pit “that was not present during the previous search” was found. Investigators determined it had been used to destroy “papers and other items.”
Based on the evidence collected during the search warrants, deputies arrested McDonald on the tampering with evidence charge and booked him into jail.

Check Also

AccuWeather predicts 2024 hurricane season could be ‘explosive,’ with possibility of 25 named storms

AccuWeather has unveiled its 2024 hurricane outlook forecast, indicating a potentially active season ahead. Meteorologists …