FORT WORTH -- Shortly after being found guilty of murdering his wife, Doris Andrews, Mark Andrews' past came back to haunt him.
One by one Thursday morning, during the sentencing phase of his trial, prosecutors called to the stand those who had known Mark Andrews throughout his life.
First, his brother, Jason Andrews, who testified that despite being raised and supported by good adoptive parents, Mark Andrews was a liar who lacked emotion and empathy. Jason Andrews told jurors he was now concerned for his family and parents because they had cooperated with prosecutors. He believed the community was safer with his brother behind bars.
Three of Mark Andrews' four ex-wives and a live-in ex-girlfriend, also testified, saying Mark Andrews was a pathological liar who mooched off them financially, inflicted verbal and emotional abuse and had often moved on to a new relationship before he'd finished with the last.
Two of the women said Mark Andrews had physically abused them.
And Joseph Roy, Mark Andrews' former pastor, who testified about his former friend's untruthful boasts about being an ordained minister and his military past, including claims he'd been selected by the CIA "because of his innate ability to disregard human life."
In reality, military records how Mark Andrews had not been in special ops, nor been injured in Afghanistan as he'd previously told others. Rather, he'd enlisted in the Air Force but received a general discharge from the Air Force — separated by reason of misconduct — after just two years and four months of service.
In the end, it would take jurors less than 10 minutes Thursday to return with their sentence — life in prison. He will have to serve at least 30 years before he become eligible for parole.
In an emailed statement, Tarrant County prosecutors Kevin Boneberg and Art Clayton and investigator Jim Rizy said Mark Andrews " left a path of abuse and fear every step of the way, culminating in this ultimate evil act of selfishness, heartlessness, and brutal violence."
"Everyone supported Doris and this prosecution, including the defendant’s family. We thank them for this and their kindness," they wrote. "This verdict speaks directly to the victims of intimate partner violence across the county that offenders will be held accountable for their cowardly acts."
Walt Cleveland, who defended Mark Andrews along with attorney Patty Tillman, said after the trial that he was thankful to the jurors for their service.
"My only hope in this trial was for an acquittal and we fought for it, Patty and I did, like dragons and tires," Cleveland said. "The life sentence is not surprising to me given the horrific nature of the crime. We do the best we can with what we have to work with."
But Cleveland said he hopes police — whose investigation he criticized often throughout the trial — "takes what happens in this trial and learns from it."
Doris Andrews' oldest daughter, Hope Scott, declined to comment after the trial.
A gambling man
Mark Andrews had insisted from the beginning that he had not killed his wife, but rather found her dead on Jan. 8, 2016, in bed at their Azle home.
Mark Andrews, a professional gambler, had told police he left early that morning to go to the WinStar Casino in Oklahoma but turned around after realizing he'd left behind his money. Upon returning home, he said he found his wife unresponsive, attempted CPR and awoke a couple living with them, yelling at them to call 911.
Prosecutors argued Mark Andrews attacked his wife with the hammer as she slept, then staged the scene — including opening the couple's safe — to look like an intruder was responsible. They said his motive was to collect more than $373,000 on two life insurance policies that Doris Andrews had.
The jury deliberated more than three hours over two days before handing down their guilty verdict Thursday morning.
