A Texas Woman Met Her End At The Hands Of Her Desperate Husband

Doris Andrews wanted nothing more than to have a close-knit family, and she paid for that yearning with her life.

Her first marriage ended after less than 10 years when the financial strain and stress of raising two small children — daughters Hope and Rachel — left a chasm between her and her husband, Keith.

Doris picked up the pieces by completing her education degree at Texas A&M University, but still, she felt compelled to find a man to spend her life with. Her second marriage to a man named David lasted less than a year after she realized he had a propensity for partying and domestic violence. Just a few months later, she met Roy. She and Roy married, but that wasn’t meant to be either. When her third marriage failed, it broke something inside of Doris.

Finally, in 2009, Doris ran into an old acquaintance named Mark at a high school football game in Eustace, Texas. Mark was fresh off his fourth divorce, and Doris was still reeling after her divorce from Roy, but something about Mark gave her hope that he could be the real deal.

Mark, who worked as a truck driver, proved to be a stable presence for Doris and her girls, who were 12 and 15 when their mom tied the knot for the fourth time in 2010.

Doris had met her match with Mark, who was just as loud and as quick to laugh as she was. Finally, Doris’s best friend, Tricia, thought that Doris might have found the right man for her.

The pair settled into life in their Texas home. Doris taught school, and Mark was a truck driver who liked to gamble at an Oklahoma casino in his spare time.

His hobby as a gambler slowly began to escalate though. He went from spending some of his free time playing cards at the casino to often spending days at a time there. His choices put the family on shaky financial ground, but a big win came just in time. Mark won $200,000, which was enough to fix their finances with enough left over to splurge on some luxury items.

Their windfall didn’t last. By December 2015, Mark had quit his job as a trucker to gamble full time, but he hadn’t been so lucky. Their winnings from his $200,000 were almost gone by Christmas of that year, and Mark was borrowing money from friends and relatives so he could continue to gamble at the casino. A gambling addiction had come to consume his life.

His insatiable need for money transformed him into a monster that Doris didn’t recognize the night he attacked her. Get the details on American Monster on July 10 at 9/8c on ID. Other episodes are available now on discovery+.

If you or someone you know is struggling with a gambling addiction, you can reach the National Problem Gambling Helpline Network at 1-800-522-4700 and speak anonymously to a representative who can connect you with resources in your area.