(RepublicanPress.org) – While many poisonings in the United States are unintentional, including bites or stings, therapeutic errors, environmental hazards, and food poisonings, others are more nefarious. In fact, National Poison Control centers reported that 19.3% of all poisonings reported in 2021 were intentional. A case from 2023 highlighted such an incident involving a military man and his wife.
What Happened?
In August 2023, a US airman and his spouse, Melody Felicano Johnson, were living in Germany. According to officers, the husband noticed his morning coffee tasted strange. After drinking it for a few weeks, the military man bought some “pool chemical testing strips” to test the water in his home.
The results from the faucet came back normal, but the tests from the water in their coffee pot were a different story. The kits showed high levels of chlorine. Suspecting his wife was trying to poison him, the husband set up a security camera. It allegedly showed Johnson pouring a substance into the pot.
Once he figured out what was happening, he only pretended to continue drinking the laced coffee while attempting to collect evidence against Johnson. In some of the videos, the military member can be heard telling his wife that he could smell the bleach from where he was sitting. He also took footage inside the coffee maker to show the bubbles in the water chamber.
When the couple returned to the States, the airman set up another hidden camera, which showed the same. This time, he took his findings to Tucson police with allegations that his wife was pouring bleach in the coffee maker to try and kill him.
When police failed to follow up, the husband took even more footage, and Johnson was finally arrested and charged with first-degree attempted murder, attempting to commit aggravated assault, and poisoning food or drink. She pleaded not guilty to the charges and was remanded in the Pima County Jail on a $250,000 bond.
Update
On April 8, the Arizona woman changed her plea to guilty, admitting that she tried to kill her husband by poisoning him with bleach. The couple was going through a divorce at the time. Prosecutors are recommending a two-year sentence, but the length could be up to four years. After her release, the state wants Johnson on probation for up to three years. She did not provide a motive for the crime.
Her sentencing will occur on May 10, when the judge will decide her punishment.
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