An individual from Arizona, Melody Johnson, has been charged with attempting to poison her husband, an Air Force serviceman, using bleach in his coffee over an extended period, as revealed in legal papers.
The arrest of Johnson took place on July 18, following the submission of footage by her spouse to the local law enforcement, seemingly capturing her adding the harmful substance into his coffee maker.
The husband, whose identity has been withheld in legal records, became suspicious of an unusual taste in his coffee starting late March when he was stationed in Germany, as indicated in the court papers.
Amidst an ongoing divorce, Johnson and her husband continued to share a living space with their child.
After tolerating the foul-tasting coffee for two to three weeks, the husband decided to conduct a test on his tap water using chemical testing strips, only to find the results normal. However, upon testing the water from his coffee pot, the results pointed towards the presence of “elevated chlorine levels,” according to the court records.
In May, the husband installed a surveillance camera in their house that allegedly recorded Johnson “adding something into his coffee maker,” as stated in the complaint. He acted as if he continued to consume the coffee until their return to the U.S. on June 28, preferring not to file a report while in Germany.
While temporarily stationed at a hotel on Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, the husband set up another camera that purportedly showed Johnson “approaching his coffee maker and adding something into the water container” on July 5, as mentioned in the court documents. Following this, he filed a police report the next day, but officers expressed uncertainty regarding the substance Johnson was seen adding to the coffee pot.
Upon moving into a permanent residence on July 7, the husband installed additional hidden cameras that appeared like fire detectors on the ceiling, as court documents suggest. One camera was installed in the laundry room, where bleach was stored, another was strategically positioned above the coffee machine, and the third was placed to cover the path between these two locations.
After acquiring multiple video evidence apparently showing Johnson “picking up bleach, pouring it into a vessel, and then walking over to add it into the coffee machine,” the husband returned to the police, according to the court documents.
He shared his suspicion with the police that his wife might have been plotting to murder him to claim death benefits.
Johnson was taken into custody by Tucson police and has been charged with attempted first-degree murder, attempted aggravated assault, and adulterating food or drink with poison. She is currently detained at the Pima County Adult Detention Center, as per online records.
A subsequent search warrant led to the recovery of a liquid-filled container from Johnson’s room, hidden under her bathroom sink, which emanated a bleach-like odor. Court documents indicate a similar bleach scent was detected from the liquid inside the coffee maker.
It remains unknown if Johnson has legal representation.
