A woman is accused of attempting to poison her husband, a U.S. Army airman, by pouring chlorine into his coffee.
Melody Felicano Johnson, 39, from Arizona was arrested and charged with attempted first-degree murder, aggravated assault, and adding harmful substances to food, drink, or medicine.
According to FOX 10, court records revealed that Melody Johnson and her husband Roby are divorcing and that they have a child together.
The documents indicated that in March, when the family was stationed in Germany, Roby first noticed his coffee tasted strange as he was drinking a cup. After consuming the coffee for two or three weeks, he bought pool testing strips to find out what was wrong with it.
First, he tested the tap water, which reportedly came back normal, but after conducting the test on his coffee, he discovered the drink contained high levels of chlorine.
According to court records, Roby pretended to consume the coffee while stationed in Germany and did not notify authorities until the family returned to Tucson, Arizona, this summer. He did not want to report his discoveries in Europe.
Roby installed a camera in their temporary residence in a hotel room close to Davis Monthan Air Force Base when the family returned to American soil in late June to monitor his wife’s activities. The video is said to have filmed her reportedly putting bleach into his coffee.
On July 6, he filed a report with the Tucson Police Department, but police did not follow up because the video allegedly did not clearly show what liquid his wife was pouring into his drink, prompting Roby to set up a second camera disguised as a fire alarm.
After the family moved into their permanent home on July 7, Roby reinstalled the cameras in that residence.
Roby returned to the police department on July 18 to provide additional video evidence, and the new footage allegedly showed his wife pouring bleach into the coffee machine before brewing. She was then arrested.
When police searched the home, they found that the coffee machine smelled like bleach. Officers also discovered a small container inside her personal bathroom that they said could have contained bleach.
The couple had separate bedrooms and bathrooms, according to court documents.
Johnson is in jail on a $250,000 bond. A high bail amount was requested because she recently purchased a home in the Philippines, which is where her family lives, according to local news outlet AZ Family.
Court documents said Roby believes she tried to kill him to collect benefits.
