Melody Felicano Johnson, a 40-year-old Arizona woman, admitted to poisoning her Air Force husband by pouring bleach into his coffee. She pleaded guilty to two counts of poisoning food or drink for putting trace amounts of bleach into her husband’s coffee maker on two separate occasions in July. Despite initially facing charges of attempted first-degree murder, aggravated assault, and adding harmful substances to food, drink, or medicine, Johnson agreed to a plea deal. As a result, she was sentenced to a probation sentence that includes mandatory mental health treatment and a restriction from having contact with her husband unless a legal team is present.
The couple shared a child together and were in the midst of a divorce when Johnson tried to poison her husband. Roby Johnson began to notice a strange taste in his coffee back in March 2023 while the family was stationed in Germany. After two to three weeks of drinking the odd-tasting coffee, he conducted a test on the drink using pool testing strips. He found high levels of chlorine in the coffee, which led him to suspect that his wife was trying to harm him. Roby pretended to drink the coffee while stationed in Germany and only reported his findings to authorities once the family had moved back to Tucson, Arizona, in order to gather more evidence.
Upon returning to the US, Roby set up a camera in their temporary housing near Davis Monthan Air Force Base to capture his wife’s behaviors. The camera allegedly recorded Melody pouring bleach into his coffee, prompting Roby to report the incident to the Tucson Police Department. However, the initial video did not clearly show the liquid being poured into the drink, leading him to set up a second camera disguised as a fire alarm. When the additional footage showed Melody pouring bleach into the coffee machine before brewing, Johnson was subsequently detained by the authorities for her actions. The evidence presented by Roby played a crucial role in bringing his wife to justice for attempting to harm him.
Melody’s actions were believed to be driven by a desire to harm her husband in order to collect death benefits. Despite initial suspicions from Roby about the taste of his coffee, he took the necessary steps to gather evidence before reporting the incident to the authorities. Melody’s sentencing included a probation sentence that focused on mental health treatment, indicating potential underlying issues that contributed to her behavior. The couple’s divorce and family dynamics added a layer of complexity to the case, as the child was involved in the situation. Roby’s quick thinking in setting up cameras to capture Melody’s actions was instrumental in ensuring that justice was served in this poisoning case.
The case of Melody Felicano Johnson illustrates the serious consequences of poisoning someone’s food or drink, even in cases where the perpetrator is not sentenced to jail time. By taking proactive measures to investigate his suspicions and gather evidence, Roby Johnson played a crucial role in uncovering his wife’s attempts to harm him. The plea deal that Melody accepted highlights the importance of addressing potential mental health issues that may have contributed to her actions. Moving forward, the sentencing serves as a reminder of the lasting impact that poisoning cases can have on individuals and families, emphasizing the importance of seeking legal recourse in such situations. The complexity of the couple’s relationship and family circumstances further illustrate the multifaceted nature of criminal cases involving domestic incidents.
