An Arizona mother has pleaded guilty to poisoning her U.S. Air Force husband after he was caught pouring bleach into her coffee maker on cameras hidden throughout their home.
Melody Felicano Johnson was charged with two counts of drug poisoning for allegedly putting a deadly chemical into Robbie Johnson’s coffee machine on July 11 and July 18 before she had her morning cup of Joe. pled guilty. 13 News reported.
Melody pleaded guilty to a lesser charge and the attempted murder charge he originally faced was dismissed, local news outlets reported.
The poisoning occurred while the couple was in the process of divorce but still living together at their aviation postings in Germany and Arizona.
While stationed in Germany in March, Robbie noticed that his coffee tasted strange and suspected that his wife, the mother of his children, was trying to poison him.
“He said he knew she would set up the coffee pot at night so that in the morning all he had to do was turn it on to make coffee.” court documents show. “At that time, he stopped drinking coffee, but he continued to pretend that he did.”
Back in Arizona, Robbie installed hidden cameras in his home to try to capture his estranged wife in the act.
On July 16, Melody was photographed pouring bleach from a large bottle into a small container in the family’s laundry room.
Shortly after, another hidden camera captured her entering the kitchen and pouring the contents of a small container into the coffee maker’s basin.
Robbie also filmed himself testing the water in the coffee maker to gather more evidence to provide to police.
“I can smell it from here. I can smell it,” he announced in one clip.
“Look at this,” he said, pulling a color-changing positive test from the coffee maker. “It has completely changed.”
In complete disbelief, Robbie repeatedly says “Wow” and shows the bubbles in the coffee maker’s water holder before ending the video.
He shared the video with Tucson police, who took Melody into custody on July 18.
According to court documents, the aviator believes his wife tried to kill him to collect the life insurance money.
Melody was deemed a flight risk because she has family and property in the Philippines and has been detained since her arrest.
She will be sentenced on May 10th. According to 13 News, she faces a maximum sentence of two years in prison, but her minimum sentence is four months, so she could be released within that time.
