An Arizona woman accused of trying to add bleach to her husband’s coffee was sentenced Friday, CNN reported.
Melody Felicano Johnson, 40, who was originally charged with attempted first-degree murder, pleaded guilty in April 2024 to two misdemeanor counts of adding poison or harmful substance to food or drink. Ta. Judge Javier Chong Lopez could have sentenced Johnson to up to two years in prison on each charge, but he chose to suspend the sentence for three years. according to On CNN. The judge took into account that she had been in custody for nearly a year because she could not afford $250,000 bail, the paper said. Her sentence also reportedly includes a requirement for her mental health treatment.
Melody Felicano Johnson, an Arizona woman accused of trying to kill her husband by poisoning his coffee, was sentenced to three years’ probation. https://t.co/TTWCIH7Y6q
— WSVN 7 News (@wsvn) May 11, 2024
According to a CNN report, the incident was discovered in March 2023 when Robbie Johnson, her estranged husband, noticed an unusual taste in his coffee. Robbie tests the coffee using pool chemical test strips and finds high levels of chlorine. To gather evidence, he installed a hidden camera that showed Johnson pouring bleach into the coffee maker. (Related: Authorities execute Chinese kindergarten teacher who mixed poison into children’s food, one person killed)
The footage, shot on various dates, showed Melody poisoning Robbie. One video, dated July 16, 2023, shows her pouring bleach from a large bottle into a smaller bottle before proceeding to the coffee maker. Another clip from July 5, 2023 showed her engaging in the same activity “Law and Crime” wearing only a towel. report.
Despite the evidence and the seriousness of the charges, Johnson expressed a desire not to impose a prison sentence on his wife, the newspaper said. The couple are still legally married and have children, but were in the middle of divorce proceedings when the incident occurred. Divorce proceedings are still ongoing.
