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An Arizona woman is currently behind bars after allegedly attempting to kill her husband by adding bleach to his coffee over a period of months.
As reported by regional outlet KVOA last week, Melody Johnson is accused of beginning the alleged poisoning attempt in March of this year. At the time, Johnson and her husband—who was not named in initial reports but is identified by CNN as Roby Johnson—were in Germany. Roby, per court documents, is in the U.S. Air Force and was stationed in the country at the time.
The two share a child together but are “currently going through a divorce,” docs state. In March, Roby says he noticed his coffee had started having a “bad” taste. Several weeks later, he purchased pool chemical test strips, ultimately using them on the faucet water and the water in the coffee pot. The latter allegedly showed “high levels of chlorine,” which inspired him to set up a camera in May. Footage is alleged to have captured Melody pouring a liquid into the pot, with Roby deciding to only pretend to drink the coffee from this point forward.
By the top of July, the two had returned to the States. Additional footage captured by Roby allegedly showed Melody Pouring bleach into a container and then dumping it into the coffee maker.
Melody, per KOLD, was later arrested. Additionally, a search resulted in the police finding a liquid in the coffee maker “that smelled like bleach,” as well as a container beneath her bathroom sink that also smelled like bleach.
According to online jail records, Johnson is currently in the custody of the Pima County Adult Detention Center. At the time of this writing, no bond amount was listed. In court docs, it's argued that Melody is a potential flight risk.
Police say Roby believes his wife wanted to kill him so she could “collect death benefits.” Specific accusations against Melody include attempted first-degree homicide, attempted aggravated assault, and adding poison or harmful substance to food or drink.
Complex has reached out to the Tucson Police Department and the Pima County Sheriff’s Department for comment. This story may be updated.
