A Bitter Brew: Arizona Woman Pleads Guilty to Poisoning Air Force Husband's Coffee With Bleach

AP Photo/Richard Vogel, File

An Arizona Air Force serviceman became suspicious after receiving more than just milk and sugar in his coffee. In a bizarre turn of events that reads more like a script from one of those true crime shows, Meloday Felicano Johnson, a 40-year-old resident has pleaded guilty to poisoning her husband, Roby Johnson, by slipping bleach into his morning coffee.

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Her actions were discovered when Johnson captured the deed on hidden cameras in their home in July 2023.

Melody Felicano Johnson, 40, pleaded guilty Monday to two counts of poisoning food or drink for the brazen acts where she put trace amounts of bleach into husband Roby Johnson’s coffee maker on July 11 and July 18, 2023, 13 News reports.

Roby Johnson said he believed his wife was trying to kill him to collect death benefits, according to court documents.

She faces up to four years in prison with each charge being a class six felony with sentence ranges of four months to two years, the outlet reports.

Johnson will be sentenced on May 10 and could potentially be released for time served. Prosecutors are recommending she serve two years in prison.

She was initially arrested and charged with attempted first-degree murder, aggravated assault and adding harmful substances to food, drink or medicine but agreed to a plea deal instead. She is currently being held on a $250,000 bond, according to the Pime County Sheriff’s Office.

The couple have a child together and were going through a divorce during the times she tried to poison her husband, court documents show.

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Johnson became suspicious when he noticed an unusual taste in his morning coffee while stationed in Germany in March last year. He investigated further, purchasing pool testing strips, which revealed high levels of chlorine.

After discovering what his wife was up to, Johnson set up hidden cameras after the couple returned to Tucscon, Arizona. He captured his former wife multiple times on the cameras lacing dangerous substances in to his morning cup of joe. The evidence he collected later led to his wife’s arrest and subsequent guilty plea.

On July 16, Melody was filmed pouring liquid from a large bottle of bleach into a smaller container in the family’s laundry room.

Melody pleaded guilty to the lesser crimes and the attempted murder charge she initially faced was dismissed in return, according to the local news station.

Moments later, she was caught on another hidden camera walking into the kitchen and pouring the contents of the smaller container into the water basin of the coffee maker.

Roby also filmed himself testing the water from the coffee maker in an effort to collect more evidence to provide to police.

“You can smell it from here. You can smell it,” he announced in one clip.

“Look at that,” he said, pulling the positive, color-changing test out from the coffee maker. “Totally changed.”

Roby noticed his coffee began tasting strange while they were stationed in Germany in March and suspected his wife, the mother of his children, had been trying to poison him.

In complete disbelief, Roby repeatedly said, “Wow,” and showed the bubbles inside the water holder of the coffee maker before ending the video.

He shared the videos with the Tucson Police Department, which detained Melody on July 18.

The airman believes his wife was trying to kill him to collect his life insurance benefits, according to court documents.

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As Melody awaits sentencing, she is being held as a flight risk since she has family and property in the Phillippines.

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