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Arizona woman accused of attempted murder after poisoning husband's coffee with chlorine

To confirm his suspicions, the husband set up cameras in their home to catch the exact moment his wife poured the chemical into the drink

Coffee
Coffee | Shutterstock

August 7, 2023 8:24am

Updated: August 7, 2023 8:24am

An Arizona woman was arrested on Friday after being accused of allegedly trying to poison her husband by putting chlorine in his coffee every day, according to court documents.

Melody Felicano Johnson, 39, allegedly poisoned her husband, U.S. Airman Roby, as they were going through a divorce. 

Roby said he started to notice that his coffee tasted a little funny while he was stationed in Germany with his wife and his child in March, reported AZ Family

He said he drank the coffee for two or three weeks until he decided to buy pool testing strips, thinking that it might be the tap water in their house that might be giving off the funny taste. However, the test for the tap water came back normal. 

Roby then decided to test his coffee, which came back positive with high levels of chlorine. 

Since he was in a foreign country, Roby did not want to report the crime there. Instead, he pretended to drink the coffee until their scheduled return to the U.S. in June. 

Once the family returned, Roby set up cameras in their home to catch the exact moment his wife poured the chemical into the drink. On July 18, he presented evidence to the Tucson Police Department, showing his wife putting the bleach into the coffee machine before brewing. 

Melody was detained and the family’s home was searched. Police determined that the coffee machine smelled like bleach and also found a small container inside Melody's personal bathroom that could have contained bleach. 

She was charged with attempted first-degree murder, aggravated assault, and adding harmful substances to food, drink, or medicine, according to reports.

She is being held on a $250,000 bond.