An Arizona woman and wife of a US Air Force employee has admitted to poisoning her husband by repeatedly pouring a liquid he said was bleach into a coffee machine.
Melody Felicano Johnson was arrested in August and charged with attempting to murder Roby Johnson. She had filed for divorce but they still lived together while the process was finalized: he noticed his coffee tasted odd, and began to suspect she was trying to kill him to claim his life insurance policy.
On Monday, Johnson pleaded guilty to two charges of poisoning food or drink, admitting to putting the bleach in her husband’s coffee pot on July 11 and July 18 of last year.
Johnson faces sentencing on May 10 and could get as long as four years in prison, though her sentence could be limited to time served, according to 13 News.
Roby Johnson put a series of hidden cameras inside their home, and the footage was obtained on Friday by ABC News.
An Arizona woman and wife of a US Air Force employee has admitted to poisoning her husband by repeatedly pouring a liquid he said was bleach into a coffee machine
Melody Felicano Johnson was arrested in August and charged with attempting to murder Roby Johnson (pictured)
One camera caught Melody in the laundry room, pouring bleach from a large bottle into a small container.
Another caught her looking over her shoulder as she poured liquid into the coffee machine in their kitchen.
Roby Johnson also filmed himself testing the water inside the coffee machine with a swimming pool chemical test kit. He displayed the results on camera, showing there was an extremely high level of chlorine in the water – and he said it ‘stinks’ of bleach.
Melody Johnson is being held in custody, with the judge ruling that she was a flight risk as she had recently bought a house in the Philippines.
She has not entered a plea, and is due back in court on November 6.
She was indicted by a grand jury on charges of first-degree attempted murder, attempting to commit aggravated assault and poisoning food or drink.
Johnson was stationed in Germany for work in March 2023 when he thought his coffee started tasting ‘very bad.’
His wife would prep his coffee the night before, so in the mornings he just had to turn the machine on.
Johnson faces sentencing on May 10 and could get as long as four years in prison, though her sentence could be limited to time served
Melody Felicano Johnson is seen looking over her shoulder as she pours a liquid into the coffee machine in the Arizona home she shared with her husband. He had installed secret cameras after he became concerned at her behavior, and worried he was trying to poison him
A liquid was poured into the coffee pot in the footage obtained by Roby Johnson inside his home
Melody Johnson is seen decanting bleach into a smaller container inside the laundry room
According to the report, he continued to pretend to drink the coffee but did not file a police report until he arrived back in the Davis Monthan Air Force Base in the US in July.
After collecting all the footage, Johnson went back to the police and showed them his evidence.
Police then arrested Melody at the home, and a search warrant reported that the coffee pot smelt like bleach.
The documents also revealed that the husband thought she was trying to kill him ‘to collect death benefits.’