GENESEE COUNTY, Mich. – We could learn Tuesday if a man accused of murdering his wife by spiking her cereal with heroin will stand trial.
Christy Ann Thompson Harris was found dead in September of 2014 in the bedroom of the home she shared with Jason Harris.
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Her death was originally ruled an accidental overdose and five years passed before prosecutors announced charges against her husband.
“We believe he put heroin in her cereal and milk the night she died,” Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton said.
Last week, a neighbor testified about how she was called by another neighbor when the woman’s body was found in the bedroom with no pulse. When Jason Harris arrived, she said she told him she was sorry and he allegedly asked her, “What am I going to tell my kids?” She said he said that before seeing the body.
A former co-worker of Jason Harris testified that he gave Harris 10 pills of Klonopin. He said Harris told him he planned on crushing them up so his wife would go to sleep. The defense questioned the former co-worker’s memory and called him a reformed drug addict.
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What happened
Prosecutor Leyton said Jason Harris had a history of seeing other women outside their marriage. He allegedly told coworkers he wanted his wife gone. The prosecutor said at one point Jason Harris hired a hit man.
"Jason paid $5,000 to a guy to kill Christina and while this alleged hit man was doing surveillance on her the hit man was caught by police with a firearm," Leyton said.
The alleged hit man was on parole and sent back to prison. Investigators said Jason Harris then took matters into his own hands.
"We believe Jason Harris murdered his wife, we believe he put heroin into her cereal and milk the night she died," Leyton said.
Key evidence: Frozen breast milk
Two years after Christina Harris' death was ruled an accidental overdose, a key piece of evidence was located at her parents' house.
“Police were able to secure three plastic packages of Christina’s frozen breast milk placed in a cooler. All three were submitted to the crime lab. In each instance no controlled substance was detected,” Leyton said.
Leyton said after years of piecing the case together, they finally had enough evidence to arrest Jason Harris. Bishop said he's glad for persistent police work.
"It's a relief to know justice is being served and the community can count on the police to do their job," Bishop said.
Leyton is looking at the $120,000 Harris received in life insurance after the death of his wife.