TUCSON, Ariz. – A United States airman caught his wife in the act of poisoning his coffee with bleach over the course of several months, according to court records.
Melody Felicano Johnson, 39, of Tucson, Arizona, was caught on video pouring something into her estranged husband’s coffee after he noticed a funny taste, according to an interim complaint filed in Arizona. The couple is going through a divorce, but still lived together with their child, the document says.
Husband investigates odd taste
The man said he first noticed that his coffee tasted bad in March 2023 while he was stationed in Germany. He drank the coffee for 2-3 weeks before testing the water in his faucet. Those tests showed the water was normal, according to authorities.
When he used the same chemical testing strips to check the water in his coffee pot, it showed high levels of chlorine, court records show.
In May, the man set up cameras around the home and captured video of Johnson pouring something into his coffee pot, the complaint says. He said he pretended to drink the coffee until the end of June because he didn’t want to file a report in Germany.
Upon returning to the U.S., he was first stationed at a hotel at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson. He set up another camera that showed Johnson walking to the coffee maker and pouring something into the water reservoir, court documents say.
But when the husband filed a police report on July 6, officers told him it wasn’t clear what Johnson had poured into the pot.
How husband figured out it was bleach
The family moved to permanent housing on July 7, and the man set up cameras that looked like fire alarms on the ceiling, court documents show. One was in the laundry room, another was over the coffee machine, and a third showed the path in between.
Johnson was caught multiple times grabbing bleach and pouring it in the coffee maker, the complaint says.
When her husband went back to police, he told them he suspected Johnson was trying to kill him and collect death benefits.
She was arrested July 18 and charged with attempted first-degree homicide, attempted aggravated assault, and adding poison to food or drink.
Johnson was taken to the Pima County Adult Detention Center in Tucson.
During a search of the home, officers said they found a container of liquid under Johnson’s bathroom sink that smelled like bleach.
