Melody Felicano Johnson, a woman from Arizona, pleaded guilty to poisoning her Air Force husband by pouring bleach into his coffee on two separate occasions in July 2023. Her husband, Roby Johnson, caught her in the act through hidden cameras he had set up in their home. Roby believed that his wife was trying to kill him in order to collect death benefits. Melody faces up to four years in prison for the two counts of poisoning food or drink, which are classified as class six felonies. She is scheduled to be sentenced on May 10 and could potentially be released for time served. Prosecutors are recommending a two-year prison sentence.
Initially, Melody was arrested and charged with attempted first-degree murder, aggravated assault, and adding harmful substances to food, drink, or medicine. However, she agreed to a plea deal and pleaded guilty to the poisoning charges. Currently being held on a $250,000 bond, she and Roby were going through a divorce at the time of the poisoning attempts. Roby discovered that his coffee tasted odd while stationed in Germany in March 2023 and found high levels of chlorine in the drink using pool testing strips. He waited until the family returned to the U.S. to alert authorities, setting up cameras to capture Melody pouring bleach into his coffee.
Upon returning to Tucson, Arizona, Roby set up a camera in their temporary housing near Davis Monthan Air Force Base and caught Melody in the act of poisoning his coffee. He reported the incident to the Tucson Police Department, but they did not initially follow up due to unclear footage. Roby then set up a second camera disguised as a fire alarm to capture clearer evidence of Melody’s actions. After moving into their permanent home, more video evidence showed Melody pouring bleach into the coffee machine before brewing. Roby provided this footage to the police on July 18, leading to Melody’s detention. The couple has a child together, and Melody’s poisoning attempts were uncovered during the divorce proceedings.
Overall, Melody Felicano Johnson pleaded guilty to poisoning her husband by putting bleach in his coffee, caught on hidden cameras set up by Roby Johnson after he began to notice his coffee tasted odd while stationed in Germany. She faces up to four years in prison for the charges, which include class six felonies, and is scheduled to be sentenced on May 10 with a potential two-year prison term. The poisoning attempts were discovered during their divorce proceedings, and the evidence was captured through cameras set up by Roby upon their return to the U.S. Melody’s motives for the poisoning were believed to be related to collecting death benefits, according to court documents.
