An Arizona woman who was charged with attempted murder after her husband caught her on camera poisoning his coffee has been sentenced to three years of probation.
Melody Felicano Johnson, 39, pleaded guilty to two counts of adding poison or a harmful substance to food or drink last month.
Johnson's attorney previously said that she admitted to putting trace amounts of bleach in her husband Roby Johnson's coffee pot on two occasions in 2023, per local news outlet KOLD.
Melody Received a Lenient Sentence After Roby Gave Statement Saying He Didn't Want Her to Go to Prison
Pima County Superior Court Judge Javier Chon-Lopez sentenced her to three years of probation in addition to mental health treatment, citing a statement from her now-estranged husband that he did not want her to go to prison.
She had already been in prison for close to a year after being unable to pay her $250,000 bond, the outlet reported. Prosecutors had requested a high bond because they considered her a flight risk, as she had recently bought a home in the Philippines.
Melody, of Tucson, was originally charged with attempted first-degree murder, and she pleaded not guilty in August 2023, but her charge was lessened after she agreed to a plea deal.
Melody was Busted After Roby Noticed 'Foul Taste' in Coffee, Set Up a Hidden Camera
Melody was first accused of poisoning Roby's coffee in March 2023 after he noticed a "foul taste." At the time, they were living in Germany with their child, as Roby is a U.S. Air Force member.
After suspecting that something was being put into his coffee for several weeks, Roby bought pool testing strips and set up video cameras in an attempt to catch Melody poisoning it, according to court documents reported by CNN affiliate KVOA in August 2023.
Roby's security cameras — placed in the couple's laundry room, over their coffee machine, and a third placed to show Melody walking between the two areas — reportedly captured footage of her pouring bleach into a container and then pouring liquids from that container into the coffee machine.
Coffee Tested Positive for 'High Levels of Chlorine'
According to NBC, Roby discovered from the pool testing strips that the coffee "showed high levels of chlorine." However, he pretended to continue drinking the coffee and waited to report the poisoning until his family had arrived home to the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, he told investigators.
Investigators who later searched the couple's home recovered a container with liquid in it that smelled like bleach under Johnson's bathroom sink, NBC reported. Investigators also alleged that the liquid inside the coffee machine smelled like bleach.
Although Melody and her husband were living together at the time of the incident, they were in the middle of divorce proceedings. Investigators said Roby "believes [Melody] was trying to kill him to collect death benefits."
