An Indiana man has died after his wife and stepdaughter poisoned his root beer over the course of two months.
The Independent reports that Harold “Peanut” Allen was 52 years old when he died in Dec. 2022 after drinking root beer that was poisoned with ethylene glycol. Although unscented, the liquid is described as “sweet-tasting” and is commonly found in antifreeze.
Despite his obituary stating he “passed away suddenly,” investigators believe his death was a long time coming for his wife, Marsha Allen, and stepdaughter, Ashley Jones.
The mother-daughter duo started plotting Harold’s death in early fall 2022, when Ashley allegedly purchased pong pong seeds. It’s noted that one kernel contains a fatal dose of cerberin, which is also known as the “suicide tree” due to its deadliness.
The mother-daughter duo ground up the seeds using a coffee grinder and baked them into a batch of brownies in Nov. 2022. Marsha sent Ashley a photo of Harold with a half-eaten brownie.
Court documents revealed that Harold became sick after eating the dessert and ended up in the emergency room. However, he survived the poisoning. This seemingly irritated Ashley and Marsha, as they exchanged text messages sharing their thoughts about the situation.
“I am irritated and can’t sleep peacefully,” Marsha said about the poisoning. “I need this to be over.”
She also said she wished it would reach its climax and be done, to which Ashley responded with “agreed.”
Two days after the text exchange, Harold ended up in the emergency room once again. However, the doctors assumed he had inflammation in his intestines.
The duo went purchased hemlock off Etsy and used it three times to poison Harold. They placed it in a bowl of chili, a glass of pop, and a margarita. The deadly ingredient did nothing to Harold.
The Man Was Poisoned Five Times Before His Death
Hitting high levels of desperation, Ashley purchased ethylene glycol in early Dec. 2022. She and Marsha added the deadly ingredient to Harold’s root beer.
Harold died within a matter of days.
But things for Marsha did not get any better. Less than a year later, her home was burglarized and two people were arrested for the crime. However, they shared that Ashley directed and assisted them.
Marsha told law enforcement that she had suspected Ashley form the start due to the burglars having the combination to the gun safe. She said Ashley was the only other person who knew the code.
And then one of the burglars revealed that not only did Ashley help with the crime, but she also told him Marsha had poisoned her late husband to death. After Marsha denied the allegations, she turned her phone over to the police.
Investigators revealed that the phone had “telltale evidence” of the plot to kill Harold. Ashley then admitted to ordering the ethylene glycol that was used to poison Harold. She insisted that Marsha laced his drink with the chemical.
Marsha died the same day a search warrant for her home was put into effect. Ashley now faces numerous charges, including two counts of murder, one count of conspiracy to commit murder, one count of consumer product tampering, and two counts of attempted murder.
Her trial is set for early Jan. 2025.