An Indiana woman and her mother are accused of working together to kill the mother's husband to get access to his retirement money. The women allegedly purchased various poisons to commit the crime, finally killing the man with a poison-spiked root beer float.
Initially, the women were not suspected in the husband's "sudden" death, but then, authorities say, another incident led them down a path that began uncovering the women's plot to get rid of the husband. And while the mother died herself, shortly after allegedly killing her husband, the daughter has now been arrested and charged for her alleged involvement.
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Authorities discovered the alleged murder plot by going through the women's text thread.
Ashley Jones was arrested on October 18, 2023, and charged with two counts of murder and one count of conspiracy to commit murder, as well as other counts, in relation to the death of her mother Marsha Allen's husband Herb "Peanut" Allen, according to court documents acquired by People. Prosecutors charged her with two additional counts of attempted murder on August 16.
Herb Allen "passed away suddenly" at the home he shared with Marsha Allen. Initially, no foul play was suspected in his death, but then the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department began investigating a September 2023 burglary at the home, which Marsha Allen was still living in. One of the men arrested in connection with the burglary told police that Jones had told him Marsha Allen killed Herb Allen by poisoning him.
A probable cause affidavit that People obtained alleges that the authorities had uncovered text messages between the women that are potentially incriminating.
The text messages showed the women talking about poison and Marsha Allen's desire to get rid of her husband.
The affidavit showed a December 2022 text between Jones and Marsha Allen, in which Jones shared that a bottle containing ethylene glycol, a component of antifreeze had been delivered.
"The mail is here : )," Jones texted. Marsha Allen "loved" the image and responded with a heart emoji.
A supplemental affidavit showed another text from Marsha Allen expressing frustration that their plans were taking too long. "I am irritated and can’t sleep peacefully," she allegedly wrote in November 2022. "I need this to be over … I wish it would reach its climax and be done lol."
After the burglary, Marsha Allen was questioned by the authorities about her husband's death. She died by suicide on October 16, 2023, one day after she was questioned.
Marsha Allen might have inadvertently showed her guilt.
Marsha Allen denied that she had anything to do with her husband's death, but she did consent to the police downloading information from her phone.
The police found a whole host of allegedly incriminating text messages between Marsha Allen and Jones, beginning on November 27, 2022, where the women discussed poisoning Herb Allen.
In one text, Marsha Allen told her daughter that she needed foxglove seeds, which are toxic if ingested. According to the affidavit, Jones replied that the seeds are traceable.
The same day, Herb Allen went to the hospital because of numbness on the side of his face. He went back to the hospital on November 30, 2022, because of vomiting, fever, and chills, which are all signs of foxglove poisoning. According to the affidavit, the women got the foxglove seeds, and water hemlock, another poisonous plant, from Etsy. They allegedly put the hemlock in Herb's chili and in a margarita in mid-December.
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The women then reportedly chose another form of poison.
The affidavit alleges that the two women then "decided to use ethylene glycol to poison and kill" Herb Allen — Marsha Allen ordered a gallon of it on December 13, 2022. The document explained that ethylene glycol "is a colorless, odorless, sweet-tasting compound used in consumer products including antifreeze," and can be fatal if ingested.
Later that day, Marsha Allen texted Jones that her husband was "all in for root beer floats." Herb Allen died the next day "before the emergency call was placed," the affidavit says.
Ashley Jones is now preparing to go on trial for her stepfather's death.
The affidavit alleges that Jones told police that she only bought the ethylene glycol, but in a text message she sent to one of the burglars she wrote, "I planned it all."
"She couldn’t get into a dead man’s phone without me to get all his retirements and savings he had hidden hell she got 4500 from his PayPal…" she allegedly wrote.
Jones' trial is set to begin in January 2025.
