Woman’s breastmilk helps jail husband after he poisoned her to death with cereal
Michigan man convicted of poisoning wife with heroin and trying to hire hitman
A woman’s breastmilk helped jail her husband after it revealed that he had poisoned her cereal with heroin, leading to her death.
Jason Harris, 47, was found guilty on Wednesday of first-degree premeditated murder, delivery of a controlled substance causing death, and solicitation of murder.
The 29 September 2014 death of Christina Harris, 36, in the Flint suburb of Davison north of Detriot in Michigan was initially identified by the medical examiner as an accidental overdose, CBS News reported.
But investigators then made allegations of murder against Jason Harris. Family members said Christina Harris was not a drug user, proved by a sample of her frozen breastmilk that showed no evidence of drugs.
Officials said Harris got his wife a bowl of cereal with a dose of heroin that proved lethal. Testimony in the trial revealed that he told police that his wife started having issues holding onto her spoon as she was eating on the evening of 28 September 2014.
He told police that he helped her get to bed and that they both went to sleep, adding that she was still asleep when he left the home the following morning along with their two kids.
He claimed that his wife didn’t answer calls or texts that morning, and asked a neighbour to check in on her. Authorities stated that the neighbour said the door was unlocked and that Christina Harris was unresponsive on the bed, her body cold.
Another neighbour working as a nurse came over and called 911, but Christina Harris was declared dead not long after.
Two days after the death of Christina Harris had been classified as an accidental overdose, members of her family went to Davison police arguing that the case warranted further investigation as she was not a drug user. The breastmilk in her freezer proved it.
WDIV-TV reported that it was the first time that officials in Michigan have used breastmilk as evidence in a criminal case.
Jason Harris’ brother and sister told law enforcement that he had spoken previously about getting rid of Christina Harris. Testimony in the trial revealed that he had spoken to several other women before and after his wife’s death.
He purchased a plane ticket to see a woman in Rhode Island, with whom he had shared thousands of messages, nine days after the death of his wife.
“This was a very tragic case and my heart goes out to the family and friends of Christina Harris for their terrible loss,” Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton said. “The circumstances of this case make for a unique story and garner headlines in the media, but at the core of it a family is mourning the loss of their loved one and I can only hope that today’s verdict will help them with closure.”
Harris wasn’t charged until 2019, five years after the death of his wife. He received a $120,000 life insurance payout. Another woman moved into Harris’ home two weeks after Christina Harris died.
Jason Harris, who will be sentenced on 10 December, faces a life sentence without parole.