The Root Beer Float Murder

Summary

48 Hours — "The Root Beer Float Murder"
CBS News | April 6, 2026

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Episode Overview

This chilling episode of “48 Hours,” hosted by CBS correspondents, dives into the shocking murder of Harold Allen in Freetown, Indiana. What appeared to be a sudden, natural death was later unraveled as a meticulously planned and chillingly executed homicide. Through gripping interviews, police records, and a trove of text messages, reporters expose the sinister roles played by Allen’s wife, Marsha Allen, and her daughter Ashley Jones in poisoning Harold with a root beer float laced with antifreeze. The episode explores motives of greed, family betrayal, and a web of attempted murders, ultimately delivering justice and raising questions about another suspicious death.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Mysterious Death of Harold Allen

• Initial Discovery & Autopsy
  • [00:16-01:21] Marsha Allen calls 911 claiming Harold is unresponsive.
  • Harold had existing health problems; initial autopsy (uncontested) pointed to heart issues.
• Setting the Scene
  • [03:35-07:47] Harold described as a beloved, community-spirited man, recently remarried to Marsha, living a peaceful life.
  • His family shares fond memories; “He self taught himself like the guitar…super smart. I wish I was as smart as him.” — Harold’s brother Matthew [06:30]

2. The Unexpected Break — A Burglary

• Burglary at Marsha’s Home
  • [10:04-12:03] Months after Harold’s death, Marsha’s home is burgled by Stephen White, a family friend. Security footage leads to White’s arrest.
  • [13:33] White stuns detectives, accusing Marsha of murdering Harold via poisoning.

    “This woman is a murderer. Okay? I know that..." — Stephen White [13:53]

  • White claims Ashley Jones, Marsha’s daughter, orchestrated the break-in and implicates both women in Harold’s death.

3. The Root Beer Float Plot

• The Poison Plan Unveiled

  • [14:15-24:46] White details the murder method: a root beer float made by Marsha, laced with a substance from a bottle (later identified as ethylene glycol—antifreeze).
  • Detectives confirm through texts and online purchase receipts the acquisition of multiple poisons, including pong pong seeds and water hemlock.

    "Poison is unique...the toxicology report came back. Ethylene glycol was in Harold's system. It's the main component in antifreeze.” — Prosecutor Lindsey Fleetwood [02:43]

• Text Evidence

  • Investigators recover thousands of messages between Marsha and Ashley planning failed and successful murder attempts—brownies, margaritas, chili, Sprite, all poisoned.

    “He just needs to let go.” — Marsha’s text to Ashley [18:20]
    Ashley to Marsha after failed attempts: “Ty was only 120 LOL.” (referencing her late husband’s weight in previous suspected poisoning) [38:11]

• Their Callous Attitude

  • “They're basically making a joke out of the fact that they're going to try to murder him.” — Investigator/Police Officer [22:01]
  • “The smiley faces, the LOLs. When someone's in excruciating pain...shows you how evil these people actually are.” — Detective Clint Burcham [22:05]

4. Motive: Financial Greed

• Life Insurance & Greed
  • Investigators discover a $120,000 insurance policy and steady monetary compensation from Marsha to Ashley post-murder.

    "It was all for financial gain." — Investigator/Police Officer [20:36]

5. Investigation & Arrests

• Breakthrough from Technology

  • [17:32] Deletion of texts by Marsha is foiled; detectives recover incriminating communications.
  • [27:07] Marsha stonewalls detectives even when confronted with the evidence.

• Ashley’s Confession & Marsha’s Suicide

  • [29:32] Ashley, when pressed, implicates her mother, Marsha, in Harold’s murder, describing loyalty and obedience as her motives.

    “She wanted him dead. And I said, you're going to go to hell...” — Ashley Jones [29:32]

  • After a police interview, Marsha dies by suicide, leaving a note:

    “I did not kill my husband. You win, Ashley!” [32:34]

6. Justice Served

• Prosecution Outcomes
  • Ashley Jones: Pleads guilty to attempted murder and conspiracy to commit murder; sentenced to 50 years in prison.

    “There's no other word but evil. There's no forgiveness from this court, and I have no choice but to give you the full time.” — The judge, via Harold’s brother Matthew [35:46]

  • Stephen White: Sentenced to 3.5 years for burglary.
• Quote from Harold’s Brother After Sentencing

  “We finally felt like we got a little bit of justice that my brother deserved in the end.” — Harold’s brother Matthew [36:03]

7. Suspicion Over a Previous Death

• Ashley’s Late Husband, Ty Jones
  • Ty’s family, William Jones and Aretta Stivers, suspect Ashley poisoned Ty much like Harold, motivated by inheritance—he was cremated, and no poison testing occurred.

    “I do believe that there was a large enough sum of money and a property that Ashley likely thought she would inherit, and that that could have been a motivator for her.” — Ty Jones’ family member [37:59]

  • Indiana State Police reopen investigation after hearing similarities and seeing incriminating texts referencing Ty’s low weight in a discussion about failed poisonings.

8. Reflection & Aftermath

• Family's Grief and Perspective
  • “I'll see something and I'll be like, oh man, that's something Peanut would love to know about. And I like, I go to like actually call him and I'm like, oh, I can't. So it is something that I would give anything to get back, honestly.” — Harold’s brother Matthew [40:13]
• Psychological Profile of Perpetrators
  • "They thought they were smarter than the system." — Prosecutor Lindsey Fleetwood [36:26]
  • Detective and family agree that Marsha and Ashley’s crimes stemmed from manipulation and callousness.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• [02:43] Prosecutor Lindsey Fleetwood: "Poison is unique. I think you see it in movies because...it's not normally how homicide or death is carried out."
• [22:17] Marsha’s text: "I am irritated and can't sleep peacefully. I need this to be over."
• [29:32] Ashley Jones: "She wanted him dead. And I said, you're going to go to hell."
• [32:34] Marsha’s suicide note: "I did not kill my husband. You win, Ashley!"
• [35:46] The judge (as quoted): "There's no other word but evil. There's no forgiveness from this court..."

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Timestamps for Key Segments

| Timestamp | Content Summary | |--------------|------------------------------------------------------| | 00:16-01:21 | 911 call and initial discovery of Harold’s death | | 03:35-07:47 | Harold’s life/family background | | 10:04-13:33 | Burglary break leads to Stephen White’s accusation | | 14:15-24:46 | Details of the poisoning plot and failed attempts | | 18:05-22:17 | Text message evidence of planning and callousness | | 25:19-26:52 | Purchase, preparation, and administration of poison | | 29:32 | Ashley implicates mother in murder | | 32:34 | Marsha’s suicide and note | | 35:05-36:03 | Ashley's conviction and sentencing | | 36:32-39:12 | Investigation into Ty Jones' suspicious death | | 40:13-40:36 | Family expresses their ongoing grief |

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Tone and Style

The episode is methodical yet deeply empathetic, maintaining the gravity and complexity of the case while giving voice to the victim's loved ones and the dedicated investigators. Interviews and text records reveal a chilling, callous tone from the perpetrators, contrasted by the heartbreak and outrage of Harold’s family.

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For listeners who missed the episode, this retelling uncovers a chilling tale of familial betrayal, the power of forensic evidence, and a justice system determined to unravel even the most carefully concealed crimes.

Transcript

[Stephen White]

Nine one one.

[Marsha Allen]

Yeah, this is North State Road 135. My husband's and our bedroom floor is non responsive and I need emails early.

[Detective Clint Burcham]

Marsha Allen called 911.

[Stephen White]

Do you want to start CPR if I help you?

[Marsha Allen]

Yeah, I could do that. Okay.

[Jackson County Prosecutor Lindsey Fleetwood]

She appears to be crying on the call. She appears to start getting a little panicked.

[Marsha Allen]

He's just laying here with his mouth open and he's white.

[Detective Clint Burcham]

Is he called to the sides?

[Medical Examiner / Forensic Expert]

First responders get there. What did they find?

[Investigator / Police Officer]

They found Harold Allen unresponsive.

[Medical Examiner / Forensic Expert]

He was dead?

[Investigator / Police Officer]

Yes. Harold and Marshall Nadoni. Been married for a year, year and a half when this happened. Harold had had some health problems, so it wasn't initially a huge surprise that he would have died.

[Medical Examiner / Forensic Expert]

And what was the cause of death determined to be at that time?

[Investigator / Police Officer]

It was heart problems.

[Harold Allen's Brother Matthew / Family Member]

About six months after Harold's death, Marsha wrote a self help book about grief and losing someone that you loved.

[Medical Examiner / Forensic Expert]

About Harold, she says he was my world. The grief I was experiencing after my husband passed away was unbearable and still is.

[Detective Clint Burcham]

Well, this is just a grieving woman missing her husband. A burglary call come over the radio. Our detectives were going to Marsha's house. We start investigating the burglary and in the process we're told there's a murder involved here.

[Stephen White]

This one is murderer. Okay, I know that I have not gone to nobody and said anything because I don't have no proof on it.

[Detective Clint Burcham]

Stephen Light told me that Marcia Allen had killed her husband Harold by poisoning a root beer float.

[Stephen White]

Marsha went into the kitchen and made a root beer float with whipped cream and sprinkles on top of it. And she poured something out of a bottle into there.

[Jackson County Prosecutor Lindsey Fleetwood]

Poison is unique. I think you see it in movies because it makes a good show. But it's not normally how hom homicide or death is carried out. The toxicology report came back. Ethylene glycol was in Harold's system. It's the main component in antifreeze.

[Detective Clint Burcham]

If you're consuming ethylene glycol, you're not gonna know, you're not gonna smell it, you're not gonna taste it. If you put it in a root beer float with ice cream and root beer, you're not gonna know until it's too late. I think if the burglary wouldn't have happened, there would be no way that we would know.

[Narrator / Reporter]

Peter Van Sant reports the root beer float murder.

[Detective Clint Burcham]

Right now we're probably about a half mile north of where Marsha Allen and Harold Allen Lived.

[Narrator / Reporter]

When Harold Allen died suddenly in his home in Freetown, Indiana just a few days before Christmas, 2022, the driveway going

[Detective Clint Burcham]

up to the Allen residence would have been right there.

[Narrator / Reporter]

Lt. Adam Nicholson, an investigator with the Jackson County Sheriff's Department, says no one suspected anything out of the ordinary.

[Detective Clint Burcham]

20 years on the job, I never thought I would see a case like this.

[Narrator / Reporter]

Harold's younger brother Matthew and his wife Samantha knew he had been dealing with some serious health issues.

[Harold Allen's Brother Matthew]

He was bigger, he was diabetic, including

[Narrator / Reporter]

painful gastrointestinal problems which had sent him to the emergency room on multiple occasions late that year.

[Harold Allen's Brother Matthew]

I think one time they thought it

[Harold Allen's Brother Matthew / Family Member]

was, what was it like diverticulitis.

[Harold Allen's Brother Matthew]

They said, yeah, diverticulitis.

[Narrator / Reporter]

On Thanksgiving 2022, as the family was enjoying their holiday feast, Matthew noticed that Harold all of a sudden looked distressed.

[Harold Allen's Brother Matthew]

We were eating dessert and he looked up at me like his, his eyes got wide like he was kind of scared. And I was like what's wrong? He goes, the left side of my face just went numb. I said I'm either calling an ambulance or I'm taking you to the hospital right now. And he's like, well just give me a second.

[Narrator / Reporter]

Despite the family's urging to get medical help, Harold refused.

[Harold Allen's Brother Matthew]

Marsha was just like standing there and I was like, well he needs to go to the hospital. And she was like I've been telling him that he needs to get there.

[Narrator / Reporter]

Harold's mystifying health condition worsened in the weeks leading up to Christmas. Doctors struggled to diagnose exactly what was ailing him. Then came December 20, 2022 when Marsha made a disturbing discovery and placed that 911 call.

[Marsha Allen]

I worked from home. I went back there to check on him because he had been sick. He was just cleaning the floor like he was trying to get up and go to the bathroom or something and he's not breathing.

[Narrator / Reporter]

52 year old Harold, the oldest of three brothers, had spent his life in this quiet rural part of southern Indiana where everyone knew this imposing man as Peanut.

[Harold Allen's Brother Matthew]

I thought his name was Peanut until I was about six or seven years old. That's a true story. My brother was born premature and my grandma said he's no bigger than a peanut.

[Harold Allen's Brother Matthew / Family Member]

I had a close family but it was nothing like the Allens when they were together. All the pieces of the puzzle were there.

[Harold Allen's Brother Matthew]

He self taught himself like the guitar and Mandam Annie played harmonicas.

[Medical Examiner / Forensic Expert]

You really looked up to your brother, right?

[Harold Allen's Brother Matthew]

Oh yeah, like he became a controls engineer. Super smart. I wish I was as smart as him.

[Narrator / Reporter]

Jackson County Sheriff's Department Detective Clint Burcham says Harold worked for a global automotive

[Investigator / Police Officer]

supply company, a local factory in Seymour, Indiana. Ice and manufacturing.

[Harold Allen's Brother Matthew]

He liked riding his motorcycles and he had a Harley motorcycle that he rode for years. He went deer hunting and fishing. We did fish a lot.

[Narrator / Reporter]

Enjoying a full life, Harold became nostalgic about his high school days. In 2019, he decided to attend his 30th reunion.

[Harold Allen's Brother Matthew]

The Austin, Indiana High School reunion.

[Narrator / Reporter]

It was there that the twice divorced Harold spotted former classmate Marsha Buxton.

[Harold Allen's Brother Matthew]

They didn't even really speak in high school, but at this reunion is when they started a conversation and just blossomed from there.

[Narrator / Reporter]

Divorced herself with an adult daughter, Marsha and Harold began dating about two years later. The couple married in July of 2021.

[Medical Examiner / Forensic Expert]

What kind of life did they lead together as a married couple?

[Detective Clint Burcham]

They liked to travel. They liked the Gatlinburg, Tennessee, Pigeon Forge area, Branson, Missouri.

[Narrator / Reporter]

The following year, Marsha's daughter Ashley Jones and her five year old daughter moved in with Harold and Marsha. Samantha says Harold, who had no children of his own, welcomed them with open arms.

[Harold Allen's Brother Matthew / Family Member]

Peanut always wanted children. He always wanted a family and he enjoyed being called Grandpa.

[Narrator / Reporter]

Ashley was a young widow. Her 33 year old husband, Ty Jones had died suddenly three years earlier.

[Medical Examiner / Forensic Expert]

What were the circumstances of his death?

[Investigator / Police Officer]

Ty Jones died of some heart complications is what the autopsy said describe the

[Medical Examiner / Forensic Expert]

relationship between Ashley and her mother, Marsha. Were they close?

[Detective Clint Burcham]

They were very close. Every day Marcia Allen would send Ashley Jones a message saying good morning baby girl, every single morning.

[Narrator / Reporter]

The house was now full with three generations and Harold seemed to enjoy his instant extended family.

[Harold Allen's Brother Matthew / Family Member]

He cared about what everybody else was

[Podcast Host / Advertiser]

feeling

[Harold Allen's Brother Matthew / Family Member]

and just wanted everyone to be happy

[Narrator / Reporter]

at the time. Harold's autopsy concluded his death was caused by multiple serious cardiac issues, including pericarditis and inflammation of the sac around the heart. Practically still, a newlywed, Marsha was now a widow. Heartbroken, she turned to writing about her grief.

[Detective Clint Burcham]

After Harold Allen died, his wife, Marcia Allen, publishes a book, self published, it

[Narrator / Reporter]

was intended to be a guide for others going through what she was.

[Medical Examiner / Forensic Expert]

She says that this is an intimate glimpse of what I went through when my husband died. She writes about survivor's guilt that she was suffering with that, she says that

[Narrator / Reporter]

her book is a beacon of hope.

[Medical Examiner / Forensic Expert]

Finding the strength and courage to move forward and learning a new way to

[Detective Clint Burcham]

live, how to grieve a loss of a significant other.

[Narrator / Reporter]

Marsha would soon face another challenge. Nine months after Harold's death, Lt. Nicholson was monitoring a call where investigators were Dispatched to that break in at Marsh's.

[Detective Clint Burcham]

The case to me started like any other case. A burglary call come over the radio. Our detectives were going to Marsha's house.

[Narrator / Reporter]

Security cameras had captured two men breaking into her home.

[Detective Clint Burcham]

We started investigating the burglary. In the process, we're told, you know, well, there's a murder involved here.

[Narrator / Reporter]

In September of 2023, Marcia Allen was vacationing in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, known for its beautiful fall colors and hiking trails. Little did she know that about 350 miles away, two burglars were exploring the inside of her home.

[Detective Clint Burcham]

The burglary happened, I want to say, like 4:30 in the morning. She had recently put a home security system in her house.

[Narrator / Reporter]

The app for the system notified Marsha that there'd been movement on her home's cameras while she slept. When she reviewed the video, she could see two men opening her home safe and rifling through her bedroom and jewelry.

[Detective Clint Burcham]

She could watch them go through the house. There was a lot of stuff taken. Pretty major burglary.

[Narrator / Reporter]

One of the burglars caught Marsh's eye. Incredibly, he was someone she recognized. His name was Stephen White. Marsha immediately called local police in Indiana to report the break in.

[Investigator / Police Officer]

Marsha Allen described Stephen White as her daughter, Ashley Jones, best friend, really close friend.

[Narrator / Reporter]

Why would her own daughter's best friend burglarize Marcia's home? Ashley had moved to Missouri in the months following Harold's death. So Marsha had been living alone. Reviewing the images, investigators noticed the burglars had come prepared.

[Detective Clint Burcham]

It seemed like they knew right where to go. And the other thing was, is that they knew the code to the safe.

[Narrator / Reporter]

Within hours, police found Stephen White living at his mother's home nearby. Investigators quickly made a house call.

[Detective Clint Burcham]

If you cannot afford to hire a lawyer, one will be provided for you free of cost if you desire one. So do you understand your rights?

[Stephen White]

Yes, sir.

[Detective Clint Burcham]

Okay. So you have any idea why we're here today?

[Stephen White]

Well, they said that y' all got me on camera last night burglarizing the place.

[Detective Clint Burcham]

Do you know anything about it?

[Stephen White]

No.

[Narrator / Reporter]

But the wonders of technology did not allow White to lie for long.

[Detective Clint Burcham]

I got a picture here.

[Stephen White]

Can I see it?

[Narrator / Reporter]

Nicholson had a security camera screenshot of White committing the burglary on his phone.

[Detective Clint Burcham]

And that's just one of the five that they sent us.

[Investigator / Police Officer]

And they got video, too.

[Detective Clint Burcham]

And we got video that's just a still shot from a video.

[Stephen White]

Hold on, let me see here. I mean, I really do not have a hat. I don't even have a hat.

[Narrator / Reporter]

Unable to deny it, Nicholson says White admitted to burglarizing Marsh's home.

[Stephen White]

This woman has hated me for years, but I'm best friends with her daughter.

[Detective Clint Burcham]

Okay, what's the daughter's name?

[Stephen White]

Ashley Jones.

[Narrator / Reporter]

Then, stunningly, White said something else. Based on information, he claimed Ashley had told him that Marsha was responsible for her husband's death.

[Stephen White]

This woman is a murderer. Okay? I know that. I have not gone to nobody and said anything because I don't have no proof on it. This woman's a psychopath, and I'm telling you guys that right now. Harold Allen was her husband. She set a life insurance policy for him, went and married him. I don't know.

[Narrator / Reporter]

White then revealed how Marsha allegedly cashed in on the policy.

[Detective Clint Burcham]

Stephen White told me that Marsha Allen had killed her husband Harold by poisoning a root beer float.

[Narrator / Reporter]

White even knew the details of how the float was made.

[Stephen White]

Marsha went into the kitchen and made a root beer float with whipped cream and sprinkles on top of it. And she poured something out of a bottle into there.

[Narrator / Reporter]

Police placed White under arrest, then put

[Investigator / Police Officer]

chains on your back.

[Narrator / Reporter]

But as they did, he had one more surprise about the burglary. He claimed Marsha's daughter was the mastermind.

[Stephen White]

Ashley's the one who set this up.

[Narrator / Reporter]

White told police Ashley had mailed him a key to Marsh's house and given him the combination to the safe, unaware her mother had installed those home security cameras. He also told investigators where they could recover everything stolen the night before, including guns and jewelry.

[Detective Clint Burcham]

We found the guns where he told us they were. He told me who the other suspect was and found that suspect wearing Harold Allen's jewelry. And I told detective burcham, I said, you know, everything that Stevens told us up to this point has been true. I said, I feel like we at least have to ask her about Harold and Harold's death.

[Narrator / Reporter]

After notifying police, Marsha had driven home from her vacation. The next morning, she arrived at the sheriff's department to discuss the burglary.

[Investigator / Police Officer]

So that's your husband's ring or your husband's?

[Ashley Jones]

That's my husband's ring. They got his mandolin. They got a bunch of his collectible Star wars stuff.

[Narrator / Reporter]

Investigators at first made no mention of Stephen White's murder allegation, instead treating the interview as part of the burglary investigation, asking Marsha what was missing.

[Ashley Jones]

I have a picture of me wearing the sapphire earrings and necklace in our wedding.

[Investigator / Police Officer]

Yeah, if you think it will help identify anything. And we start Going through stuff.

[Narrator / Reporter]

They also discussed Ashley's potential involvement.

[Investigator / Police Officer]

You said you talked to your daughter. What is she saying?

[Ashley Jones]

She's denying it. She goes, he's trying to drag me down. I'm like, Ashley. I said, I have proof.

[Narrator / Reporter]

Marsha said, the proof was that White knew her safe's combination.

[Ashley Jones]

She's the only. Other than me, we knew the combination, and I would never give it out to anybody ever.

[Medical Examiner / Forensic Expert]

Did you already have a plan to ask her about this murder allegation?

[Investigator / Police Officer]

Yes. Then after talking about the burglary, basically, I end up telling her, you know, this has been brought to our attention. I can tell you.

[Stephen White]

We.

[Narrator / Reporter]

Detective Burcham told Marsha what Stephen had claimed.

[Investigator / Police Officer]

He accused you of murdering your husband.

[Ashley Jones]

I did not murder my husband.

[Investigator / Police Officer]

Poisoning his drink.

[Narrator / Reporter]

Marsha was defiant and seemed to have an answer for everything.

[Ashley Jones]

They would show me a toxicology report if that happened.

[Investigator / Police Officer]

Was there an autopsy done? Yes. I wonder if there was an autopsy.

[Ashley Jones]

Autopsy and toxicology. He died because he had pericarditis. That was undetected.

[Investigator / Police Officer]

I'm just telling you what he said.

[Ashley Jones]

He's lying.

[Investigator / Police Officer]

Okay?

[Detective Clint Burcham]

No emotion, no anything. Didn't even catch her off guard.

[Narrator / Reporter]

Marsha denied any involvement, But Stephen White had given other details to police. Things he said he'd heard from Ashley telling investigators that Marsha's text messages would contain incriminating evidence.

[Investigator / Police Officer]

We wanted to see if she would have any text messages that possibly said anything about a murder of her husband. Would you be willing to consent to download your cell phone?

[Podcast Host / Advertiser]

Yeah.

[Narrator / Reporter]

Burcham left Marsha alone to get the paperwork for the download.

[Investigator / Police Officer]

And while I'm gone from the interview room, Marsha ends up deleting items off of her phone.

[Narrator / Reporter]

Marsha didn't realize that what she deleted could easily be recovered. And those texts revealed a sinister plot.

[Investigator / Police Officer]

There are numerous text messages between her and Ashley. And it starts to become evident that there's something going on, that they were indeed trying to poison Harold Allen.

[Detective Clint Burcham]

I mean, I'm seeing the same thing he's seeing. You know, he's calling me. I'm calling him, like, did you read page 10,578? And he's like, no, I haven't got that far yet.

[Narrator / Reporter]

For mother and daughter, it seemed Harold's death couldn't come soon enough with Marsha texting Ashley. He just needs to let go.

[Investigator / Police Officer]

Ultimately, we all agreed that, yes, we've got a murder here.

[Detective Clint Burcham]

She gave him a root beer flow with poison in it.

[Anna Garcia (Podcast Host)]

I'm Anna Garcia, host of True Crime News, the podcast every week we Bring you in depth coverage on cases making headlines as well as those that go under the radar.

[Ashley Jones]

2.

[Anna Garcia (Podcast Host)]

Tune in for murders that defy explanation, mystery seeking exploration, and shocking secrets that will leave you breathless. Each week, we honor the victims by going beyond the salacious in our search for justice. Crime never stops. And neither do we. Listen to true crime news. Available now on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Stephen White]

This one is a murderer.

[Narrator / Reporter]

With Stephen White's accusation that Marcia Allen poisoned her husband with a root beer float.

[Stephen White]

This woman's a psychopath.

[Narrator / Reporter]

And her devious behavior deleting texts with her daughter Ashley. Investigators zeroed in on those messages. Some disparaged Harold. Ashley complained, he's a waste of space. Others celebrated the delivery of poisons. Ashley wrote smiley face. I'm ready for that to arrive. Marsha replied, me too.

[Jackson County Prosecutor Lindsey Fleetwood]

They texted about everything.

[Narrator / Reporter]

Jackson county prosecutor Lindsey Fleetwood.

[Jackson County Prosecutor Lindsey Fleetwood]

There were thousands upon thousands.

[Medical Examiner / Forensic Expert]

Did you just say thousands of messages?

[Jackson County Prosecutor Lindsey Fleetwood]

There were thousands of messages.

[Narrator / Reporter]

Investigators would spend weeks building their case, combing through nearly 7,000 texts exchanged over the three months before Harold died.

[Detective Clint Burcham]

Yeah, this is going to be very helpful.

[Narrator / Reporter]

The more they read, the more they learned of a diabolical plot to kill Harold.

[Medical Examiner / Forensic Expert]

Why would they want him dead?

[Investigator / Police Officer]

Greed. It was all for financial gain.

[Narrator / Reporter]

Police learned Harold had a $120,000 life insurance policy through his job. He also had those guns and several guitars.

[Jackson County Prosecutor Lindsey Fleetwood]

I think money was a very big motive in this case.

[Narrator / Reporter]

Investigators say those thousands of texts revealed Marsha and Ashley tried to kill Harold over and over again with a variety of exotic poisons. Police found an order Ashley made on ebay for pong pong seeds, a powerful toxin.

[Detective Clint Burcham]

Pong pong is a seed from a tree that grows in Southeast Asia. They actually refer to this tree. It's called the suicide tree. It's not a native plant to the United States, so it'd have to be ordered online somewhere.

[Narrator / Reporter]

As Thanksgiving approached, police believe mother and daughter put a new dessert on the menu. Poison brownies. They texted about grinding up the pong pong seeds, adding walnuts to hide the poison's bitter taste. What wasn't hidden was their apparent glee.

[Medical Examiner / Forensic Expert]

Ashley writes, how's it going? Laugh out loud. And Marcia sends back a picture of a half eaten brownie. Ashley, ooh, let me know when it's gone. Laugh out loud.

[Investigator / Police Officer]

They're basically making a joke out of the fact that they're going to try to murder him.

[Detective Clint Burcham]

The smiley faces, the LOLs. When someone's in excruciating pain. I mean, this shows you how evil that these people actually are.

[Narrator / Reporter]

As Harold made repeated trips to the ER suffering all those GI symptoms, police say a new level of depravity emerged in a text from Marsha to Ashley. I am irritated and can't sleep peacefully. I need this to be over.

[Jackson County Prosecutor Lindsey Fleetwood]

He's not dying fast enough.

[Narrator / Reporter]

In another instance, after Marsha texted Ashley that Harold was attending a family funeral,

[Detective Clint Burcham]

Ashley Jones messages Marsha and says he just needs to go and drop in the hole too.

[Narrator / Reporter]

After the pong pong seeds failed to kill Harold, police learned they ordered another lethal plant water hemlock. Investigators say on several days in December, they served him tainted chili sprite and a margarita.

[Harold Allen's Brother Matthew]

He surrounded himself with people he thought loved him, and to be poisoned on a nightly basis basically infuriates me. They poisoned him and they waited for him to die.

[Narrator / Reporter]

But somehow Harold survived all those attempts. Police believe Marsha and Ashley then shifted from plants to a chemical called ethylene glycol, which is used in antifreeze. They ordered it online.

[Detective Clint Burcham]

If you're consuming ethylene glycol, you're not going to know. You're not going to smell it. It doesn't have any color to it. It's described as maybe a slight sweet taste.

[Narrator / Reporter]

Investigators believe because of its sweet taste, Marsha and Ashley came up with the plan of a poisoned root beer float.

[Detective Clint Burcham]

If you put it in a root beer float with ice cream and root beer, you're not going to know until it's too late.

[Narrator / Reporter]

Marcia texted Ashley, he's all in for root beer floats. Ashley replied, okie dokie. I'll tell the kids that's what we are doing tonight for dessert. Smiley face root beer floats.

[Detective Clint Burcham]

They probably had this so well planned out that they knew exactly what he would eat and what he wouldn't.

[Narrator / Reporter]

Marsha purchased the ingredients for this poisonous beverage at a local store. She texted Ashley this photo of small soda cans. Ashley encouraged her to buy large bottles. Investigators believe Marsha served Harold the fatal potion on the night of December 19, 2022.

[Detective Clint Burcham]

I think they knew that this was 100% going to be successful.

[Medical Examiner / Forensic Expert]

This ethylene glycol, when it gets into your body, what does it attack?

[Detective Clint Burcham]

It starts attacking, like, some of the organs, you know, like the heart, liver, kidneys, stomach. You know, you're sick, nauseated. I believe it even starts to affect the brain some.

[Medical Examiner / Forensic Expert]

They not only wanted to kill him, but it seems like they wanted to profoundly make him suffer. What's the source of that kind of hatred?

[Jackson County Prosecutor Lindsey Fleetwood]

I don't know where a hatred that deep can even Stem from

[Narrator / Reporter]

the next afternoon, just five days before Christmas, 2022, an ambulance rushed to the Allen home. Harold could not be saved.

[Detective Clint Burcham]

Ready.

[Narrator / Reporter]

After reading the blow by blow account spelled out in those texts, on October 16, 2023, investigators took action.

[Detective Clint Burcham]

Hi, Marcia, how are you?

[Harold Allen's Brother Matthew]

Here.

[Detective Clint Burcham]

Step out here for us real quick.

[Narrator / Reporter]

Sure.

[Detective Clint Burcham]

We're here today because we got a search warrant for your house. Okay.

[Narrator / Reporter]

Officers served a pre dawn warrant at Marsha's home.

[Ashley Jones]

Who's the accusing me of murdering?

[Investigator / Police Officer]

There's text messages about ordering ethylene glycol.

[Narrator / Reporter]

Huh?

[Ashley Jones]

I did not kill my husband.

[Investigator / Police Officer]

That ethylene glycol shows up at your house on December 19th and Harold passed away on December 20th. Yeah, so? And we're also being told that the way he was poisoned, that it was through a root beer float.

[Harold Allen's Brother Matthew]

No.

[Narrator / Reporter]

After serving the warrant to search her house, Marsha was asked if she'd voluntarily come to the Jackson County Sheriff's Department for questioning.

[Investigator / Police Officer]

We can show you some of these messages and you can explain to them.

[Ashley Jones]

I don't have a choice.

[Detective Clint Burcham]

I mean, you have a choice. You don't have to go.

[Narrator / Reporter]

What followed was a four and a half hour interview in which Marsha said largely nothing.

[Investigator / Police Officer]

The root beer floats is confirmed in your text messages. And then there's an F ethylene glycol that was ordered and sent to your house. And you say you don't know anything about that?

[Ashley Jones]

No.

[Narrator / Reporter]

Marsha was moved to a different room to show her some of those recovered text messages on a computer screen. Undaunted, she continued her claims of ignorance.

[Investigator / Police Officer]

Is there any reason that there would be any ethylene glycol found in Harold's body anywhere?

[Narrator / Reporter]

When Harold died, his autopsy cited cardiac issues. But the coroner did not screen Harold's blood for poisons at the time because his death was not suspicious.

[Detective Clint Burcham]

Luckily for us, they keep that blood for a year. So we have put a hold on that blood and it's going to be retested for all kinds of other stuff.

[Investigator / Police Officer]

Right now, the way this is going, I have a bad feeling that when we get these results back that it's going to show ethylene glycol in his system.

[Ashley Jones]

Okay. This is going to shock me.

[Narrator / Reporter]

When the interview ended, Marsha wasn't arrested. She was allowed to return home as the wait began for Harold's blood test results. That same day, her daughter Ashley, who'd been living in Missouri, was extradited to Indiana under arrest for the burglary of her mother's house. The next morning at the station, Ashley was About to be surprised.

[Investigator / Police Officer]

We're not going to talk to you about burglary, okay? That's not what we're here to talk about.

[Narrator / Reporter]

Investigators got right to the point.

[Investigator / Police Officer]

We have some text messages from your mom's phone. Do you know anything about the ethylene glycol?

[Ashley Jones]

No, sir.

[Investigator / Police Officer]

The information we got was Harold did not die of natural causes. Basically that he was poisoned.

[Detective Clint Burcham]

Really?

[Narrator / Reporter]

They told Ashley they'd already talked to her mother.

[Investigator / Police Officer]

If you know something. If you know something, now's the time to tell us so we can.

[Ashley Jones]

I know she said she wanted out and that's all.

[Narrator / Reporter]

But that wasn't all. Just ten minutes later, Ashley, in a complete change of direction, named her own mother as Harold's killer.

[Ashley Jones]

She didn't want to divorce him. I said, divorce? She wanted to be free of him completely. She wanted him dead. And I said, you're going to go to hell. For that month, no matter what happens, you're going to hell.

[Narrator / Reporter]

Ashley continued giving her mother hell, admitting she helped Marsha purchase ethylene glycol and other poisons online, but claimed she was just being an obedient daughter.

[Ashley Jones]

I really don't ask many questions, which I guess I should for that woman. I just do what she asks and always have since I was a child, remember?

[Narrator / Reporter]

Ashley was in the house as Harold was in agony during his final hours of life. She was asked why she didn't do more for Harold when he still might have been saved.

[Investigator / Police Officer]

Did you ever mention anything to her that maybe you should call an ambulance?

[Ashley Jones]

I did. I said, are you sure you want to do more?

[Investigator / Police Officer]

He asked her if she was sure she wanted to do this.

[Ashley Jones]

Because this is awful, okay? I mean, just doing that to anybody, regardless of any which way or form. I didn't agree. But loyalty to the mother is a hell of a thing.

[Narrator / Reporter]

Unexpected news about her mother would punctuate the end of Ashley's police interview when another officer entered the room.

[Sergeant Jesse]

My name's Jesse. I'm a sergeant here in the detective's office. Okay? So I'm here to talk to you about something completely different.

[Ashley Jones]

Okay?

[Narrator / Reporter]

The night before, hours after Marsha's own interview ended and she'd returned home, Marsha's parents had been unable to reach her on the phone.

[Detective Clint Burcham]

They had also been to the house, knocking on the door. And her car was home, but she wasn't answering the door.

[Narrator / Reporter]

They notified police.

[Detective Clint Burcham]

That's the new key. Then it was dispatched for our officers to go for a welfare check.

[Sergeant Jesse]

It's not going to be an easy conversation. Okay. After your mom was here yesterday and spoke with us, we got a call to go check on her welfare at her home, and she's passed away.

[Narrator / Reporter]

What?

[Sergeant Jesse]

She passed away.

[Ashley Jones]

What happened?

[Sergeant Jesse]

Without going into a lot of detail, it appeared that there was something ingested, possibly, and passed away on her bed.

[Jackson County Prosecutor Lindsey Fleetwood]

Marsha Allen was discovered deceased and it was ruled a suicide.

[Ashley Jones]

She killed herself?

[Sergeant Jesse]

That is what we. That's what we believe happened, yes.

[Medical Examiner / Forensic Expert]

Why do you think she took her life at that moment?

[Detective Clint Burcham]

I think she didn't want to have to spend the rest of her life in prison. You know, I told her that we were going to send the blood off. I think she didn't want to stick around and wait and find out what Those results were.

[Narrator / Reporter]

48 hours obtained this photograph of the note Marsha left behind.

[Medical Examiner / Forensic Expert]

And she wrote, I did not kill my husband. You win, Ashley, with an exclamation point. How do you interpret that?

[Jackson County Prosecutor Lindsey Fleetwood]

I interpret that. I don't really give it much weight. I think it's her way of trying to leave some message and trying to get out of the fact that she killed her husband.

[Narrator / Reporter]

Now investigators would start building their case against the last survivor in this peculiar crime, Ashley, for her role in Harold's death.

[Investigator / Police Officer]

I am going to read you your rights because you're in custody. Make sure you understand that just one

[Narrator / Reporter]

day after her police interview and learning her mother had taken her own life, she's gone.

[Ashley Jones]

Correct.

[Narrator / Reporter]

Ashley Jones received more startling news.

[Investigator / Police Officer]

You are under the arrest for the murder of Harold. Okay. And conspiracy to commit murder and attempted murder.

[Narrator / Reporter]

Ashley responded with just five words still on the table. Was that burglary charge against Ashley? Police were certain they knew exactly how it was connected to Harold's death.

[Detective Clint Burcham]

Marshall Allen paid Ashley about $1,000 a month from the time of Harold's death in December of 2022 till, like, July of 2023.

[Narrator / Reporter]

The burglary occurred just two months after the payments stopped.

[Jackson County Prosecutor Lindsey Fleetwood]

She was going after money that she thought belonged to her from the murder of Harold Allen. Ashley Jones didn't feel like she received her compensation for that.

[Narrator / Reporter]

The prosecution said it had a strong case against Ashley, especially when toxicology results confirmed exactly what police suspected. Harold had been given. A root beer float poisoned with ethylene glycol purchased by Ashley. As those damning text messages showed.

[Ashley Jones' Attorney Joseph Robertson]

What Ashley said in those texts hurt her. I mean, there's just no way around it.

[Narrator / Reporter]

Ashley's attorney, public defender Joseph Robertson, knew it was going to be a difficult case.

[Medical Examiner / Forensic Expert]

There was a legal freight train headed toward your client. Yes, I Mean, this was an impossible case.

[Ashley Jones' Attorney Joseph Robertson]

Yes. By the time that all this evidence came out, we just told her, said, you know, we're in the tunnel and the white light at the other end is the legal system coming after you.

[Narrator / Reporter]

But Ashley would never have to defend her text or murderous actions in Court. In August 2025, she took a plea deal, pleading guilty to attempted murder and conspiracy to commit murder.

[Jackson County Prosecutor Lindsey Fleetwood]

I don't think I can ever say that I saw remorse on Ashley Jones face.

[Narrator / Reporter]

Harold's brother Matthew and his wife Samantha were in the courtroom for the sentencing.

[Harold Allen's Brother Matthew / Family Member]

The judge said, there's no other word but evil. There's no forgiveness from this court, and I have no choice but to give you the full time.

[Narrator / Reporter]

Ashley was sentenced to 50 years in prison.

[Harold Allen's Brother Matthew]

It was just a sigh of relief. We finally felt like we got a little bit of justice that my brother

[Medical Examiner / Forensic Expert]

deserved in the end. These two women who would chuckle over their plans with one another, they didn't get away with this. One took her own life when confronted with her deeds, and the other one is gone for decades.

[Jackson County Prosecutor Lindsey Fleetwood]

Absolutely. I truly think they thought they were smarter than the system.

[Narrator / Reporter]

But Ashley's legal woes may not be over. There is another death in her past. Her late husband, Ty Jones, who died when he was just 33. His autopsy said the cause of death was heart issues. But two of his family members suspected foul play from the beginning.

[Medical Examiner / Forensic Expert]

You believe that Ty Jones, your nephew, was murdered?

[Detective Clint Burcham]

Yes, I do.

[Narrator / Reporter]

William Jones and Aretta Stivers are Ty's uncle and cousin. What do you believe happened to him?

[Ty Jones' Family Member (William Jones or Aretta Stivers)]

I believe that he was poisoned.

[Narrator / Reporter]

Ty's body was not tested for poison in 2019, and he was cremated at Ashley's request. But his family says Ty was perfectly healthy before suddenly dying. And after his death, they say Ashley's strange behavior raised red flags.

[Ty Jones' Family Member (William Jones or Aretta Stivers)]

During Ty's funeral service, Ashley Jones did not shed any tears. The next day, she showed up at Ty's place of employment to inquire about his insurance policy. She expected a check that very next day. All of it to me said, there is something going on here that needs to be investigated.

[Narrator / Reporter]

After William and Aretta heard how Harold died on the news, they contacted police, sharing their suspicions that Ashley murdered Ty, her eye on an inheritance he had just received from his great grandfather.

[Ty Jones' Family Member (William Jones or Aretta Stivers)]

I do believe that there was a large enough sum of money and a property that Ashley likely thought she would inherit and that that could have been a motivator for her.

[Narrator / Reporter]

And in Ashley and Marsha's texts about murdering Harold, there was a reference to Ty After Marsha complained the deadly pong pong seeds were failing to kill Harold, Ashley, out of the blue, said Ty had weighed much less than Harold writing. And previously ty was only 120 LOL. During their 48 hours interview, William and Aretta heard about that text. For the first time.

[Medical Examiner / Forensic Expert]

They reference Ashley's late husband.

[Stephen White]

There it is.

[Detective Clint Burcham]

There it is right there.

[Ty Jones' Family Member (William Jones or Aretta Stivers)]

It's painful to hear.

[Detective Clint Burcham]

Yeah, it is.

[Ty Jones' Family Member (William Jones or Aretta Stivers)]

Because it's one thing to suspect and to feel like, you know, but to have that kind of evidence presented verbally for the first time is gut wrenching.

[Medical Examiner / Forensic Expert]

It means what you have suspected all along is true.

[Detective Clint Burcham]

All the time. All the time.

[Narrator / Reporter]

Ashley maintains that Ty died of a heart attack, but Indiana State Police opened an investigation into his death. Nicholson says he's struck by the similarities between Harold and Ty's deaths.

[Detective Clint Burcham]

I believe it's way more than a coincidence. Personally, I think that she probably killed him, but that's my opinion. There's very few probably as evil as Marsha Allen and Ashley Jones.

[Harold Allen's Brother Matthew]

They're the same person. I mean, just carbon copy evil.

[Narrator / Reporter]

Looking back, Harold's family doesn't think Marsha ever really loved him.

[Harold Allen's Brother Matthew]

I think she chose the person that she can manipulate.

[Narrator / Reporter]

Their memories are all that remain to fill the void left by the man they called Peanut, who had a big personality and an even greater heart.

[Harold Allen's Brother Matthew]

I'll see something and I'll be like, oh man, that's something Peanut would love to know about. And I like, I go to like actually call him and I'm like, oh, I can't. So it is something that I would give anything to get back, honestly.

[Medical Examiner / Forensic Expert]

My goodness, how much you miss him, huh?

[Harold Allen's Brother Matthew]

Yes. It's crazy.

[Jackson County Prosecutor Lindsey Fleetwood]

Every day.

[Harold Allen's Brother Matthew]

Every day.

[Narrator / Reporter]

Steven White was sentenced to three and

[Detective Clint Burcham]

a half years for his role in the burglary.

[Narrator / Reporter]

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[Narrator / Reporter]

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[Ashley Jones]

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[Ashley Jones]

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