Etsy, Poisonous Plants and a Root Beer Float: Inside an Alleged Mother-Daughter Plot to Kill the Mom's Husband

No foul play was initially suspected when Herb “Peanut” Allen, 52, died suddenly in 2022, but arrest affidavits accuse his wife and and her daughter of murder

An Indiana woman and her mother are accused of poisoning her mother’s husband to gain access to his retirement money and savings, before killing him with a tainted root beer float, authorities allege.

A probable cause affidavit obtained by PEOPLE alleges that authorities uncovered potentially incriminating texts between Marsha Allen, 52, and her daughter, Ashley Jones, 30.

When a gallon of a compound used in antifreeze arrived at their home on Dec. 19, 2022, Jones texted her mother, saying, “The mail is here : ),” the affidavit alleges. Marsha “loved” the image, responding with a heart emoji, it says.

Weeks earlier, Marsha appeared to expressed her annoyance with how slow their efforts were taking, a supplemental probable cause affidavit filed on Aug. 16, 2024, alleges.

“I am irritated and can’t sleep peacefully,” Marsha allegedly texted Jones on Nov. 28, 2022, according to the supplemental affidavit. “I need this to be over … I wish it would reach its climax and be done lol.”

Marsha died by suicide on Oct. 16, 2023, the day she was questioned by authorities about her husband’s death.

Jones was arrested on Oct. 18, 2023, and charged with two counts of murder and one count of conspiracy to commit murder, among other counts, according to court documents obtained by PEOPLE. On Aug. 16, prosecutors additionally charged her with two counts of attempted murder, according to court documents obtained by PEOPLE.

In Dec. 2022, Marsha’s husband, Herb “Peanut” L. Allen, Jr., 52, “passed away suddenly” at the Freetown home he shared with her, according to his obituary.

No foul play was suspected until the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department began investigating a Sept. 19, 2023 burglary at the same address, where Marsha still lived.

One of the two men who was arrested in connection with the burglary, told police that Jones had told him that Marsha had murdered her late husband by poisoning him, the affidavit alleges.

The man allegedly told the deputy that Jones had also recruited him to burglarize Marsha’s house, the affidavit says.

Marsha denied killing her husband but consented to allowing police to download information from her phone.

On the phone, police found a trove of allegedly incriminating text messages, beginning on November 27, 2022, between Marsha and Jones, in which the two discussed poisoning Harold, the affidavit claims.

Marsha told Jones in one text that she needed foxglove seeds, which are toxic if ingested, with Jones writing back that the seeds are traceable, the affidavit alleges.

That same day, Harold went to the hospital because of numbness on the side of his face. He returned to the hospital on Nov. 30, 2022, because of vomiting, fever and chills — symptoms of foxglove poisoning, the affidavit alleges.

The two then “decided to use ethylene glycol to poison and kill Harold Allen,” with Marsha ordering a gallon of it for $31.99, on Dec. 13, 2022, the affidavit alleges.

Ethylene glycol “is a colorless, odorless, sweet-tasting compound used in consumer products including antifreeze,” the affidavit says. Ingesting it can be fatal.

Later that day, Marsha texted Jones, saying, “Hes (sic) all in for root beer floats,” the affidavit claims.

Harold died the next day, “before the emergency call was placed,” the affidavit says.

According to the affidavit, Marsha and Jones bought the foxglove seeds and water hemlock, another poisonous plant, on Etsy. They allegedly put the hemlock in Harold's chili and in a margarita in mid-December, the affidavit alleges.

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Jones allegedly told police she only bought the ethylene glycol, the affidavit alleges.

But in text messages she sent to White on July 27, 2023, authorities allege in the affidavit, 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…”

Jones’ attorney did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

Her trial is scheduled to begin in January 2025.

If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.

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