JACKSON COUNTY — A Missouri woman was charged today in connection with conspiring with her mother to kill a Freetown man with ethylene glycol in December of 2022, according to Jackson County Sheriff deputies.
Ashley Nicole Jones, 29, of Bellflower confessed to ordering the odorless and colorless liquid off the internet during an interview Tuesday with investigators with the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department.
Jones was arrested at the Jackson County Jail on Wednesday where she was being held on a related burglary charge. She now also faces charges of murder, conspiracy to commit murder and attempted murder.
Jones told police her mother, Marsha Allen, had placed the liquid, which can be found in antifreeze, brake fluids and ballpoint pens, into a drink that Marsha had given to her 52-year-old husband, Harold L. “Peanut” Allen Jr., according to a news release from Sheriff Rick Meyer.
Harold Allen died Dec. 20, 2022 and was buried at New Providence Cemetery in Austin.
On Monday morning, Marsha Allen was found inside the home she had shared with her husband until his death. At 7:52 a.m., county officers responded to that home on north State Road 135 after Marsha’s family contacted the police department and reported they had been unable to contact her.
When officers entered they home, they found Marsha dead with no signs of any violence, police said.
Meyer said the investigation that led to Jones’ arrest in connection with Harold Allen’s arrest started on Sept. 19 when Marsha Allen reported her home had been burglarized.
At that time, officers were able to examine Marsha’s cellphone and found text messages between her and Jones in which they discussed the poisoning of Harold Allen.
Police then obtained a search warrant for the home and seized additional electronic devices in an effort to find evidence, Meyer said. While executing the warrant police interviewed Allen and then released her, he said.
County officers also were able to determine that Steven Andrew White, 29, of Scottsburg and Nathaniel Kane Napier, 28 of Scottsburg had committed the burglary at the direction and with the assistance of Jones, police said.
Both men were booked into the Jackson County Jail on Sept. 19 and faces burglary and theft charges. They remain in jail on $4,005 bond.
Investigators said Wednesday they are not commenting about what the motive in this case was.
This is an ongoing investigation. Anyone with information regarding this investigation is asked to contact Sheriff Rick Meyer at the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department (812) 358-2141.
