BROWNSTOWN — New details were revealed Thursday several days after 29-year-old Ashley Jones was arrested after police say she helped kill her stepfather 52-year-old Harold Allen Jr., of Freetown.
On Oct. 18, the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department deputies arrested Ashley. On Thursday, she was officially charged with murder, felony murder, conspiracy to commit murder, conspiracy resulting in death, and consumer product tampering resulting in serious bodily injury. She is being held in the Jackson County Jail without bond.
Harold Allen Jr., 52, of Freetown, died on Dec. 20, 2022.
The investigation began after Ashley Jones’ mother, Marsha Allen, reported her home on North State Road 135 had been burglarized on Sept. 19. Steven White and Nathaniel Kane Napier were arrested for the burglary.
According to court documents, Marsha told Lt. Adam Nicholson about a conversation White and Ashley Jones shared. In the conversation, Ashley Jones told Steven White that Marsha Allen had murdered her husband, 52-year-old Harold Allen Jr., by poisoning him. Marsha also said Ashley recruited him to burglarize Marsha’s house on North State Road 135 in Freetown.
Officers obtained text messages on Marsha’s phone between Steven White and Ashley where they discussed their plan to burglarize Marsha’s home. Some of the texts Ashley wrote to him are as follows:
“Ahahah yeah she ain’t gonna be able to do [expletive] she wouldn’t even have succeeded with this last thing without me I planned it all.”
“She was gonna use insulin-like 1983 oh it’s not traced”
“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 cc cause I showed her how to scam it as him before they find he’s gone she’s fake af”
“She didn’t gimme [expletive] out of that”
The following day, a detective spoke with Marsha and she denied killing her husband and agreed to a download of her phone.
In Marsha’s cell phone, officials said there were “many text messages” starting in Nov. 2022 between Marsha and Ashley in which they discussed killing Harold.
In one of the text messages on November 27, Marsha tells Ashley that she needs foxglove seeds, which is a poisonous plant and death can occur if ingested. Ashley then texted Marsha that foxglove seeds are traceable.
According to medical records including in the affidavit, Harold Allen was seen at Schneck Medical Center on Nov. 27 with numbness of the left side of his face, also known as Paresthesia. He visited the hospital again three days later with vomiting, diarrhea, fever, chills, and a gastrointestinal issue.
Officials said symptoms of foxglove poisoning include stomach pain, vomiting, and diarrhea.
Police reviewed Marsha’s Google account where they found searches for “what happens if you eat foxglove seeds,” “How much foxglove is fatal,” and “How long does foxglove take to kill you.” Documents show that these searches were made around the same time Marsha sent the text to Ashley saying she needed foxglove seeds.
On Dec. 2, officials say Ashley texted Marsha Allen that she couldn’t “touch the plant.” Then, they texted each other that they would need gloves to handle the plant, and Ashley texted Marsha that she needed to have some “time alone to prepare the root.”
According to court documents, Marsha and Ashley ended up deciding not to use foxglove but to use ethylene glycol to poison and kill Harold. Ethylene glycol is an organic compound with the formula (CH₂OH)₂. It is mainly used for two purposes, as a raw material in the manufacture of polyester fibers and for antifreeze formulations. It is an odorless, colorless, flammable, viscous liquid.
According to court documents, a detective found an order for ethylene glycol on Dec. 13. The order was billed to Lynn Allen (Lynn is Marsha’s middle name) and shipped to a home in the 3000 block of State Road 135 in Freeman, Marsha’s home. Ashley sent the tracking number of the package to Marsha Allen the day after it was ordered. Police say Ashley lived with Marsha until sometime after Harold died.
Ashley and Marsha texted each other regarding the order and when it arrived – “The mail is here : )” and Marsha responded to her text with a heart emoji.
On Dec. 19, the affidavit shows Marsha sent Ashley a text saying “He’s all in for root beer floats.” In another message, Marsha then sent a text to Ashley telling her to “come here.”
The following day, documents say that the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department received a report of an unconscious person on the 3000 block of State Road135. Authorities believe that Harold Allen Jr. was dead before the emergency call was placed.
When police questioned Ashley about the text where Marsha asked Ashley to “come here,” she said Marsha told her Harold was acting “drunk and loopy.” Officials said five hours passed before Marsha called an ambulance, by which time Harold Allen Jr. was already dead.
After reviewing the text messages and the order for the poison, officers searched Marsha’s home and interviewed her. She denied killing Harold Allen Jr.
On Oct. 13, 2023, court documents show Marsha’s parents came to the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department and said they weren’t able to contact Marsha. Deputies went to Marsha’s home and found her dead. Police said the investigation into her death is ongoing, but “suicide is suspected.”
Officers said they arrested Ashley on the burglary charge at her home in Missouri on October 3., 2023, and she stayed in custody until she was taken to Indiana and booked at the Jackson County Jail on October 16, 2023.
The next day, authorities interviewed Ashley and she told them that Marsha Allen put the root of the foxglove into chili and a brownie. Jones said the foxglove was ordered by either her or Marsha, but she couldn’t remember who ordered it.
She told authorities she also ordered ethylene glycol but alleged that Marsha Allen was the one who put it in the root beer float. She said Marsha told her that Harold Allen Jr. drank the beverage.
Anyone with additional information on the investigation is asked to contact Sheriff Rick Meyer at the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department at 812-358-2141.
