Her death was ruled an “accidental overdose” after she was found unresponsive and cold to the touch. But when the authorities decided to check their freezer, they finally found out the truth behind her death. Was it really just because of cereal?
After his wife, Christina Ann Thompson Harris, 36, died all of a sudden on Sept. 29, 2014, Jason Harris, a 47-year-old Michigan man, garnered investigation and inquiry, even from his own immediate family.
Just after Christina’s body was found “unresponsive in bed and cold to the touch,” her death was ruled an “accidental overdose.” When the police authorities decided to have a look in the freezer, however, murder charges would soon come to light
According to Click On Detroit, Jason Harris recalled that he had prepared cereal for his wife one evening when he realized that Christina was struggling to hold onto her spoon as she tried to eat the cereal. He then helped his wife to bed and they both slept.
Jason left for work with the couple’s two kids while his wife was still on the bed the following day. Later that morning, Jason said he became troubled when he couldn’t reach his wife to answer calls or texts. Thus, he contacted his neighbor to check on her, he told police.
MLive reported that their neighbor found the door unlocked and found Christina, who was unresponsive and cold to the touch. They then called another neighbor, who happened to be a registered nurse, to check on Christina. They then called 911 after recognizing that the woman is already dead.
Originally, Christina’s cause of death was ruled an accidental overdose after a blood sample tested positive for opiates; however, her family did not buy the investigation result.
Members of Christina’s family went to the Davison Police Department to complain that something wasn’t right just two days after Christina’s death. The family was determined that she didn’t use the illegal substances.
Because of this complaint, investigators turned their attention to the freezer, where Christina had stored breast milk to feed her baby. Specimen of Christina’s breast milk from multiple months were tested and all came back negative for any trace of illegal drugs, which suggested that the family was right and the deceased mother was never a drug user.
However, it was not the only thing that made them wonder. According to officials, Jason’s own siblings told police that he had made some declaration in the past about getting rid of Christina.
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Then, Jason cashed in on $120,000 in life insurance benefits from his wife’s death and moved another woman into their home just two weeks after Christina’s death making matters all the more dubious.
Before Michigan State Police took over the case, Davison police investigated it for almost two years. At long last, the Genesee County Medical Examiner changed the cause of death from “accidental” to “homicide,” which allowed police and prosecutors to pursue a murder charge, and Jason Harris being the prime suspect.
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Apart from the evidence already gathered against Jason, trial testimony revealed that he had talked with several women via SMS and emails, including sending pictures to them before and after his wife’s death.
Also, just nine days after his wife’s death, Jason bought an airline ticket to visit a woman in Rhode Island after exchanging thousands of text messages with the woman beforehand, authorities said. Perhaps most damaging of all, he had contacted and paid a triggerman to kill his own wife before taking matters into his bare hands.
On November 17, 2021, Wednesday, Jason Thomas Harris was convicted of first-degree premeditated murder and other charges in the 2014 death of 36-year-old Christina Ann Thompson Harris — with the victim’s breast milk playing a key role in the case, Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton said in a press release. He is now facing a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole
Leyton also said it was the first time in the history of the Wolverine State that breast milk was used as evidence in a criminal case.
Sources: taphaps, clickondetroit, mlive, nypost, Youtube/ Click On Detroit | Local 4 | WDIV, Youtube/NBC