Michigan man who spiked wife’s cereal with heroin, killing her, sentenced to life

Her death was ruled as an accidental overdose and re-classified as a homicide a few years later

By Edward Era Barbacena

A white Michigan man convicted of killing his wife by poisoning her cereal with heroin was handed down a life sentence Friday.

Jason Harris, of Davison, 60 miles north of Detroit, was found guilty in November of first-degree murder in the 2014 death of Christina Ann-Thompson Harris, among other charges.

"I agree completely with their verdict," Genesee County Circuit Court Judge David Newblatt said before imposing his sentence, MLive.com reported. "You are guilty. You did this. You are a murderer. You are a liar. I want to make that very clear. The jury saw through your lies and I see through your lies."

"You are guilty. You did this. You are a murderer. You are a liar. I want to make that very clear. The jury saw through your lies and I see through your lies."

— Judge David Newblatt, Genesee County Circuit Court

Harris tried hiring a hitman to kill his wife but settled on spiking her cereal instead, investigators said. He allegedly did it the night before she died. 

Jason Harris and his wife Christina Harris

A neighbor told police that Christina Harris dropped the bowl of poisoned cereal while eating and passed out on the living room floor. 

A medical examiner initially determined the death was the result of an accidental overdose but investigators suspected she was murdered. Her family also told police she didn't use drugs. 

A sample of Christina Harris' breast milk collected before her death found no drugs in her system, indicating she was not a drug user before her overdose, the news outlet reported. The cause of death was eventually re-classified as a homicide in August 2019. 

Jason Harris collected a $120,000 life insurance benefit after his wife died and a woman moved into his home soon after. An investigation also revealed he had been exchanging text messages with a woman before his wife died.