An Indiana woman was charged with murdering her father in a pretty crazy way. As reported by CBS News, the way in which she was found out is even crazier.
Marsha Allen, of Freetown, Indiana, was an unassuming widow. She lost her husband to apparent cardiac issues after months of declining health. Pretty sad stuff, right?
Well, on September 19, 2023, her home was burglarized. But Allen recognized one of the people who were captured by her security cameras. She told authorities he was Steven White. He was a friend of Allen's daughter, Ashley Jones. According to Detective Clint Burcham of the Jackson County Sheriff's Department, Jones and White were "actually best friends."
White was pretty easily found by police and charged with the burglary. But he told them some pretty disturbing news during his interrogation. He confessed to the burglary but said he had a reason for it—he called Marsha Allen a "murderer".
He told authorities that Allen had killed her husband, Harold Allen, by poisoning his root beer float. White further explained that Jones was in on the murder plot and had plotted the burglary from the start. He even said that the text messages between the mother and daughter would expose the plot.
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Allen Poisoned Her Husband's Float With Antifreeze
It turns out that White was right, and the mother and daughter had conspired to kill Harold several different times over a period of months.
They had tried a variety of different toxins and poisons, but none worked. They then tried ethylene glycol, which is found in antifreeze. And that one worked, authorities say. On December 19, 2022, Harold Allen would consume that root beer float before dying.
Marsha Allen ended up taking her own life after being questioned by police. However, her daughter, Ashley Jones, was charged with Harold's murder. Her depravity didn't end there—she apparently gave her cellmate a "kill list".
According to authorities, the list appeared to try and tie up loose ends. The list had names of people who might have known what happened to Harold. The first person on that list? Steven White.
In August 2025, Jones took a plea deal in the murder. She was sentenced to 50 years in prison. White was also sentenced to three and a half years for his role in the burglary.
What a crazy case. We hope that Harold Allen rests in peace.
