Jason Harris: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know

Jason Harris is a 44-year-old Michigan man accused of killing his wife in 2014 by spiking her cereal and milk with a fatal dose of heroin. Harris was arrested five years after the death of 36-year-old Christina Ann Thompson-Harris in the Flint suburb of Davison. Prosecutors said they believe she was killed after discovering her husband was having an affair.

Harris appeared before Genesee District Judge Nathaniel C. Perry III on August 27, 2019, and was charged with single counts of premeditated first-degree murder, solicitation of murder and delivery of a controlled substance causing death. He faces life in prison if convicted.

“We believe Jason Harris murdered his wife,” Genessee County Prosecuting Attorney David Leyton said. “We believe he put heroin into her cereal and milk the night that she died after getting it from someone, thinking it would be tasteless and odorless, much like he had asked his coworkers multiple times.”

Christina and Jason married in 2003 after dating for five years, according to MLive. They had their first child in 2009 and a second in 2014, just four months before Christina’s murder.

Christina feared Jason might harm her, according to prosecutors. “She told a friend that if something happens to me, look at Jason,” Leyton said.

Harris has pleaded not guilty on all charges. “Mr. Harris has been completely cooperative throughout this five-year investigation and is eager to have all of the facts revealed when this case is presented,” Harris’ attorney Nicholas Robinson said.

On the morning of September 29, 2014, authorities say, Harris asked a neighbor to check on his wife at their Bay Street home. He told the neighbor Christina had been coughing and was sick. He said he’d fixed Christina a bowl of cereal the night before but she dropped the bowl and passed out.

When the neighbor entered the Harris’ home, she discovered Christina unresponsive in the bed. She called a second neighbor, who was a nurse, and she immediately realized Christina was dead. Christina’s autopsy initially determined she’d died from an accidental overdose of heroin.

The illness and heroin stories didn’t add up for Christina Harris’ family and friends. Contrary to what Jason Harris had told the police, Christina’s mother had seen her daughter the day before and said she was in good health, authorities say. Christina also had numerous tests performed during and after her recent pregnancy but had never been positive for drugs.

Colleagues who worked with Christina at the Subway where she had recently been promoted to manager, said there was never any indication that she took heroin or any other drugs.

While a heroin overdose seemed out of character for Christina, police learned that Jason had been fired from his job at a local plastics factory for what Leyton called “a pattern of positive drug testing,” for methamphetamine. In 2016, the case was turned over from the Davison City Police to the Michigan State Police.

Here’s what you need to know about Jason Harris and the death of Christina Ann-Thompson Harris:

1. Jason Harris Offered a Co-Worker $5,000 to Murder His Wife, Prosecutors Say

Harris is also accused of offering a coworker $5,000 to murder Christina, saying he’d originally hired an ex-con and offered the same amount of money, but the plan fell through.

According to Harris, police caught the hitman spying on Christina and put the ex-con back in jail when he was found carrying a gun. Harris’ coworker declined the job.

2. Harris Is Accused of Telling Multiple Co-Workers He ‘Wished Christina Was Dead’

Prosecutors said Harris told at least three coworkers that he “wished Christina was dead.”

One month prior to her death, Harris asked a colleague for five Xanax pills, according to prosecutors. He revealed that he had placed them in Christina’s water, which she refused to drink because she said it tasted funny, prosecutors said. He allegedly asked, “Well, what pills are tasteless?”

Harris is accused of asking another coworker, “what pills would knock Christina out so she would not feel anything?”

During lunch, Jason Harris shared with a friend that he “just wanted to get rid of Christina,” and added that he didn’t want to go through with the divorce because he’d have to pay alimony and might lose custody of his children, authorities allege.

3. Harris Received a $120,000 Life Insurance Payout After Christina’s Death

Leyton noted that Harris stood to gain financially after her death. Harris collected $100,000 in life insurance from Christina’s employer on the same day her final autopsy report was signed. He was paid an additional $20,000 in life insurance from his employer.

In Christina’s obituary, Harris asked for money from mourners. “In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the family payable to Jason Harris,” it read.

4. Christina’s Breastmilk Tested Negative for Heroin

Christina, who was still breastfeeding at the time of her death, had left behind three frozen packages of breast milk at her parent’s home. The milk was analyzed in 2016 and showed there were no traces of heroin in her system prior to her death.

“In each instance,” Leyton said, “no controlled substance was found.” Leyton believes this was the first time in Michigan history that breast milk had ever been analyzed for a criminal case.

After a thorough review of Christina’s medical records and police evidence, the Genesee County medical examiner changed Christina’s manner of death from accidental overdose to homicide.

5. Jason Harris’ Siblings Told Police He’d Talked About “Getting Rid of Christina”

Christina’s mother told police the couple’s relationship had become tumultuous. On October 1, just three days after Christina’s death, Harris’ brother and sister approached investigators at the Davison Police Department and told them they suspected Harris was having an affair and said he had talked about “getting rid of Christina.”

Detectives determined Harris’ siblings were correct. Authorities discovered 5,881 text messages to a woman in Providence Rhode Island, along with numerous other photos and messages sent to other women. Nine days after Christina’s death, Harris booked a plane ticket to Providence. According to a neighbor, a woman and her daughter moved into the Harris home, shortly after Christina’s death. Harris was arrested at the home he currently shares with the woman.

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