Poisoning case dropped against Florida woman who said she thought bleach in boyfriend's tea was 'sugar,' as accuser is nowhere to be found

Ivette Diaz pictured (left) in court (WTVJ/screengrab) (right inset) in a mug shot (Miami-Dade County Corrections and Rehabilitation)

In a complete reversal of course, Florida prosecutors have opted not to formally charge a woman accused of tainting a live-in boyfriend’s tea with a bleach tablet from “under the kitchen sink,” as her accuser has vanished, a no action memo obtained by Law&Crime shows.

The now dropped case against Ivette Diaz initially captured attention in no small part because the Miami-Dade Police Department said she claimed she “thought it,” the bleach, “was sugar.”

But prosecutors in the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office revealed Thursday that the case had serious issues, up to and including that Diaz’s accuser, Lee Bonner, has vanished.

“The day after the incident, the neighbors told the lead Detective that the victim had requested to early terminate his lease and for a ride to the bus station. The neighbor confirmed that he in fact dropped the victim at the bus station. He did not know where the victim went,” the memo explained. “The State attempted to contact the victim by telephone multiple times, left messages, ran an Accurint, and attempted to call all numbers generated.”

Prosecutors said cops checked to see if Bonner was staying at a “homeless shelter” in Broward County, but that shelter “no longer existed.” The state concluded that the case could not be proven in court beyond a reasonable doubt in absence of Bonner’s testimony, since “there was no forensic evidence that corroborated the victim’s story that bleach was put in his drink.”

“The victim poured the drink down the sink and therefore any evidence of its contents were lost,” the memo said. “CCTV from the incident also showed both the victim and the Defendant coming in and out of the trailer multiple times, contrary to what the victim told the police.”

Diaz, 49, had been accused of tainting Bonner’s tea on the evening of Feb. 20. The live-in boyfriend of three years claimed he stepped out of their trailer to talk on the phone with his employer, only to return inside and take “a large gulp” from the tea, “immediately” causing a burning sensation in his throat, cops said.

The story went that Bonner was eating a “spicy” tortilla and offered Diaz some tea, but according to him Diaz “adamantly” refused to drink it.

“The victim then noticed a strong smell of bleach emanating from his cup. The victim immediately poured the drink into the sink, at which time he saw the remnants of a concentrated bleach tablet he uses for dissolving into 5 gallons of water, in his cup,” the arrest report said. “The victim turned to the defendant and stated ‘there’s bleach in this drink! Did you put bleach in my drink?”

After cops emphasized that the bleach was kept under the kitchen sink and couldn’t have been confused for sugar, prosecutors followed suit.

At a hearing where a judge found probable cause, Diaz and her attorney took the position that there was no intent to kill or injure, as, again Diaz thought she put sugar in the tea.

“Our probable cause argument is that there was no intent, and that is one of the elements — intent to kill or injure,” the lawyer said, according to local NBC affiliate WTVJ . “Ms. Diaz stated— on the arrest affidavit it states that she did not know that she was putting in what happened to be the tablet.”

Prosecutors now acknowledge that Bonner’s spilling of the tea in question down the sink was a key evidentiary loss.

The no action development is a huge win for Diaz, as the felony first-degree domestic violence poisoning food or water case potentially punishable by decades in prison has now disappeared.

A no action decision is distinct from a nolle prosequi in that a no action occurs before formal charges are filed, while the latter is a prosecutorial dismissal after formal charges are brought.

Law&Crime reached out to Diaz’s defense attorney of record Cassidy Margaritis for comment.

Read the no action memo here .

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