A woman in the United States accused of killing her 79-year-old roommate doused herself in Mountain Dew to erase any forensic evidence from her body, New York Post reported. Nichole Maks, 35, allegedly killed her roommate, beating and stabbing him to death in the home they shared.
As per the investigators, she then set the house on fire trying to conceal evidence, and fled the scene. When firefighters arrived at the scene, they extinguished the fire and found a man lying on the floor dead. The victim had blunt force trauma to the back of his head, and multiple stab wounds in his torso, the affidavit said.
The dead man's landlord told police Maks was his other tenant, but she was nowhere to be found. Meanwhile, the police recovered a bloody knife near the victim's body and two cell phones, while blood spatter was also found on the walls, Fox News reported.
Officials later located the woman barefoot, and disheveled outside a nearby restaurant and when they confronted her, she ''dropped a knife and a hammer'' at their feet.
She denied knowing the victim and said she was homeless. When she evaded other queries and gave contradictive statements, Daytona Beach police took her into custody for questioning.
The police then told Maks that they had a warrant and would take a sample of her DNA. She then requested a Diet Mountain Dew. Officers said she began to procrastinate while drinking the soda. When an officer tried to grab it from her, Maks doused herself with the soda, pouring it over her body and hair.
However, her DNA was later found on the handle of a knife found lying next to the victim's body.
She is being held in Volusia County Jail without bond and is scheduled for a court appearance on September 5.
A recent study from North Carolina State University indicated that sucralose, a common artificial sweetener found in Diet Mountain Dew and other sodas can break down the genetic material that makes up DNA.
