Investigators say hidden-camera footage showed Jessica Meis tampering with drinks after her former husband suffered years of unexplained health problems.
STEVENS POINT, Wis. — A Wisconsin woman is accused of repeatedly putting eye drops in her ex-husband’s beverages and trying to place the solution in his CPAP machine because she wanted to make him sick enough to depend on her, according to police and a criminal complaint.
Jessica Ann Meis, 37, was being held in the Portage County Jail on a $100,000 cash bond. Authorities accused her of aggravated battery with a domestic-abuse modifier and two counts of placing foreign objects in edibles. Her initial appearance on the charges was scheduled for July 27.
The investigation began after Meis’ former husband contacted the Stevens Point Police Department on July 20 and said he suspected that she had put something in one of his drinks. He told investigators that he had experienced exhaustion, dizziness, headaches, unusually long periods of sleep and repeated episodes of low blood pressure since 2021.
The former couple finalized their divorce in June 2025 but continued living in the same Stevens Point home for a time, according to the complaint. Meis later moved to Plover, though she continued visiting the residence because they shared custody of three children. Her former husband said he was hospitalized four times between July and September 2025.
He told police his condition improved after Meis moved out but returned during periods when she stayed at the home. In January, when Meis reportedly stayed there because the heat at her residence was not working, he experienced three more episodes. His low-blood-pressure problems became more frequent again between May and July 19, investigators said.
The man became suspicious after growing ill following drinks that had been left open or unattended. His mother preserved an energy-drink can from one reported episode in July 2025 and later gave it to investigators. Police also received other beverage containers for examination, including a bottle that authorities said was consumed by someone other than the intended target.
On July 14, the man installed a camera in his kitchen. Police said video recorded two days later showed Meis removing an eye-drop bottle from her purse and handling a bottle of flavored water from the refrigerator. Investigators said she positioned herself in a way that blocked the camera’s view while appearing to empty the eye-drop solution into the beverage.
Footage from July 18 allegedly showed Meis taking a small container from her pocket, opening it and emptying its contents into a black water bottle. Police said she held the objects below the kitchen island, out of sight of two children nearby, before returning the water bottle to its original location.
Officers interviewed Meis at her home July 21 after advising her of her rights. She initially said she had added saline or salt to her former husband’s water as a remedy for low blood pressure, according to the complaint. Investigators said she later acknowledged using Visine eye drops and first claimed she had done so only a few times.
Meis eventually said she had tampered with his drinks “many times,” police alleged. She reportedly identified energy drinks, flavored waters, canned beverages and cocktail mix as products she had targeted. She also allegedly told investigators that she tried putting eye drops in his continuous positive airway pressure machine but did not believe that attempt worked.
According to the complaint, Meis said she wanted to make her former husband sick so he would allow her to care for him and would need her. When investigators asked whether she worried that their children might consume the altered beverages, she allegedly replied that they did not drink those products.
The allegations have not been proven in court. Available reports did not identify an attorney who could comment on Meis’ behalf. The investigation remains active, and authorities have not publicly released laboratory results for the beverages and containers collected as evidence.