Judy Church: Woman, 64, accused of killing boyfriend, 55, by poisoning him with deicing fluid
SALISBURY, MASSACHUSETTS: A Salisbury woman is accused of poisoning her boyfriend to death using ethylene glycol, a chemical found in antifreeze, deicing fluid, and hydraulic brake fluid.
Judy Church, 64, is accused by the prosecution of poisoning her partner Leroy Fowler, 55 using ethylene glycol which resulted in his death, according to the Essex District Attorney’s Office.
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Church appeared in court on Friday, 23 December and the murder reportedly occurred on November, 11 as Church called 911 on the same date to request an ambulance for Fowler, saying, "My boyfriend must have ingested something," according to court documents, reports NBC Boston. Emergency Medical Services responded and found the victim in obvious medical distress.
Fowler was transferred to Anna Jacques Hospital in Newburyport and subsequently to Mount Auburn Hospital in Cambridge for further treatment. In the last attempt, Fowler was sent to Beth Israel Hospital and died on November 13. Hospital staff informed the family that Fowler's kidneys were damaged, and "they believed he could have ingested poison," according to the documents, the report mentioned.
Fowler's family then called the Salisbury Police Department, informing a detective that they believed this was suspicious and that it should be looked into further. Fowler's stepson, Michael Hawkins, told police that Fowler told him two weeks before that he thought Church was poisoning him. Every time he left Church's home, "he felt better," Fowler would tell, according to the documents. "Leroy didn't drink alcohol and was known to like red Powerade, Pepsi, and a coffee shake that Judy made for him frequently," police wrote in their report, WCVB reported.
Detectives then spoke with Fowler's family at their home, where his son, also called Leroy Fowler, stated that his father had been seeing Church and living with her for years. He further mentioned that he also had a second girlfriend and was known to "go back and forth between these two women," according to court filings. Hawkin's told police that Church said she "wanted to murder" Fowler's other girlfriend and that she had offered him $10,000 to "kidnap" Fowler from the woman's house, "tie him up and bring him back to her."
Similar concerns were voiced to Hawkins by Fowler's sister, Tammy Carbone, who informed police that Church had told her over the phone that Fowler believed the coffee shakes she had made for him were poisonous. At the time, however, Carbone dismissed the conversation as a joke.
Police said they discovered a bottle of orange deicing fluid in the kitchen during a search of Church's home and a bottle of fruit punch Powerade with orange residue, in the garbage. According to authorities, a picture retrieved from Church's phone showed an orange liquid in transparent glass on a cup holder mounted to a wall above the bed where Fowler would sleep.
Church was presented before the judge on Friday at Newburyport District Court and was held without bail, prosecutors said. She's next due in court on January 23.