SALEM, Mass. — ,
Prosecutors described a twisted tale of cheating and jealousy, with the convicted killer making a voodoo doll of the other woman.
Judy Church, of Salisbury, was found guilty of murdering Leroy Fowler, 55, in the first degree “with premeditation and extreme atrocity and cruelty” by placing ethylene glycol in his Powerade bottle in November 2022, the district attorney said Monday.
Fowler, also of Salisbury, had previously told his relatives he thought Church was poisoning him, according to prosecutors.
The guilty verdict came down Monday in Essex County Superior Court, where prosecutors outlined Church’s motive for killing her boyfriend.
One witness testified during the trial that before Fowler’s death, Church said of her then-boyfriend while visiting a bar in the summer of 2022, “If he ever cheats on me, I will poison him.”
On Nov. 11, 2022, Salisbury Police responded to a 911 call and found Fowler in poor condition, unable to stand.
Prosecutor AJ Camelio told the court that Fowler was taken to the hospital. Doctors found that he had antifreeze in his system, causing significant damage to his internal organs.
He died two days later, on Nov. 13, 2022.
A police search of the house yielded a Powerade bottle that was largely empty but contained some residue at the bottom. The Massachusetts Crime Lab tested the bottle and found it to contain antifreeze.
“He’d be dizzy a lot, and I thought he was anemic,” Church told investigators during a recorded interview that was played in court.
Camelio told the court that before the murder, Church and her boyfriend were involved in a “toxic and dysfunctional relationship” that involved another woman.
Camelio said the evidence showed that Church and the other woman knew about each other and their involvement with Fowler. Neither woman was happy with the arrangement.
Prosecutors said Church created a voodoo doll of the other woman.
Camelio and Homicide Unit Chief Jessica Strasnick, co-prosecutor on the case, presented the jury with a 911 call recording from Church on Nov. 11, 2022, in which Church said, “My boyfriend must have ingested something.”
That “something,” Camelio and Strasnick argued, was antifreeze that Church had placed into Fowler’s Powerade bottle. Investigators tested the bottle and found Church’s DNA on it.
“That’s the murder weapon,” Camelio told the court.
Camelio said Church was the only person who had access to Fowler during the time when the antifreeze would have taken effect.
Camelio told the court that Church called 911 only after Fowler asked her to. He also showed the jury a video Church recorded on her cell phone showing Fowler in pain while she asked, “Are you having fun?”
Church is due back in court for sentencing on April 2.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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