Jury selection is scheduled to start Monday in the murder trial of a Salisbury woman accused of quietly slipping a deadly automotive chemical into her boyfriend’s sports drink. Judy Church, 64, has been indicted on a single count of first-degree murder after prosecutors say she poisoned 55-year-old Leroy Fowler with ethylene glycol in November 2022. Church has pleaded not guilty and has been held without bail since a March 2023 hearing.
Prosecutors' allegation
According to a release from the Essex District Attorney’s Office, prosecutors allege Church put ethylene glycol, a chemical commonly used in antifreeze and de-icing fluid, into Fowler’s Powerade bottle on Nov. 11, 2022. The DA’s office says Fowler told relatives he believed he was being poisoned before he became seriously ill, and investigators later reported recovering both physical and digital evidence during a search of Church’s home. Following that investigation, a grand jury returned an indictment that moved the case to Superior Court.
Phone videos and physical evidence
Investigators say photos and videos pulled from Church’s cellphone show Fowler in medical distress and “thrashing about” before she called 911, a detail first reported by WCVB. Police also reported finding a bottle of orange de-icing fluid in the kitchen and a fruit-punch Powerade in the trash that appeared to have orange residue inside. Prosecutors say a screenshot on Church’s phone shows a recent purchase from an auto parts store that they tie to similar products.
Medical timeline
Fowler, whom the DA says was 55, was taken to multiple hospitals, including Anna Jacques and Beth Israel, after first responders arrived. He died several days after the November 2022 incident, according to reporting by The Boston Globe. Hospital staff told family members they observed kidney damage and suspected poisoning, and the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner later ruled Fowler’s cause of death to be ethylene glycol intoxication.
Defendant’s plea and background
Church has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder. When a judge refused to grant bail in March 2023, her attorney told the court she had spent 31 years as a fourth-grade teacher in Middleton, a detail noted by Boston 25 News. The Essex District Attorney’s Office says the investigation has involved Salisbury police, the Essex State Police Detective Unit and prosecutors from the office. Church’s defense team has signaled it plans to challenge the prosecution’s evidence once testimony begins.
Legal stakes
Church is charged with murder in the first degree, which under Massachusetts law carries a mandatory sentence of life in state prison without eligibility for parole if she is convicted. That penalty is set out in Chapter 265, Section 2 of the Massachusetts General Laws. Jurors will be instructed that a guilty verdict depends on whether they find beyond a reasonable doubt that Fowler’s death resulted from an intentional poisoning rather than another cause.
What to watch in court
With jury selection expected to begin Monday, early days in the courtroom are likely to center on what the panel will be allowed to see and hear. Key pretrial questions include whether the cellphone videos, the Powerade bottle and the orange de-icing fluid will be admitted as evidence. As Boston 25 News reports, the first phase of the trial is expected to focus on screening potential jurors and resolving those pretrial motions before any witnesses are called. Local court schedules can shift, and further coverage is expected as the trial moves forward.
.jpg){kind=link}