Massachusetts Retiree Accused of Offing Her Boyfriend by Poisoning His Shakes

Massachusetts cops have arrested a woman and charged her with murder for allegedly poisoning her boyfriend with antifreeze last month, family of the victim confirmed to The Daily Beast on Friday.

Judy Church, 64, is accused of killing Leroy Fowler, 55, by dishing him a fatal dose of ethylene glycol the night of Nov. 11, cops say. (Fowler’s family corrected earlier reports that listed his age as 46.)

Details about why and how she carried out the alleged killing are sparse, but court records obtained by NBC Boston say Fowler had told two family members that he thought Church might be poisoning him through a coffee shake she often made him—something his sister said she’d dismissed as a joke.

The Essex County District Attorney’s Office told the Daily Voice that Church called 911 around 8 p.m. from her Salisbury home to report that her boyfriend was in “medical distress.”

The Daily Voice reported that Fowler was transferred to three different hospitals before ultimately dying two days later at Beth Israel Hospital in Boston.

Court records said that Church tried to convince doctors that she should be his healthcare proxy in his final moments, but they denied her. Fowler’s son also told detectives that Church had taken a life-insurance policy out in his father’s name about a year ago but he had no record of it.

Church had changed her Facebook profile picture to one of her and Fowler shortly before he died, and her page was initially inundated with messages of support after the mysterious death.

But the court filing says that hospital staff determined that Fowler's kidneys were failing due to antifreeze poisoning, which prompted family members to alert police.

Fowler’s stepson, Michael Hawkins, told investigators that Fowler once suggested “out of the blue” that he thought Church was poisoning him in his daily coffee shake. He said he “felt better” when he was away from Church, but he relied on her to prepare most of his meals, NBC reported, citing court records.

As news of Church’s arrest spread on Friday, her Facebook page instead became filled with messages of anger from those who loved Fowler.

It included a post from Fowler’s son, also named Leroy, which included a screenshot of a news story about the arrest, and a caption that said: “Cats out of the bag now. I had to stay quiet but not anymore.. time to pay the piper!”

The younger Fowler denied an interview request from The Daily Beast, but said in a message that his father “was a good man” who “loved his children and loved his grandkids.” He said Church was a retired school teacher, but wouldn’t say more about her.

“He was just a good guy man,” Fowler wrote. “Not perfect but he was a good guy.”

Fowler said his dad was especially close with his 8-year-old grandson, Leo Fowler, who he constantly spent time with.

The Essex County District Attorney’s Office and Massachusetts State Police did not respond to voicemails and emails sent by The Daily Beast requesting additional information.

Church was reportedly arrested Thursday afternoon by the state police’s “Violent Fugitive Apprehension Section” after an autopsy determined that Fowler was murdered and cops pinned Church as the suspect.

She was denied bail during her first hearing on Friday, where she appeared wearing a Boston College hoodie, NBC Boston reported.

“I can't wait to see her face tomorrow when she can't walk out,” Tammy Fowler Carbone wrote on Thursday under Church’s profile picture. “To think she thought she could get away with it.”