New Bedford Guide Your Guide to New Bedford and South Coast, MA
55-year old Leroy Fowler went into convulsions on his 55th birthday on Nov. 11. His 64-year-old girlfriend Judy Church then called 911 and told the dispatcher that she thinks that he ingested something that made him sick, that he was bleeding from his nose, and having trouble standing.
Salisbury responders arrived to find Fowler displaying signs of an altered mental status. He was taken to three different hospitals for care, yet his medical condition continued to decline, his kidneys failed, and eventually, he was pronounced dead on Nov. 13.
An autopsy of Fowler found deadly levels of ethylene glycol in his body, a compound commonly found in antifreeze and windshield deicing fluid, as well as diethylene glycol which is found in brake fluid. Police and Fowler’s doctors suspect that the amounts of the compounds were too much to be an accident, but rather foul play.
A search of the former teacher, Church’s cell phone showed that she had documented the entire crime. On the cell phone police allegedly found 13 videos of the victim in medical distress thrashing about in Church’s room. In addition, police found screenshots of a recent purchase from AutoZone and photos from Church’s phone of a bottle of deicing fluid among the items in her kitchen and near Fowler’s bed.
After investigators talked with Fowler’s family they learned that Fowler had another girlfriend that Church was jealous of and that they suspected she was poisoning him. Prosecutors alleged Church mixed it with a sports drink.
Church was arraigned on a murder charge and is currently being held pending a probable cause hearing set for Jan. 23.
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