A Massachusetts jury has found a 67-year-old woman guilty of murdering her boyfriend in a case prosecutors say was as calculated as it was cruel—poisoning his sports drink with antifreeze and filming his suffering as he died.

Judy Church, of Salisbury, was convicted on March 30 of first-degree murder with premeditation and extreme atrocity and cruelty in the 2022 death of her boyfriend, Leroy Fowler, 55, according to the Essex County District Attorney’s Office.

At the center of the case was a bottle of sports drink—one prosecutors described in court as the murder weapon.

According to trial testimony, Church laced Fowler’s Powerade with antifreeze, a toxic substance containing ethylene glycol, commonly used in automotive products like deicing and brake fluid. Once ingested, the chemical attacks the body from within, leading to organ failure.

“That’s the murder weapon,” prosecutor AJ Camelio told jurors, pointing to the contaminated drink.

The crime came to light on the evening of Nov. 11, 2022, when Church called 911 and reported that her boyfriend “must have ingested something.” She told dispatchers he could not stand and was tearing apart their bedroom, bleeding from the nose.

But prosecutors argued that the call was not an act of concern—it was an attempt to conceal what had already been done.

Fowler was rushed to the hospital, where doctors quickly determined he had antifreeze in his system. By then, the damage was severe. His internal organs were failing.

He died two days later, on Nov. 13.

Investigators later uncovered what they described as a trail of evidence pointing directly to Church. A search of the home turned up a Powerade bottle with residue at the bottom. Testing by the Massachusetts Crime Lab confirmed the presence of antifreeze—and Church’s DNA on the container.

But it was a piece of video evidence that prosecutors say revealed the true nature of the crime.

During the trial, jurors were shown footage recorded on Church’s cellphone. In it, Fowler is visibly in pain after ingesting the poison. As he suffers, Church can be heard asking him, “Are you having fun?”

For prosecutors, the video underscored not just intent, but cruelty.

The relationship between Church and Fowler was described in court as “toxic and dysfunctional,” complicated further by Fowler’s involvement with another woman. According to testimony, neither woman was happy with the arrangement.

Camelio told jurors that Church’s jealousy had escalated in unusual ways, including creating a voodoo doll of the other woman—evidence the prosecution used to illustrate her state of mind leading up to the killing.

There were also warning signs.

Fowler’s sister testified that he had expressed concern before his death, suggesting he believed Church may have put something in a drink she prepared for him.

Even so, it was not until after he became gravely ill that emergency services were called—and prosecutors emphasized that Church only made the call after Fowler himself asked her to.

The jury ultimately found that the poisoning was not accidental, nor was it impulsive. The conviction for first-degree murder with premeditation reflects their conclusion that the act was deliberate and planned.

Church is scheduled to return to court for sentencing on April 2.

The case stands as a stark example of how domestic conflict can turn lethal—and how something as ordinary as a shared drink can become a weapon.

In the end, prosecutors argued, the evidence told a clear story: a man poisoned in his own home, a partner who controlled the moment, and a crime carried out not in chaos, but with chilling intent.