It was a first in US history for a woman to testify at her own murder trial. 33-year-old Judy Malinowski passed away before she could see justice being served but she made sure to put her murdered behind bars.
Her video testimony naming her murdered is chilling. Keep reading to learn more about this fascinating case which was one of the first of its kind.
Judy Malinowski testified from beyond the grave at her murderer’s trial. The deceased mother-of-two recorded her testimony for her own murder trial 5 months before she died.
She recorded the video from her hospital bed. 95% of her body was covered with burns. Her arm had been scorched to the bone and hence had to be amputated. Even on video, anyone could tell how much pain she was in. The 33 year old said plainly in the vido that Michael Slager was her murdered. She chronicled how he had doused her in gasoline and then set her on fire on August 2, 2015.
Evil. Just completely evil,” Malinowski called Slager during her pre-trial deposition. The attestation was three hours long and recorded five months before her death on June 27, 2017. Her death was a result of complications due to the burns she had suffered.
Her video testimony made her one of the first people in the United States who posthumously testified at their own murder trial. Malinowski’s video as she chronicles the fateful day of August 2, 2017 was featured in a MTV documentary about her case titled “The Fire That Took Her.”
“He got these cans of gasoline that he had kept in the back of his truck,” Malinowski says in the film describing the incident which took place in broad daylight at a Speedway gas station near Columbus, Ohio.
“He ran around me and started pouring gasoline. He started at my head and worked his way down,” she continues, adding that the gasoline had even gone down her throat.
“I looked at him and he pulled a lighter out of his pocket, and he started walking towards me,” said the severly burned woman. “I just remember crying and begging for help, and he lit me on fire,” she recalled. Malinowski’s dosage of pain medication had to be lowered in order for her to be able to be coherent enough to testify.
Eyewitnesses at the scene immediately called the police which prompted Slager to grab a fire extinguisher and douse out the fire.
ATM footage from the scene of the crime shows Malinowski fall to the ground as an organe flame engulfs her body.
At the time Malinowski was 31 years old. Moment before the incident occured, she had been locked in a heated argument with Slager. Slager at the time was 40 years old. He was already a career criminal, who had charges of domestic violence, sexual battery, child endangerment, stalking and rape prior to this incident.
The couple had stopped at the gas station because Slager had to purchase a carton of cigarettes. At the time the two of them were enroute to Parkside addiction treatment center, where Malinowski was supposed to undergo inpatient drug rehabilitation.
Years before the incident of her attempted murder, Malinowski was a 26-year-old young mother who was newly divorced. She had at the time developed an addication to prescription medication because of a ovarian cancer diagnosis.
At the time Malinowski decided to send her young daughter Kaylynn and Maddie, to live with her mother, Bonnie Bowes, and sister Danielle Gorman. By early 2015, Malinowski had successfully kicked the habit and had regained custody of her daughters. She began dating Slager in April of the same year. Slager introduced her to heroin.
“[Michael] is the one that got [heroin] for me the first time,” says Malinowski to Slager’s defense attorney, Bob Krapence, when she was being cross-examined. “He bought it for me everyday. He would bring home a gram of heroine.”
In the documentary chronicling this entire story, her mother Bowes said that Slager himself did not use narcotics but introduced her daughter to them in order to control her.
“That was his way of controlling her so that he could abuse her,” she explained. “If he was bringing the drugs, he had power over her.”
Malinowski never recovered from her addiction as she never made it to the rehab. Instead, she was rushed to Ohio University Wexner Medical Center where medical staff was highly doubtful that the woman would survive.
“I’ve seen plenty of burns to her degree. I can’t say I’ve seen many that survive past a few days,” said Malinowski’s nurse, Stacey Best.
“In the burn world we have an equation for mortality, which is based on the patient’s age and percent burn,” she explained, “In Judy’s case, she was 31 and approximately 80% burned. So that made her 110% mortality.”
Slager who had gone with Malinowski to the hospital claimed the incident was a mere accident on his part. He said he had drenched her in gasoline as retaliation for her drenching him in soda.
He said after their heated exchange, Malinowski sat on grass near the station and asked for a cigarette. He alleged that when he bent down to light her cigarette, her entire body caught on flame. He had no idea this would happen.
“I walked over to give her a light and that was it,” he told detectives at the time. The footage was recorded in police body camera footage which was then featured in the film.
He was immediately arrested on charges of felonious assault and aggravated arson. He got 11 years in prison, a sentence that was later changed upon Malinowski’s death.
But Malinowski who had risen from her 8 month coma was unhappy with the punishment. And with the help of her mother and daughters she petitioned the state to pass House Bill 63. The bill is now known as Judy’s Law. The legislation moved to increase punishment from 5 to 20 years for people who main or disfigure others intentionally.
“House Bill 63 should be passed because it destroyed my life, my family’s life, my kids’ life, everyone around us’ life,” Malinowski said in a video address to the lawmakers. “And the laws of justice are just not fair,” she added.
Judy’s Law was officially passed in September 2017 – just three months after her death.
After her passing, Slager faced the death penalty for murder and he pleaded guilty. Malinowski’s video was played at his hearing where she said, “I live with horrible pain every day, I would never wish upon anybody.”
“I would like to see [Slager] charged with murder and do a life sentence,” she addresses the court in the recording. “I think that he deserves that.” The judge agreed with Malinowski and sentenced Slager to life in prison without parole. He is serving his sentence in Southern Ohio Correctional Facility in Lucasville.
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This entire story is so heartbreaking to read, but thankfully justice was served. We send our thoughts and prayers to Judy Malinowski’s family. Share this story with others so they can know about Judy’s struggle.
