Judy Malinowski Bio – Judy Malinowski Wiki
Judy Malinowski died just days later after spending nearly 700 days in the hospital. In August 2015, her ex-boyfriend doused her in gasoline and set her on fire.
AGE:
Judy Malinowski was 31 years old.
DETAIL OF INCIDENCE:
On Aug. 2, 2015, Judy Malinowski’s promising life was cut short when her volatile, on-again, off-again boyfriend poured gasoline on her and set the 31-year-old on fire.
The horrific attack left 90 per cent of the body covered in third- or fourth-degree burns. Ultimately, the mother of two died from her wounds.
Although doctors were not optimistic about her chances of survival after the attack, she lived for two more years — long enough to give a deposition from her hospital bed against her one-time fiancé, Michael Slager. He was accused of causing life-threatening injuries to her.
Malinowski’s ordeal, strength, and fight for justice are the subject of a new documentary, The Fire That Took Her. Directed by Patricia E. Gillespie, the movie premieres in theatres on Oct. 21.
Malinowski underwent 60 surgeries, was in a coma for seven months, and could barely speak or breathe. Still, in January 2017, not expecting to live much longer, she gave her testimony, anticipating that Slager would be charged with murder after she died.
“I don’t think words can describe what it feels like to have your whole body set on fire,” Malinowski said during her testimony. “I can remember fire on my face and eyes and screaming for help.”
She described how she felt that day before, saying the pain was like “a thousand hot needles.” Less than five months after Malinowski’s testimony, she died — but video of her deposition was used in court after Slager was charged with aggravated murder.
Malinowski was 33 years old when she died from her injuries. When her testimony was admitted as evidence at trial, it was the first time in Ohio history that a murder victim could testify against her killer.
Before Malinowski’s death, Slager had been convicted of aggravated arson, possession of criminal tools, and assault and sentenced to 11 years in prison.
In 2018, he pleaded guilty to murder and was sentenced to life without parole. If a jury had convicted him, he would have faced the death penalty. But according to Malinowski’s mother, Bonnie Bowes, that is not what her daughter wanted.
“Judy wanted Michael not to face the death penalty, and she hoped that he would find God somewhere between now and when he meets her again,” her mother, Bonnie Bowes, said at the hearing, according to earlier reporting by people. “And that was her hope, and that’s pretty generous of her.”
“The doctors say she defied all the odds,” Bowes previously told people. “They said that she lived as long as she did with all that pain is a medical miracle, and the miracle is that God gave me two more years with her.”
If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential, and the hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.