Disclaimer: The article contains mentions of murder. Reader discretion is advised.
Judy Malinowski was a woman from Ohio who tragically passed away at the age of 33 after her ex-boyfriend, Michael Slager, set her on fire.
According to the Independent, Judy Malinowski’s childhood in Ohio was nothing out of the ordinary. She loved spending time with her siblings and participated in local beauty pageants. However, her life changed when doctors diagnosed her with ovarian cancer. She managed to conquer the disease, but in 2006, the cancer returned. Judy underwent a hysterectomy, but during her recovery process, she got addicted to opiates. Her addiction only got worse, and when her insurance ran out, she began procuring heroin from the streets.
Judy’s relatives supported and helped her when she was fighting addiction. They took care of her daughters and made sure that her road to recovery was on track. Judy was even making substantial progress, but everything changed when she met Michael Slager. Reports suggest that she and Slager began dating after they interacted on social media. Judy was head over heels for him, but little did her family know that her neck-tattooed boyfriend was a criminal.
While dating Slager, Judy’s addiction returned. Even though Slager didn’t use drugs, he bought them for his girlfriend, and this created a relationship dynamic where Judy was heavily dependent on him. The couple’s relationship grew toxic, and they would regularly get into fights. On August 2, 2015, during one such fight near a gas station, Slager doused his girlfriend with gasoline and set her on fire. After suffering for two years with horrific burn injuries, she passed away in 2017.
The 2022 documentary titled The Fire That Took Her, delves into this tragic case in detail. Its director is Patricia E. Gillespie.
Judy Malinowski became one of the first people in US history to testify at her own murder trial
After Michael Slager set Judy Malinowski on fire, a panic-stricken 911 call went to the authorities. Officials, who believed her survival was impossible, soon arrived and rushed her to the hospital. Slager constantly stated that the whole incident was an accident, but an investigation proved otherwise. 90% of Judy’s body was consumed by fire, and she went into a coma. She underwent several surgeries to stay alive, however, doctors weren’t sure if she would ever regain consciousness.
Miraculously, several months later, Judy Malinowski emerged from her coma. Before her passing, she recorded a video testimony that played an important role in her ex-boyfriend’s trial. In the testimony, she painfully recalled how she begged Slager for mercy, but he showed no hesitancy to hurt her. She stated, “I just remember crying and begging for help, and he lit me on fire. And the look in his eyes … his eyes went black, literally. After I was set on fire and he backed away, his eyes just turned black as I screamed for his help. And he did nothing.”
Judy Malinowski succumbed to her injuries five months later, in June 2017. She became one of the first people in U.S. history to testify at her own murder trial and in 2018, Slager received a life imprisonment sentence without the possibility of parole.
