Judy Malinowski became the first person to testify in her own murder trial after being set on fire by her boyfriend, Michael Slager
Content warning: this article contains subject matter some readers may find upsetting.
A woman made history when she testified in her own murder trial, despite the fact that her injuries ultimately took her life.
Judy Malinowski endured an unimaginable attack when her boyfriend, Michael Slager, doused her in gasoline and set her on fire at a gas station in Ohio. The brutal assault left her with severe third and fourth-degree burns covering more than 90 percent of her body.
But in an extraordinary turn of events, Malinowski survived long enough to provide a powerful testimony against her attacker—offering a voice to her own case even after her death.
Although she passed away two years later in 2017 due to the devastating injuries, Malinowski demonstrated incredible strength and resilience by giving her testimony from her hospital bed.
Despite losing her hair, skin, ears, and fingers in the attack, she was determined to tell her story. With great effort, she raised her right hand and provided testimony through a live video feed, addressing both her lawyer and the attorney representing Slager.
Her harrowing ordeal was documented in the documentary The Fire That Took Her.
"I don't think words can describe what it feels like to have your whole body set on fire," Malinowski says in the documentary.
"I thought for sure I was dying. I just prayed to Jesus to please forgive me for my sins and to take care of my children, and that was it. I blacked out. I don't remember anything until I woke up in the hospital."
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Describing the horrifying events of that day, Malinowski shared details of the attack with the judge and jury. She explained that it all started when she and Slager got into a heated argument.
In the midst of their fight, she threw a drink at him. In response, Slager ran around to the other side of his truck and grabbed several cans of gasoline that he had stored in the back.
Malinowski continued: "He ran around me and started pouring gasoline, started at my head and worked his way down. Some got in my throat as he did that. That burnt really bad."
She didn’t hesitate to call Slager 'evil' as she recounted the terrifying moments leading up to the attack.
Malinowski described how he stepped back for about 30 seconds before she desperately pleaded for mercy. "I kept telling him to please help me and 'stop' and 'I'll get in the truck, I'll go with you."
"And he pulled a lighter out of his pocket, and he started walking towards me."
"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."
Reflecting on the past, Malinowski revealed that she had tried to seek help before. "I called the police and told them Michael was going to kill me and I needed help, but the detective did nothing about it - so here I am."
"You have to understand, on August 2nd, I was set on fire, thrown on the ground and burnt, 95 percent of my body. It's really hard for me to try to keep track of everything that happened in this horrible relationship."
Franklin County District Attorney Ron O'Brien, who was involved in the case, later praised the decision to allow Malinowski to testify before her passing.
He described it as: "A a stroke of genius to come up with the idea of taking a deposition where she could testify from the grave at a subsequent homicide trial."
Malinowski’s powerful testimony led to a groundbreaking change in Ohio's legal system. Her case set a precedent, allowing murder victims to provide testimony in their own trials through recorded statements.
Slager was ultimately sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
"I could probably prosecute prosecute for another 20 years and not get a case that is so right for the death penalty," assistant prosecutor Warren Edwards said in the documentary.
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"And really, for the first several months of this case, we were we were playing the delay game. It sounds terrible, but we were basically waiting for Judy to die so that we could charge Mr Slager with the homicide. And we got a call one day that she was awake, which is a call I never expected to get," Edwards revealed.
He added that it was the first homicide case he had ever worked on where he actually got to meet the victim before their death.
Director Patricia Gillespie told The Independent: "This woman contributed to American legal precedent."
"It's a wild story. Everybody should know about this woman."
