A new documentary details the story of on Ohio mother who clung to life after her boyfriend doused her with gasoline and set her ablaze — long enough to testify against him.
Judy Malinowski’s recorded testimony was used after her death in 2017 for Michael Slager’s murder trial, making her the first murder victim in Ohio history to testify against her killer, as CrimeOnline previously reported.
Slager, who pleaded no contest to assault and arson charges in 2016 and was sentenced to 11 years in prison, pleaded guilty to murder in 2018 and was sentenced to life without parole.
Patricia E. Gillespie’s MTV documentary, “The Fire That Took Her,” explores the two years between Slager’s horrific attack on Malinowski and her death. It features interviews with detectives, attorneys, and Malinowski’s mother, Bonnie Bowes.
“Judy’s sacrifice, first and foremost, is what compelled me to tell her story,” Bowes told Fox News Digital. “The second is the chance to help other women.”
Malinowski, then 31, suffered third- and fourth-degree burns over 90 percent of her body in the 2015 attack. She was in a coma for seven months and underwent more than 60 surgeries. She died and was resuscitated seven times. She described the pain, in a recording later heard in court, as “like a thousand hot needles.”
The mother of two tried multiple times to get away from Slager before the attack, but because of Malinowski’s past drug abuse, Bowes said, she got little help.
“I think there was an attitude at the time, without looking at Michael’s [past] record, that she was a prior drug user,” she said. ” … I think that played into it. And I also think it’s because they readily didn’t have information on Michael whenever they would walk into this domestic violence situation blindly. … I do think there was a stigma at that time.”
Malinowski recorded her three hour testimony five months before her death. Doctors lowered her pain medication so she could speak clearly.
“My daughter suffered so greatly,” said Bowes. “She never wanted another woman to suffer the way she did. She wanted to make a change. She fought to change the laws and help other women.”
Ohio Gov. John Kasich signed “Judy’s Law” in 2017, adding six additional years in prison for crimes that maim or disfigure.
“The Fire That Took Her” is airing on Paramount+.
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