Woman set ablaze by boyfriend can testify against him after her death

An Ohio woman who died after her boyfriend allegedly lit her on fire has been allowed to testify in the man’s murder trial posthumously through a video made prior to her death, the Daily Mail reports.

Michael Slager is accused of dousing his girlfriend, Judy Malinowski, with gasoline and then setting her ablaze at a gas station in June 2015 near Columbus, Ohio.

Malinowski was 33 when she died this past August from injuries she incurred from the depraved attack.

She spent two years in the hospital being treated for burns on 80 percent of her body.

Slager was initially charged with assault but he is not facing a murder charge, and the judge overseeing the case has agreed to admit Malinowski’s testimony, which she provided while in her hospital bed.

The man’s defense attorneys had opposed showing the video.

While in her hospital bed, Malinowski also gave interviews to the press.

She had difficulty speaking but was able to say: “I never knew that a human being could be so evil. He just stood there and did nothing.”

She added: “God please, please help me.”

Slager asserts that he accidentally set Malinowski on fire while lighting a cigarette, although he had allegedly run up behind her to douse gasoline on her.

The state of Ohio enacted a law, called Judy’s Law, after Malinowski died. The measure increased the sentence of a defendant who has been convicted of assault when the victim has been maimed permanently.

Malinowski lost two fingers and her ears from the assault. She also had open wounds on her buttocks and back.

She had to undergo 56 surgeries and doctors wanted to perform more on her but her body could not tolerate further procedures.

In January, Slager attempted to move the trial by asserting that the high-profile status of the case meant jurors could not fairly judge him.

He faces life in prison.

 

[Feature photo: Judy Malinowski; Facebook/ABC 7 Screenshot]