The case of Judy Malinowski is the subject of a true-crime documentary,
'The Fire That Took Her'
By Stephanie Nolasco Fox News
Published May 27, 2023 8:00am EDT

Judy Malinowski found herself in the middle of an altercation with her
on-again, off-again boyfriend when she was suddenly doused with gasoline
and set on fire.

The 31-year-old, engulfed in flames behind a gas station in Gahanna, a
Columbus suburb, miraculously survived. The 2015 attack left 90% of her
body covered in third- or fourth-degree burns.

The Ohio resident defied the expectations of doctors and lived for
another two years, which was long enough to detail her account from her
hospital bed and have it recorded. The mother of two died from her
injuries in 2017 at age 33.

But her story didn�t end there. Her testimony was admitted as evidence
at trial. It was the first time in Ohio history a murder victim was able
to testify against a killer.

Malinowski�s case is being explored in an MTV documentary, "The Fire
That Took Her," which is available for streaming on Paramount+. The
film, directed by Patricia E. Gillespie, features interviews with the
detectives and attorneys who were involved, as well as Malinowski�s
mother, Bonnie Bowes.

Judy Malinowskis family gathered at a table looking serious
Judy Malinowski's mother Bonnie Bowes (left), daughters Kaylyn and
Madison and sister Danielle Gorman and brother Patrick Bowes are
determined to keep her legacy alive. (Paramount+)

"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."

The film features footage from the hospital room where Malinowski spent
the final years of her brief life. She was in a coma for seven months,
underwent 60 surgeries and was resuscitated seven times. An amputated
arm had been scorched to the bone.

Malinowski�s charred face was nearly skeletal and her ears were gone.
Her eyes were often widened in despair, as she struggled to breathe. Her
fully scarred body and uncontrollable wails were captured on camera to
give audiences a glimpse of Malinowski�s suffering.

Malinowski, in between gasps, described that the pain was "like a
thousand hot needles," which was later heard in court.

"There are no words to describe the agony she�s seen," Bowes explained.
"And I don�t have any words to describe what those burn dressings were
like, especially on your child. They were all over her body. No amount
of medicine was able to stop the pain. There just wasn�t enough for
those burns. It was brutal. One doctor said it was like blowing cold air
on a nerve of a tooth over and over again, except it was her entire
body. And then those burns were rubbed over and over."

A screenshot of Judy Malinowski from The Fire That Took Her trailer
A screenshot from "The Fire That Took Her" trailer that shows Judy
Malinowski after the attack. (Trailer/Paramount+)

"I think, at that point, as a parent, you�re just on autopilot," she
recalled. "I was in such survival mode for Judy to sustain life while I
was caring for my grandkids. I think that�s what kept me going."

Malinowski, who suspected she wouldn�t live much longer, was determined
to give her testimony. She anticipated that her ex-boyfriend, Michael
Slager, would be charged with murder upon her death.

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Slager was sentenced to 11 years in prison after pleading no contest in
2016 to charges including felony assault and aggravated arson.

"I knew Bonnie had great faith that there would be a recovery here,"
Judge Warren T. Edwards, who was the assistant district attorney at the
time, told Fox News Digital. "But I think, from our perspective, we knew
that at some point, these injuries would take Judy�s life. So, from the
very beginning, we prepared this case for a homicide trial. That meant I
spent hours upon hours at Judy�s bedside preparing her. I was out there
just about every week."

Judy Malinowski, wearing a white sweater while carrying her daughter
Judy Malinowski, a young mother of two, was a cancer survivor who fought
a battle with addiction before she met Michael Slager. (Paramount+)

"I�ve prosecuted dozens of homicides, but, of course, the victims in
them are usually deceased at the time that the case is assigned to me,"
he added. "I get to meet their families, their loved ones, but never the
victims themselves. This was unique. As I got to know Judy the victim, I
knew this would be a very different kind of fight."

Edwards said that when he was first assigned the case, Malinowski was
still in a coma. He still vividly remembers getting a phone call during
which he was told Malinowski was not only awake and communicating, but
she had some memory of what happened to her.

"That was one call I never expected to get," he admitted.

Bowes, 60, said Malinowski�s relationship with Slager was "tumultuous
from the first day."

A photo of a home movie showing Judy Malinowski wearing a black sweater
Judy Malinowski wanted her voice heard after Michael Slager was
sentenced to 11 years in prison. (Paramount+)

"She came to me multiple times and said she was trying to get away from
Michael," Bowes recalled. "She would text me and say, �Please mom, have
the authorities get him out of my apartment.� This relationship was not
healthy. She realized there was something controlling about him. And he
preyed on her weaknesses."

Before the attack, Malinowski was a newly divorced mom who battled an
addiction to prescription painkillers that developed after she was
diagnosed with ovarian cancer. In 2015, Malinowski got clean and began
dating Slager, then 40. Bowes said it was Slager who fueled her
daughter�s addiction by introducing her to heroin and feeding her
dependence.

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Malinowski had plans to visit an addiction treatment center. She never
got the chance.

"She attempted multiple times [in the past] to get help from the
police," said Bowes. "There were numerous 911 calls to her home. But I
think there was an attitude at the time, without looking at Michael�s
[past] record, that she was a prior drug user. � 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."

Michael Slager looking towards the camera while on trial
Before her death in 2017, Judy Malinowski spent three hours testifying
against Michael Slager. (Paramount+)

Five months before she died, while clinging to life, Malinowski recorded
a three-hour attestation. Her pain medication dosage had to be lowered
for her to testify. The goal was to prove that she was of sound mind.

In a video played in court, Malinowski said Slager set her on fire
during an argument after he doused her with gasoline. She described how,
at one point, the gasoline had gone down her throat as Slager pulled out
a lighter. ATM surveillance footage from the incident showed how the
blaze shrouded Malinowski�s body. Malinowski said Slager ignored her
pleas for help.

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"The look on his face was pure evil," said Malinowski.

After Malinowski�s death, a grand jury indicted Slager on murder
charges. His defense attorneys argued against allowing Malinowski's
testimony, saying that prosecutors had improperly relied on civil law
rather than criminal law to obtain the recording. In 2018, a judge ruled
that the videotaped testimony could be used at Slager�s trial.

Michael Siager standing up in a beige jumpsuit during trial
Michael Slager was sentenced to life in prison without parole.
(Paramount+)

Edwards said an exhausted Malinowski held on as much as she could to
ensure that her story would be heard. While he wanted Slager to be put
to death, Malinowski did not.

"That didn�t surprise me," said Bowes. "That�s not really who Judy was.
She had forgiven Michael throughout her journey in the hospital. We
spoke a lot about it. She wanted Michael to find God. She wanted him to
be sorry. She just couldn�t get her head around the fact that he could
do this to her and not be sorry. But Judy didn�t hold grudges. She
wasn�t that type of person, even at that level of pain."

In 2017, "Judy�s Law" was signed by Ohio�s governor. The bill requires
six additional years in prison for crimes that permanently maim or
disfigure victims. At the time, Malinowski�s 13-year-old daughter Kaylyn
said the bill�s passage helped her and her 10-year-old sister Madison
know that their "mommy did not suffer in vain."