A woman became the first person to testify from beyond the grave after vowing to get her ex a life sentence after he burned her alive.
Judy Malinowski, 31, died in June 2017 after spending two years in hospital with horrific injuries, after her ex-boyfriend Michael Slager set her on fire.
The couple had got into an argument and Slager had doused Malinowski with gasoline before setting it alight outside a gas station.
The mother of two had to be revived seven times after the terrifying attack, and needed over 50 surgeries after 90 percent of her body was covered in burns.
The former homecoming queen had previously survived cancer, and vowed not to rest until Slager was put behind bars for the rest of his life.
Slager was initially only sentenced to 11 years in prison after pleading no contest to aggravated arson charges, but Malinowski fought on to ensure he would never be free to hurt anyone else again if he was released.
Her mother, Bonnie Bowes, told People: "Judy said, 'Mom, not even an ant should be set on fire. I got a life sentence and he didn’t.'"
Despite her extensive injuries, Malinowski spent weeks weaning off pain medication shortly before her death, so she was able to prove to a judge that she was of sound mind to testify against Slager.
In a three-hour testimony video filmed from her hospital bed, Malinowski revealed that Slager had set her alight and then refused her cries of help while her body was ablaze, adding: "The look on his face was pure evil."
The video she recorded was used against her attacker in court after her death, making her the first person to ever testify at their own murder trial.
Slager was charged with aggravated murder in 2018, after the video was shown to the court in Franklin County, Ohio, and was sentenced to life behind bars.
Her mother added: "She hung on and fought for justice. She suffered beyond measure to make a change for other women."
While Malinowski got her wish that Slager would spend the rest of his life in prison and thus not be able to hurt another woman in the same manner, her family has carried on campaigning on her behalf.
Her mother, as well as Malinowski's daughters Kaylyn and Madison, her sister Danielle Gorman, and her brother Patrick Bowes, fought for tougher legislation for assaults using an accelerant that leaves victims seriously disfigured.
The family fought for 'Judy's Law' which was enacted on September 7, 2017, ensuring perpetrators face longer prison sentences.
Malinowski's story will be the subject of MTV's new documentary, The Fire That Took Her, which is streaming on Paramount+.
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are free and confidential and the hotline is available 24/7 in over 170 languages.
Featured image credit: Joe Belanger / Alamy
