In 2015, Judy Malinowski's partner set her on fire. 2 years later, she testified at her own murder trial.

Content warning: The following contains descriptions of violence that may be distressing to some readers.

There's an equation used by doctors to estimate the probability that a burns victim will succumb to their injuries. It’s a calculation that includes their age and the percentage of their body burned.

According to a nurse who treated American woman Judy Malinowski, her score was 110 per cent.

Judy, 31, was set alight by her partner, Michael Slager, in a broad-daylight attack at a service station in Columbus, Ohio, on August 2, 2015. In the midst of an argument, Michael went to his ute, collected two jerry cans of fuel and poured the contents over the mother-of-two's head and body. He then returned to the vehicle to fetch a cigarette lighter and, ignoring her tearful pleas, set her aflame.

Judy's injuries were so disfiguring that one of her young daughters didn't recognise her. Her family were told that she likely wouldn't survive for more than a few hours — days, at most.

Judy Malinowski with her daughters. Image: Judy's Foundation.

But as chronicled in the documentary The Fire That Took Her, released this week on Paramount+, Judy somehow managed to cling on for nearly two years. Long enough to tell her story and to do something unprecedented in the US criminal justice system: give testimony about her own murder.

Watch: The official trailer of The Fire That Took Her. Post continues after video.

Judy Malinowski and The Fire That Took Her

Judy Malinowski had a seemingly idyllic upbringing in suburban Ohio. She shared a close relationship with her brother and sister, took part in beauty pageants, and was popular at school.

But as a young adult, Judy entered a dark chapter of her life. Her marriage to her daughters' father broke down, and she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. She overcame it once, but when it returned in 2006, she became addicted to pain medication prescribed after complications from surgery.

In The Fire That Took Her, Judy explains that when her medical insurance expired, she could no longer afford to see a doctor. And so she turned to illicit drugs, chiefly heroin, to satisfy her addiction — an all-too-common story of America's opioid crisis. She said it was her boyfriend, Michael Slager, (though not a drug user himself) who bought the dope for her. It proved to be one of his many methods of control.

Slager had an extensive criminal history including numerous convictions for domestic violence and menacing. And on several occasions during their on-off relationship, Judy expressed fear for her safety.

Judy's mother, Bonnie Bowes, has criticised police for not doing more to protect her daughter, and has questioned whether her appeals for help were dismissed because of her drug use.

"When police wouldn't listen to her, when detectives wouldn't listen to her, she knew the only way to save her life from Michael — not the drugs — was to find a rehab," she said. "That was the only safe place from abuse."

Judy was on the way to a rehabilitation facility when Michael Slager attacked her that afternoon in August 2015. 

"I don't think words can describe what it feels like to have your whole body set on fire," Judy said. "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."

When a bystander rushed over to the scene, Slager fetched a fire extinguisher and put out the flames. 

From that moment, he professed his innocence. While he admitted he had doused Judy with fuel, he claimed the fire was accidental — the result of him lighting a cigarette for her. Security-camera footage and the accounts of several eye witnesses suggested otherwise.

Assistant Prosecutor Warren Edwards told The Fire That Took Her filmmakers that, for several months after the attack, he and his team were playing a "delay game" due to the extensive nature of Judy's injuries.

"It sounds terrible, but we were basically waiting for Judy to die so that we could charge Mr Slager with the homicide," he said.

But miraculously, after seven months, Judy emerged from her coma — "a call I never expected to get," Edwards said.

Slager was charged with aggravated arson and felonious assault, to which he pleaded no contest and was handed the maximum penalty of 11 years. The sentencing judge expressed regret that it couldn't be more: "You haven't been sorry," she said. "You really seem like one of those people that have no soul."

In the wake of the conviction, prosecutors approached Judy and her family with an idea: that she gives formal testimony that could be used at a murder trial should she pass away. Determined to see justice done, she agreed. 

The process required Judy being weaned to a lower dose of pain medication so that she could be considered lucid enough to speak under oath. Harrowing footage in the documentary shows her sobbing to her mother prior to the deposition: "It hurts so bad. I don't want to do it, but I have to."

Over the course of three hours, defence and prosecution attorneys questioned Judy via video link from her hospital bed.

Judy Malinowski testifying at her own murder trial. Image: MTV Documentary Films.

She told of her addiction, the toll it took on her family, and the role Slager played in enabling it. 

She told of his abuse, and of how she called police fearing for her life ("But they did nothing, and here I am," she said).

She told what she could remember of the attack, including how Slager's eyes turned 'black' as approached her with the lighter. 

She told of the brutal aftermath; how she'd endured over fifty surgeries, including excruciating skin grafts, and suffered seven cardiac arrests. 

And she told what she'd like to see happen to Michael Slager if she were to pass away: "I would like to see him charged with murder and do a life sentence. I think he deserves that."

Judy Malinowski died in hospice care five months later — June 27, 2017 — with her family by her bedside. She was 33.

Knowing the power of Judy's testimony, Slager pleaded guilty at his subsequent murder trial. Footage of Judy's deposition was shown to the court — the first time in US history that such evidence was permitted. Though Ohio has the death penalty, Judy had made her wishes for Slager's punishment clear, and he was sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole.

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Judy's strength after her attack not only ensured Slager wouldn't be able to hurt another person, it changed law. From her hospital bed, she had worked with her family to campaign for legislation to increase the penalty for violent offenders who disfigure victims by using accelerants. Judy's Law was passed by state senate the day after her death. 

Judy's daughters, then aged 10 and 13, sat alongside the state's governor when he signed the bill. Speaking to a room full of reporters, her youngest described her mother as "brave" and said "her legacy will never die" Her eldest added, "at least our mummy didn't suffer in vain."

If you or someone you know is at risk of violence, contact: 1800 RESPECT.

Feature Image: Google.