An Ohio woman’s testimony will be used in the trial of her accused murderer.
According to NBC 4, Judge Guy Reece ruled Friday that Judy Malinowski’s 2017 recorded deposition will be presented to a jury later this year. Malinowski died last August, around two years after Michael Slager doused her with gasoline and lit her on fire outside an Ohio gas station. Months before her death, the mother of two gave her testimony about the attack from her hospital bed.
About 90 percent of Malinowski’s body was reportedly covered in third and fourth degree burns, which required dozens of surgeries.
“Judy fought to tell her story,” Malinowski’s mother, Bonnie Bowes, said. "I think it’s the first step towards what her legacy should and will be,” Bowes said. “She was extremely frail and she was burned, but yet could very clearly articulate what happened, where she was, fear, everything that you would expect. I’m so proud of her and I know one day I’ll see her, although my heart will be forever broken without her.”
ABC News reports Slager, Malinowski’s estranged boyfriend, was sentenced to 11 years behind bars in 2016 on charges of felonious assault and aggravated arson. After Malinowski died from the injuries she sustained during the attack, a grand jury indicted Slager on murder charges.
Defense attorneys argued that the recorded testimony was a violation of Slager’s right to confrontation; however, Judge Reece said the deposition was executed properly.
“The defendant had an opportunity and similar motive to cross examine her and indeed that did occur,” he said. “The defense was able to put forth questions and obtain answers.”
Jury selection for the trial is scheduled to begin July 6.
