JUDY MALINOWSKI’S FINAL ACT OF HEROISM WAS TO ENSURE THE MAN WHO KILLED HER NEVER HURT ANYONE ELSE
Judy Malinowski was the quintessential American girl next door. Growing up in Ohio as part of a loving family with a brother and sister she adored, she was fun-loving and popular, so it was no surprise when she was crowned Homecoming Queen of her high school. Her life changed when, in her early twenties, Judy was diagnosed withovarian cancer. But after beating the odds and surviving, Judy married and went on to have two daughters – Kaylyn, born in 2004, and Madison, born in 2007 – who she adored.
Devastatingly, her cancer returned in her late twenties and she made the decision to have a hysterectomy. Placed on opioids for the pain, Judy became addicted. When she was unable to obtain the drugs through a legitimate prescription, she began taking heroin. It was at this point Judy began to unravel. Newly divorced, her life spiralled out of control and her two daughters were taken to live with Judy’s mother Bonnie and her sister Danielle. But still she fought to put her life back together. She was determined to overcome her addiction and in 2015, after getting clean, she regained custody of her daughters. However, after a brief respite, Judy was about to make a connection with someone she would later describe as “evil”.
HEINOUS ACT
After meeting Michael Slager online, Judy became infatuated with him. But Slager was far from the man he portrayed himself to be. Judy was unaware that he had a lengthy criminal record, with convictions for theft, stalking, child endangerment and domestic assault. And he had found his next vulnerable victim. He quickly discovered he was able to control Judy using her addiction, so, while he didn’t use drugs, he bought and supplied his girlfriend with heroin. She became trapped in a cycle of drug addiction and coercive control. The toxic union would regularly result in violence and despite her attempts to leave, Judy was overwhelmed.
When she did find the strength to alert the authorities about Slager, her pleas for help were dismissed because of her addiction. It soon became clear to Judy that nobody would be able to save her but herself. And on 2 August 2015, she decided to do just that. She booked herself into a rehab facility and set her sights on a new life. Soon, she would be rid of her addiction and her abuser. But Slager was not ready to give up his control. He followed her to a local petrol station where they began to fight. When Judy threw a fizzy drink bottle at him, Slager retaliated by dousing Judy in petrol. CCTV showed a manic Slager return to his vehicle where he retrieved a lighter – then he set Judy on fire. He watched as she became engulfed in flames. It was an a
