Prosecutor seeks execution in case of burned woman

Franklin COLUMBUS — Countyprosecutors are seeking the death penalty for a manwho set his ex-girlfriend on fire behind a gas station in Gahanna more than two years ago.

Michael W. Slager, 42, is servingan11-yearprisonterm for the incident, but his victim, Judy Malinowski, was still clinging to life when he was convicted in December.

Prosecutors had reserved the right to file additional charges if she died fromher injuries. Malinowski, 33, died June 27, nearly two years after Slager doused her with gasoline and set her ablaze.

On Monday, a grand jury indicted Slager for aggravated murder with death penalty specifications. He is eligible for the death penalty because he is accused of causing the deathwhile committing aggravated arson.

Prosecutor Ron O’Brien said his office awaited autopsy results before taking the case to the grand jury tomake sure thatMalinowksi died because of Slager’s actions. The autopsy was completed about 10 days ago, he said, and found the death was due to thermal injuries caused by the fire. The coroner ruled the death a homicide.

The burnsMalinowski suffered were so severe that parts of her body melted away. Doctors expected her to die within days.

Despite the gravity of her condition, Malinowski managed to leave behind a video deposition for possible use in future proceedings againstSlager. CommonPleas Judge Michael J. Holbrook approved the prosecutors’ request for the deposition, which was taken in January via video conferencing from her hospital bed.

I f used i n S l a ge r ’ s death-penalty trial, O’Brien thinks it would mark “the first time the deposition of amurder victim was used in the prosecution of the case,” at least in central Ohio.

Defense attorneys will likely “fight like heck to keep that testimony of the victim excluded from any subsequent jury trial,” O’Brien predicted. Even without the deposition, “webelieve there is sufficient evidence ... to sustain the charges in the indictment,” he said.

The evidence includes video of the incident from a surveillance camera at a nearby bank.

The video reportedly shows Slager pour gasoline on Malinowski and ignite her with a cigarette lighter behind a Speedway gas station on Aug. 2, 2015.

He pleaded no contest on Dec. 12 to charges of felonious assault, aggravated arsonandpossession of criminal tools. Common Pleas Judge JulieM. Lynchimposed the maximum sentence of 11 years.

He is scheduled to return to Franklin County for arraignment on the new charges on Oct. 11.