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Former beauty queen dies two-years after boyfriend set her on fire at petrol station

A mother-of-two who was doused with petrol and set on fire by her ex-boyfriend has died.

Judy Malinowski, a former beauty queen, was deliberately set on fire by her then-boyfriend Michael Slager at a petrol station outside Columbus, Ohio on August 2, 2015.

For the past two years, the 33-year-old lived with fourth and fifth degree burns to 80 per cent of her body.

On Tuesday Judy’s heartbroken mother Bonnie Bowes confirmed she had died.

Judy Malinowski, a former beauty queen, was deliberately set on fire by her then-boyfriend Michael Slager.
Judy Malinowski, a former beauty queen, was deliberately set on fire by her then-boyfriend Michael Slager.
Slager is already serving 11 years but is now set to also be charged with her murder.
Slager is already serving 11 years but is now set to also be charged with her murder.

Slager pleaded no contest to aggravated arson and was sentenced to 11 years in prison in December.

During the sentencing, the judge told Slager: "From everything you have shown, it is clear that you are a man with no soul and you deserve to be incarcerated."

Since the attack it has remained a possibility that Slager could be retried if his former partner succumbed to her injuries – a prospect that Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O’Brien now plans to pursue.

"It would be our intention, and it has been all along, that should she pass away it was our intention to pursue a homicide charge,” O'Brien said.

“This day was not unexpected for probably a long time, but it's sad that it finally arrived.”

Judy is survived by two daughters, who are now 13 and nine-years-old.
Judy is survived by two daughters, who are now 13 and nine-years-old.

In Ohio, a law named after the former beauty queen called "Judy’s Law" is being pushed in state government which would increase the maximum sentence of intentionally burning and disfiguring someone to 20 years.

Judy’s eldest daughter Kaylyn testified last week before an Ohio Senate committee, describing the ordeal she and her family have endured at the hands of Slager.

“While he got 11 years, my mom, my sister and I all got a life sentence,” she told the Senate.

“While we stand here today, my mom lays in a hospital bed where she has been for 689 days.”