Man Doused 1-Year-Old Nephew, Cousin With Scalding Hot Oil While They Slept

A man in Ohio has been sentenced to 37 years in prison on Friday after a 2021 incident where he poured hot oil onto the sleeping bodies of his cousin and her infant son.

Michael Maloney, a 42-year-old man, was charged with felonious assault, among other charges, after he broke into the home of his cousin Jayla Witt and poured hot oil onto her and her sleeping infant son, according to FOX 19.

Witt found herself with burns in over 15% of her body, while the young boy found himself suffering from burns to 7% of his body. Witt reportedly remained unconscious for over 40 days after the attack first happened, Law&Crime reported.

Video footage shows Maloney buying the 48-ounce can of vegetable oil at a Kroger supermarket hours before he threw it at Witt. Witt’s father James believes that Maloney had done this because she had asked him to leave her home after allowing him to stay for a few days.

“Jayla gave him a place to stay for a couple of nights because she’s got a soft heart like that,” James Witt said. “When she asked him to leave, I’m sure that’s what made him mad, and that’s the reason he’s done this because she threw him out.”

Maloney denied the incident in court and said that he was making breakfast for Jayla and her son when he was startled by Witt when he went upstairs, thus accidentally throwing the oil into her. Authorities, however, were skeptical of the story because of how many times it ended up changing when Maloney was asked about it.

Maloney was sentenced to 27 years for the charges, as well as an additional 10 years for being a repeat offender. He was convicted and imprisoned for 10 years in 2000 for voluntary manslaughter after killing a person by beating him with a bat.