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Michael Maloney: Ohio man pours HOT oil on cousin, her 18-month-old son while they were sleeping

Maloney, who has previously been convicted of committing manslaughter, broke into his cousin's home and doused her and her 18-month-old son in hot oil
UPDATED JAN 5, 2022
Michael Lee Maloney accused of dousing his cousin and her toddler in hot oil (Photo by Butler County Jail)
Michael Lee Maloney accused of dousing his cousin and her toddler in hot oil (Photo by Butler County Jail)

An Ohio man, who has been previously convicted of manslaughter, has now been accused of dousing a woman and her 18-month-old son with hot oil. Michael Lee Maloney, 41, had already been in prison for beating an old man to death and now remains at the Butler County Jail in Ohio as of Tuesday, December 4, 2022.

The victim, Jayla Witt, 20, was Maloney's cousin. According to sources, the young woman had been letting Maloney stay at her residence for a temporary period. On the morning of December 21, Maloney broke into Jayla's house and doused the woman in hot oil as she was in bed, fast asleep. Maloney even went on to douse Jayla's 18-month-old son, Tobias Mata in the hot liquid which police believe, was either oil or grease. It did not appear that Maloney had stolen anything from the household. 

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Maloney had not been identified on the day the attack was reported. According to Sgt Richard Burkhardt, police officers used tips to narrow down and find the suspect. Maloney was arrested on December 27, almost a week after the attack. “After 22 years, I don’t think I’ve ever been on a call where somebody intentionally burned somebody with something like that,” Burkhardt told FOX19 NOW. “It’s usually a ball bat, a gun, a knife. To use something like that as a weapon, I’ve never heard of it.”

Police officers said that they could not find a motive behind the attack. However, the victim's father, James Witt, told the police that it might have been because Jayla had asked Maloney to move out of her house. “Jayla gave him a place to stay for a couple of nights because she’s got a soft heart like that. 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.”, James told police. 

Jayla Witt is currently undergoing medical care in the burn unit. She has had to go through several surgeries on her face and torso and according to doctors, she will be needing more. Jayla and her son Tobias have both been put under a medically induced coma and are being prepared for surgery and other necessary actions that need to be taken to help them survive. James Witt also told sources that Jayla was currently on life support. 

Jayla's sister Sarah Witt expressed her shock and despise towards Maloney and his course of actions. “I don’t know what would go through somebody’s mind to brutally hurt anybody like that, let alone my baby sister. It’s downright despicable.”, Sarah said. 

A GoFundMe has been started to help the mother and son cover their medical expenses. So far, $2,592 of $10,000 has been raised. The victim's family has said that Jayla's son Tobias is expected to be discharged from the hospital by this week. 

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