The Michigan Court of Appeals refused to overturn a light jail sentence for a young woman who murdered her father by burning him with a dangerous powder after he was unable to drive her to a hair appointment before her 18th birthday party.
Megan Imirowicz, now 21, was sentenced to one year in jail in 2023. She was immediately released because she had already spent approximately 17 months in custody prior to trial and while awaiting her punishment.
The sentencing guidelines called for a minimum of slightly more than four years in prison. However, Oakland County Judge Victoria Valentine gave Imirowicz a break, citing her age, lack of maturity, and likelihood of rehabilitation. Prosecutors objected.
“The trial court provided ample justification for the sentence imposed,” the appellate court wrote in a 3-0 decision Tuesday.
Imirowicz was found guilty of using harmful devices/irritants that resulted in death. She was upset with her father, Konrad Imirowicz, 64, because he was drunk and couldn’t drive her to an appointment before her birthday party in 2021, according to prosecutors.
Prosecutors claim Megan Imirowicz threw lye, a chemical drain cleaner, on her father while he was sleeping, resulting in severe burns all over his body. He died five months later after undergoing kidney dialysis, a tracheotomy, and having both legs amputated.
“We acknowledge that the victim’s resulting injuries from the chemical burns, which ultimately led to his death, were severe; however, this fact alone does not demonstrate an abuse of discretion” by the judge during sentencing, the appeals court wrote.
At sentencing, Imirowicz stated that prosecutors “tried to make me look like a monster, but that’s not me and never was.”
She referred to her father as her “best friend.” Imirowicz is on probation until July 2028.