Konrad Imirowicz spent months hospitalized before he reportedly was released to hospice care at his home a few days before his death on March 4, 2022.
Trial got underway Monday afternoon in Oakland County for a teenager accused of throwing lye on her father which reportedly led to his death five months later.
Megan Joyce Imirowicz, 19, is charged with unlawful possession or use of harmful devices – imitation/irritants – causing death — a felony — and misdemeanor domestic violence for the Oct. 1, 2021 assault on her father, Konrad Imirowicz. The 64-year-old Imirowicz spent months hospitalized before he reportedly was released to hospice care at his home a few days before his death on March 4, 2022.
Konrad Imirowicz reportedly had a drinking problem and is believed to have been highly intoxicated on the day he was severely burned by lye that investigators claim his daughter threw at him.
In his opening statement, assistant prosecutor Jason DeSantis said while it was “a common occurrence” for the older Imirowicz to be drunk — even in the morning as he was that day — it was “probably the straw that broke the camel’s back” that enraged Megan Imirowicz to the point that she began throwing things at him, including water and lye. Megan Imirowicz had needed him to drive her to a salon appointment that day ahead of her 18th birthday party at a local hotel, but he was unable to due to his level of intoxication, DeSantis said.
Defense attorney Fred Miller, in his opening statement, told jurors they will learn Konrad Imirowicz never said he remembered what happened or said his daughter had doused him with the drain cleaner. Miller also told the jury to “please, please listen to everything” presented during the trial before “making up (their) minds” about the case.
Called as the prosecution’s first witness, Kayla Bousquette described herself as a former friend and neighbor of Megan Imirowicz who found Konrad Imirowicz, naked and severely injured on the couch in his living room, several hours after the alleged assault. Bousquette testified that earlier that morning, Megan Imirowicz had sent her a Snapchat photo of herself crying and then sent a text stating that “her dad got drunk and he didn’t care that she had stuff to do and she threw stuff at him.”
Later that afternoon, Megan Imirowicz asked her to go by her home to get credit card information from her father to pay for the party at the hotel, Bousquette testified. And that’s when she came upon the man’s horrifying injuries, she said.
“He looked very bad. He looked very out of it. He had burns or blood or bruises or something on him…his head, chest, hands, stomach — his legs looked green,” Bousquette said.
Then the injured man told her his hand hurt, revealing it, which Bousquette said made her feel “very ill” and caused her to panic: His fingers were “red and purple…and the fingernails were curled up,” Bousquette said.
Bousquette went outside, called her mother and Megan Imirowicz’s brother Austin who told her to contact 911, which she did. Konrad Imirowicz was transported to Ascension Genesys Hospital, and eventually Megan Imirowicz called her, Bousquette said. “I told her we were at the hospital, her dad was in the hospital, and she hung up on me,” Bousquette testified. “She didn’t say anything.”
According to DeSantis, a nurse overheard Konrad Imirowicz telling his son that Megan was the one who caused his injuries. Michigan State Police was called and interviewed her at the hotel, and she allegedly admitted to throwing water and a white powder at her father, DeSantis claims.
Konrad Imirowicz endured months of suffering, including several infections, amputation of both legs, dialysis and a tracheotomy while hospitalized.
Testimony continues Tuesday morning in Oakland County Circuit Court, with Judge Victoria Valentine presiding over the trial. Megan Imirowicz faces up to life in prison if convicted of the felony charge.
