A Michigan teen who fatally doused her sleeping father with a chemical drain cleaner which left him gravely ill until he succumbed to his injuries six months later, has walked free from court after only getting a one year sentence with credit for time served.
Megan Imirowicz, 19, could have faced a life sentence over the death of her 64-year-old father, Konrad, with whom she was angry because he was too drunk to take her to a hair appointment.
Instead, she received a year in prison with credit for time served and five years of probation during her sentencing hearing.
The teen spent 500 days in a suburban Detroit jail after her father’s death in March 2022. In addition, Imirowicz will undergo strict probation restrictions and is forced into an education program.
The teen sobbed in court upon learning of her reduced sentence.
She expressed her happiness at being able to return home to her family and revealed her shock at the leniency of the judge’s decision.
‘I’m really happy I get to go home with my family,’ she said to Law & Crime Network on Tuesday, adding: ‘I’m excited.’
Megan Imirowicz, 19, was facing a potential life sentence for killing her father, Konrad Imirowicz, by burning him with a chemical drain clear, which contained a mixture of lye and water
The Michigan teen who fatally doused her sleeping father was released on Tuesday after receiving a year in prison with credit for time served and five years of probation
Imirowicz is pictured hugging friends outside of court after her sentence hearing on Tuesday
Imirowicz allegedly threw lye powder on her father, 64, with water, in order to produce a chemical reaction and cause severe burns on 1 October 2021.
Prosecutors said that she was upset with him because he was too drunk to take her to a hair appointment ahead of her 18th birthday party. Konrad is said to have been an alcoholic.
The victim was later found by one of Imirowicz’s friends in his Groveland Township home before being hospitalized for his injuries, which were chemical burns to the head, torso and ‘extremities.’
While in hospital, Konrad had his legs amputated, endured multiple infections, a tracheotomy, skin grafts and kidney dialysis, reports The Oakland Press.
Imirowicz was found guilty of using harmful devices/irritants causing death in a four-dat trial presided over by Judge Victoria Valentine in June.
She was reunited with her mother upon her release from the Oakland County Jail, where she had been incarcerated for the last 17 months.
‘I was definitely surprise. I thought I would get three or six years, I was praying for a miracle today and that’s what happened,’ Imirowicz said.
Her mother even claimed the defense was shocked to hear the verdict.
Regarding her dad, Imirowicz said: I’m scared to feel anything about my dad right now. I miss him a lot. I’m not ready.’
‘I know what happened and that didn’t happen,’ she added.
Imirowicz had continuously denied that she was responsible for the death of her dad.
The Oakland County Jury had also convicted her of a misdemeanor domestic violence, but that charge was dropped during her sentencing hearing.
The terms of Imirowicz’s sentence include ‘intensive probation,’ consisting of a mental health assessment and psychological exam, alcohol and drug testing as directed by her probation officer, and a review in court next January — six months into her probation.
In addition to court costs and fines, Imirowicz is required to participate in a high school or GED program, be home each night by 9 pm and wear an electronic tether.
Regarding her probation restrictions, Imirowicz said: ‘I think having all these restrictions would make it easier to get my life back on track and I’m not going to see it as something that holds me back but something that helps me move forward.’
Her mother, Julie Conrad, questioned the investigation and the thoroughness of the trial, suggesting that crucial information had been overlooked
Imirowicz allegedly threw lye powder on her father, Konrad Imirowicz, 64, with water, to produce a chemical reaction and cause severe burns on 1 October 2021
Her mother, Julie Conrad, questioned the investigation and the thoroughness of the trial, suggesting that crucial information had been overlooked.
She pleaded for mercy, stating that the family had been broken even before the incident and was further shattered by the events that transpired.
‘Two plus two just does not equal four,’ she said pleading for mercy. ‘Losing Megan, not being able to look her straight in the eye or to hug her is a mother’s nightmare. Megan tried multiple times to reach out to her father and was prevented.’
‘We were a broken family before this began and now, we are even more broken, while her (Megan) age and her body is 19 years old. Her maturity and emotional level are not that of an adult.’
During her tearful appeal to the judge, Megan described the deep bond she had with her father and the pain of losing him.
She expressed her struggle to cope with the loss and her battles against self-harm, emphasizing that she loved her father deeply and was not the monster the prosecution portrayed her to be.
‘Nineteen years ago, I was placed into the arms of the first man to ever love me, the man I’m lucky enough to call my dad. Growing up he became so much more, he was a storyteller, a tooth fairy, a friend, and hero, through it all the one thing never changed, was that he was mine,’ she sobbed.
‘One of the biggest things overlooked in this case is that me and my siblings lost my dad too. That loss has severely broken us.’
Megan acknowledged that she had lied to conceal her father’s alcoholism, preferring to protect him rather than admit his struggles.
‘I get scared that he thinks I didn’t love him. He told me so many things, one thing he didn’t tell me was how to live without him,’ she said.
Imirowicz rejected the State’s accusations and portrayal of her as a monster. She denied throwing lye at her father and claimed she had thrown some bread at him to wake him up.
‘The prosecution has tried to make me look like a monster but that’s not me and never was,’ Imirowicz told the judge, saying her father was her ‘hero’ and ‘best friend.’
‘One of the biggest things overlooked in this case is that me and my siblings lost my dad, too. … I am the best parts of him. I’m his daughter. But without him I don’t know who I am any more,’ she told the judge.
She admitted lying to cover up the fact that her father was an alcoholic, and she said it was easier to lie than to admit that her father was so often drunk he would relieve himself in bags that were left on the floor.
‘The prosecution’s job is to make me look bad.’ The reality she said was that she was the girl that took care of her father and threw surprise birthday parties for her brother so that he would know she loved him.
She asked for understanding and support from the judge to pursue her dreams, including obtaining a college degree in marine biology and setting up programs to help children with depression.
‘I want to change the world,’ she said. ‘I’m asking you to help me accomplish my dreams. I’m not a threat to society, but an asset for the future.’
Chief Assistant Prosecutor David Williams commented on the sentencing, stating that it was not what they had advocated for, but the judge has the ultimate authority in deciding the sentence to be imposed.
In response to the sentence, Williams told The Oakland Press: ‘This was not the sentence we advocated for, however the judge ultimately decides what sentence will be imposed.’
