On a cold day in late December, security footage captured Michael Maloney buying vegetable oil at a Kroger store in Hamilton.Jurors saw that video and much more evidence during Maloney's trial, which ended Friday with a conviction."This was a premeditated, despicable act that on many levels, if not all levels, suggests that you may not even be a human being," said Butler Co. Common Pleas Judge Greg Stephens.Stephens called what Maloney did sadistic."You, sir, are an animal," Stephens said.Prosecutors said Maloney broke into the home of a second cousin, Jayla Witt. Once inside, he brought a pan of the vegetable oil he bought to a boil. He then climbed 17 stairs and doused Witt with the oil while she was sleeping with her then 16 month-old son. The child was also burned."She called you Uncle Mike, didn't she? (She) called you Uncle Mike. And this is what she gets?" Jayla Witt's father, James, said following Maloney's conviction.Maloney's motive for the crime remains a mystery. James Witt's dad said his daughter was trying to give Maloney a hand-up in life when the incident happened.Prosecutor Brad Burress read a note written by Jayla Witt, who was too ill to return to the courtroom to hear the verdict read aloud."All I ask is why? I've never, I've never been nothing but good to you," Burress said, reading Jayla Witt's statement.James Witt suggested Maloney was overcome by darkness."Evil, evil, brother. You need to talk to the Lord before you die. I'm telling you," James Witt said. "Sir, with that – thank you, thank this court and everything else."James Witt then waved at Maloney, who stood nearby wearing handcuffs behind his back. "Bye-bye," James Witt said as he walked back to his seat in the courtroom.Shortly after the verdict was announced, Stephens sentenced Maloney to at least 37 years in prison. That includes 27 years for the three counts he faced in the case involving Jayla Witt and her son, and 10 years for having previously been convicted of another violent crime.