Malinovskaya back in court for third murder trial

WILMINGTON, Del. - It was deja vu all over again as the third murder trial for Wharton undergraduate Irina Malinovskaya began yesterday at the New Castle Co. courthouse.

Opening statements took a familiar turn as Delaware state prosecutor Victoria Witherall once again attempted to establish Malinovskaya as a lover obsessed over her ex-boyfriend, then-Widener law student Robert Bondar.

Defense attorneys countered by stressing to jurors that no forensic evidence definitively links Malinovskaya to Bondar's Delaware apartment, where his then-girlfriend, Temple pharmacology student Irina Zlotnikov, was brutally beaten to death on Dec. 23, 2004.

"Science doesn't lie. Science doesn't play favorites. It is what it is," defense lawyer Joe Hurley told the jury.

New to the case, Hurley is one of the few changes for a trial that will likely include much of the same evidence and witnesses as the last two, both of which ended in hung juries.

A former state prosecutor and nationally recognized criminal attorney, Hurley replaces Mary Burnell on Malinovskaya's defense team, alongside Eugene Maurer, who has been the lead attorney for the first two trials.

Likely in an effort to throw off the prosecution, Hurley, not Maurer, gave the opening statement yesterday and cross-examined the state's first witness, the victim's mother, Sophia Zlotnikov.

Hurley said Maurer asked him to lead the defense this time around, but he ultimately agreed to sign on only in a secondary role.

Prosecutors also threw a bit of a curve ball by introducing another charge to the trial - attempted tampering with physical evidence - and dropped the charge of second-degree burglary.

Malinovskaya is still being charged with first- and second-degree murder and possession of a deadly weapon.

The new count stems from a false electronic document, the contents of which are not yet known, that Malinovskaya allegedly engineered to use as evidence in the middle of her second trial last September.

The state has shifted its team as well, replacing former prosecutor Bill George with New Castle Co. Chief Prosecutor Paul Wallace and adding Abigail Layton.

But aside from the minor tactical changes, the two sides made it clear early on that their respective strategies would largely remain the same - the prosecution focusing on Malinovskaya's obsessive nature in the days leading up to the murder, and the defense attempting to impugn Bondar's character.

During the opening statements, the defense played a videotape that captured Bondar saying, "When I cry, the jury's gonna cry with me," referring to Bondar's eventual testimony, which will likely come late next week.

The prosecution, on the other hand, painted a picture in which Malinovskaya stalked Bondar and Zlotnikov the night before the murder and then was seen pacing outside Bondar's apartment the morning Zlotnikov died.

Malinovskaya, who has been incarcerated since her 2004 arrest, remained calm throughout the first day's proceedings, attentively jotting down notes throughout the opening statements and testimony. Her parents and Zlotnikov's family were both present.

Aside from Sophia Zlotnikov, the prosecution also called two police officers and a paramedic to the stand.

The trial will recess today and continue Monday, likely with a heavy focus on testimony from forensic experts.

-Staff writer Jon Meza contributed reporting to this article.

Comments (10)

Hopefully when all is said and done, a jury with at least a mild intelect will finally be selected, and will correctly convict her. I'm absolutely sick of hearing about all her supporters feeling bad for Malinovskaya. It's time we stop to care about the victim here, Irina Zlotnikov. She deserves to see justice served finally.

Well, you see, there is no conclusive evidence that she could be convicted on. Is it possible that she had committed the crime? Yes. But it is also quite possible that she did not commit it. That is, there was doubt in the minds of 17 out of 24 jurors who voted in favor of Malinovskaya. And that doubt is there either because the state had done a horrendous job with the investigation, or because there simply wasn't enough evidence to begin with. The Zlotnikov family certainly deserves to see justice. However convicting a potentially not guilty Malinovskaya might not achieve that goal...

I missed the Malinovskaya posts.

[QUOTE id="a28ed151-e17c-4ccb-bb2a-2ac7390a05ff"]Hopefully when all is said and done, a jury with at least a mild intelect will finally be selected, and will correctly convict her. I'm absolutely sick of hearing about all her supporters feeling bad for Malinovskaya. It's time we stop to care about the victim here, Irina Zlotnikov. She deserves to see justice served finally.[/QUOTE] Dear so called "TRUTH": You are the drug addict (like all of Bondar's friends) and a liar. STOP posting your provocative and very silly comments. You keep posting the same shit over and over again. We are sick and tired of you to death already. Irina Zlotnikov was our close friend and we want to see justice for her. Bondar is the #1 suspect and, most likely, is a murderer who will eventually be convicted. You don't have to worry about the jurors' intellectual abilities. Smoke your favorite marijuana cigarettes, relax, and just enjoy the rest of your life. We can promise you that other people are taking care of the situation already. Bondar will be asked lots of questions during his cross examination this time. The defense team is ready to get the answers to the questions Bondar didn�?t answer last time. Bondar needs to live his life to the fullest; he didn't get too much time left to enjoy himself...............Promise.

Can the DP get a better picture of this girl... it is the worst picture ever and it really makes her look guilty

To Truth: You have no idea what you're talking about. As alum said above, majority in the jury voted to acquit. Re-trying the case for the third time is akin to not only double - but triple! - jeopardy. To Alum: Right on. To "The Truth you are drug addict and LIER": You also have no idea what you're talking about. As a friend of Irina Malinovskaya, I would like to ask you to stop your fanatical posts. I have been following the trial closely, as it has affected me on a personal level. And while both you and I believe Irina is NOT guilty of this horrible crime (or at least that there isn't enough evidence to suggest that she is), I do NOT write hysterical messages on public forums, thinking that they might make her come off in a better light. To Teddy Atlas: I agree completely. It's a horrendous picture, and I really wish they would stop running it in every issue.

Teddy: The reason the picture makes her look guilty is bc she is guilty. HTH

[QUOTE id="a408f748-5a76-489d-af6a-5252761e8f2f"]Teddy: The reason the picture makes her look guilty is bc she is guilty. HTH[/QUOTE] To WHOKEBE: What makes you think she is so guilty? That�?s just how DP portrayed her in their article. They don't know all the detail so how their narrative can be meaningful??! The defense should do more work this time and ask Bondar what had happened to his ex-girlfriends... We need to know the truth.... TKB

[QUOTE id="a408f748-5a76-489d-af6a-5252761e8f2f"]Teddy: The reason the picture makes her look guilty is bc she is guilty. HTH[/QUOTE] Do you mean his other ex-girlfriends and his ex-wife? Hopefully, the DP will find some time to meet and interview them. I think it would be a very breath-taking interview. PNH

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