The Daily Pennsylvanian :: Student Murder Trial | Jury deadlocks again for third mistrial

WILMINGTON, Del. - The murder trial of Irina Malinovskaya ended in a hung jury yesterday, the third mistrial for the Wharton undergraduate.

The jury was unable to reach a consensus regarding three of four charges levied against Malinovskaya, including counts of both first- and second-degree murder.

Jurors split 8-4 in favor of conviction for first-degree murder and 10-2 in favor of conviction for both the second-degree charge and a related possession of a deadly weapon charge.

Malinovskaya was convicted of attempted tampering with physical evidence relating to an e-mail she allegedly fabricated during her second trial last fall.

The felony tampering with evidence conviction carries a maximum sentence of two years in prison, but Malinovskaya has already been held in custody without bail for almost three years, so she would likely not serve any additional jail time.

She was accused of bludgeoning to death Temple University graduate student Irina Zlotnikov, the girlfriend of her former lover, Robert Bondar.

The first two trials both ended in hung juries, the first 11-1 in favor of acquittal and the second in a 6-6 split.

Now, prosecutors must decide whether to try Malinovskaya for a fourth time or drop the remaining three charges.

Paul Wallace, the lead prosecutor, would not say whether the state will bring a fourth trial, explaining that it was necessary to review the case before making a decision.

But defense attorney Joe Hurley saw the deadlock as an indication of the unlikelihood of a jury ever finding her guilty.

"It's three times now," he said. "That's 36 jurors, seven different prosecutors and three different defense attorneys, and we still are in the same place. That speaks for itself."

If the state does decide to drop the charges, it is highly unlikely that Malinovskaya will return to Penn. Her student visa has long expired, and defense attorney Eugene Maurer said she will likely have a difficult time applying for a new visa because of her felony conviction in this trial.

Malinovskaya was just short of graduating when she was arrested in December 2004, and Hurley said she would like to return to Penn if possible.

Wharton spokesman Michael Baltes said in an e-mail that the University had not received information about the trial and would not comment on Malinovskaya's ability to return to Penn.

The jury deadlocked after 11 days of deliberations, which legal observers said was one of the longest deliberations in Delaware history.

After nine days without communication, the jury released a note on Wednesday asking about the differences between direct and indirect evidence. Judge James Vaughn answered their questions yesterday morning and the group returned to deliberations.

The court reconvened at about 1 p.m. when the jury told Judge Jerome Herlihy that they were deadlocked.

Herlihy asked the jury foreman if he believed any further deliberations would be "fruitful" and the foreman responded flatly: "No."

Vaughn, the presiding judge during the trial, returned from Dover, Del., to discuss the possibility of calling a mistrial.Wallace argued that Vaughn should issue an Allen Charge urging the jury to continue trying to reach a verdict, as was done in the second trial.

Maurer said doing so would be "unbelievably coercive" to the jurors in the minority, and it would be an "implicit suggestion that the court is not satisfied."

Vaughn agreed with the defense, discharged the jury and declared a mistrial.

Malinovskaya showed little emotion throughout the proceedings and was taken back into custody, where she will remain until her sentencing for the tampering-with-evidence charge.

A sentencing date has not been set.

Comments (14)

Enough is enough. The government has used all the resources at its disposal 3 times, and can't get a conviction. Meanwhile, she has been sitting in jail for 3 years. Whatever financial resources she had must be long gone, and her emotional resources must be mostly gone as well. At this point, how could another trial possibly be fair?

This animal is guilty and she should be put to death by hanging for what she has done to a great girl like Irina that never hurt a fly. I hope there is another trial where justice will be served.

If these morons couldn't prove anything three times, then they shouldn't be allowed to try a fourth trial. She should go free, maybe Bondar did it, try him.

[QUOTE id="76373bde-06e2-48e1-8060-60dc391880ee"]This is definitely a step in the right direction for the prosecution. Their case has gotten stronger each time. (11-1 for aquittal the first time, 6-6 the second, and 8-4 this time FOR conviction). I think if they're willing to try this one more time, they can fully solidify this case, convict this ugly fat-ass remorseless murderer, and finally exonerate Bodnar from the irrational smear campaign thats been waged against him by Malinovskaya's wacked-out friends. May the fourth time bring justice![/QUOTE] Yeah, maybe the 50th time they try her 70 years from now, they'll convict her. Innocent until proven guilty is usually how we view criminals in the US, 8-4 jury still proves absolutely nothing (about your "ugly, fatass remorseless murderer" comment). I don't know Malinovskaya, but there still is a chance Bondar could have framed her...the point is that you don't know.

Let Malinovskaya go! Innocent until proven guilty is right. Three trials is enough.

Enough is enough. If the prosecution cannot prove someone guilty 3 times, there's no purpose of doing it the fourth time. That's cruel and unusual punishment for someone who hasn't even been convicted of the crime! To let this go on any further would be a mockery of our legal system.

Malinovskaya is INNOCENT; you are a brainless idiot if you are not Bondar. If you are Bondar, you should now be a point of interest for the prosecution... You didn't pass a lie detector test. You left Zlotnikov's naked body and you found it on the bloody kitchen floor... How about a shoe print size 11 that belongs to you (it was proven that Malinovskaya was wearing shoes, not snickers on the day of the murder); how about other evidence that Malinovskaya wasn't even hiding from anyone that day waiting for Bondar outside of the apartment and witnesses even saw her eating soup in the car she rented after the murder (the fact that wasn't disclosed to the jurors this time); who else do you think (it must be the owner of the apartment) could care so much about his pets locking them in another room right after the murder?? Why Karma wasn�?t barking at the stranger who entered the apartment (hint: because she new her master)?? How could Malinovskaya clean the murder scene with Zlotnikov's white jacket and the sheet from the bed if nobody saw her carrying a huge trash bag outside of the apartment and nobody was able to locate them inside the apartment?? Prosecution keeps changing plot every time they try her. If they work on the plot a little bit longer I wouldn�?t be surprised if she is convicted the 4th time they try her. I think this is immoral and unconstitutional (I am not even talking about fairness here). How fair do you think it is to convict Malinovskaya just for being at the murder scene and let the real murderer- Bondar go free??!! With every new trial he is becoming more and more egoistic and forgetful. Why do you think Malinovskaya should remember every single detail about what she did on the day of the murder almost 3 years ago???! Who is going to answer this question?? Prosecution MUST try BONDAR this time. He is the one who is a real murderer, not Malinovskaya. FREE MALINOVSKAYA AND LET HER COME BACK TO PENN! BE FARE TO HER!! CONVICT BONDAR OF MURDERING ZLOTNIKOV AND SERVE JUSTICE FOR ZLOTNIKOV'S FAMILY AND CLOSE FRIENDS WHO LOVE HER AND REMEMBER HER. [QUOTE id="76373bde-06e2-48e1-8060-60dc391880ee"]This is definitely a step in the right direction for the prosecution. Their case has gotten stronger each time. (11-1 for aquittal the first time, 6-6 the second, and 8-4 this time FOR conviction). I think if they're willing to try this one more time, they can fully solidify this case, convict this ugly fat-ass remorseless murderer, and finally exonerate Bodnar from the irrational smear campaign thats been waged against him by Malinovskaya's wacked-out friends. May the fourth time bring justice![/QUOTE]

I think that there's a very good chance that she did do it, but clearly there's "reasonable doubt" if three trials resulted in three hung juries. Because of the "innocent until proven guilty" standard, our judicial system works under the philosophy that it's less damaging for the occasional criminal to get away if it means that innocent people are safer from false conviction. This might just be one of those times where, even if she really is a murderer, it's time to give it up. If there's any reasonable doubt, you can't convict her, and three failed attempts certainly leads to that conclusion.

Why don't you filthy Russians create your own message board so that we don't have to read your self-serving diatribes, accusations of which family each poster is affiliated with, and poor handle of the english language. That sounds "fare" to me. Go away. And let us build our missile defense system in Eastern Europe so that we can charbroil your asses under the guise of looking out for interception Iranian missiles headed for Israel. Thanks.

[QUOTE id="d2f935ba-c1b8-4c68-83cf-f88d229b8b22"]Why don't you filthy Russians create your own message board so that we don't have to read your self-serving diatribes, accusations of which family each poster is affiliated with, and poor handle of the english language. That sounds "fare" to me. Go away. And let us build our missile defense system in Eastern Europe so that we can charbroil your asses under the guise of looking out for interception Iranian missiles headed for Israel. Thanks.[/QUOTE] WOW. Are there any moderators on this board that are going to remove this highly offensive message??

A proven liar, an unfaithful girlfriend, a stalker, and now a convicted felon.. Reasonable doubt my foot. Friend or relative screaming for more bloodshed? No amount of CAPS or fact-fabricating by you would erase blood from your sister's hands. I guess the apple really doesn't fall far - you are all the same. She didn't just kill - she committed a monstrosity. She had no remorse - evidenced by more and more lying to protect self. If she is released, that would be a great injustice. I only hope Zlotnikov's parents press the issue in the civil court and take away the only thing that matters to you - money and reputation.

Yeah you guys are right, you must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. HOWEVER, in our justice system, a hung jury does NOT constitute reasonable doubt. Only a unanomous 12-0 verdict for aquital is considered reasonable doubt. And as of yet, she has not gotten that.

This is definitely a step in the right direction for the prosecution. Their case has gotten stronger each time. (11-1 for aquittal the first time, 6-6 the second, and 8-4 this time FOR conviction). I think if they're willing to try this one more time, they can fully solidify this case, convict this ugly fat-ass remorseless murderer, and finally exonerate Bodnar from the irrational smear campaign thats been waged against him by Malinovskaya's wacked-out friends. May the fourth time bring justice!

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