A Delaware Superior Court could suppress self-incriminating statements made by Wharton senior Irina Malinovskaya, who is on trial for murder.
Malinovskaya, 23, was charged with beating her ex-boyfriend's girlfriend to death with a blunt object.
At a hearing yesterday, lawyers argued over whether Malinovskaya fully understood her legal rights when she was arrested and gave some incriminating statements. The judge will rule on the issue before the trial begins in January.
Irina Zlotnikov, who was a Temple University graduate student, was found dead in her boyfriend's New Castle, Del., home on Dec. 23, 2004.
When investigators first interviewed Malinovskaya, she denied being in Delaware on the day of the murder, saying she had been shopping and at home in her Center City loft. But by Dec. 30, investigators had connected Malinovskaya to a rental car that matched the description and partial license plate number given by witnesses at the murder scene.
Detective Joseph Szczerba, who led the investigation, invited Malinovskaya to speak with him in his Delaware office under the pretense of speaking about her former lover.
As the interview progressed, Malinovskaya admitted to being in the vicinity of the crime scene as well as driving the rental car in question.
Though she was notified of her rights to remain silent and have counsel present before talking with the investigators, she waived those rights in a written statement and continued the interview.
Malinovskaya's lawyer, Eugene Maurer, claimed in the motion that "she did not fully understand the legal ramifications of that waiver, a fact that should have been obvious when she asked Szczerba, 'How can I be silent if you brought me here to talk?'''
The defense argued that Malinovskaya was misled to speak with investigators because she did not fully understand her rights and had a shaky grasp of the English language.
During the hearing, the defense accused Szczerba of misleading Malinovskaya when he referred to the notification of her rights as typical "procedure" for "anybody" he interviews.
"She is asking you to clarify ... and you, in response to that, misrepresent things," Maurer said.
Malinovskaya is a Russian citizen who was completing her senior year at Penn on a student visa. Her visa has since expired, but she has not been disenrolled from the University.
State prosecutors argued that Malinovskaya had sufficient fluency in English, citing her high marks in English courses and language tests as proof. They also played the tape of a phone conversation with Szczerba to show that they had little trouble communicating.
During her Dec. 30 interrogation, prosecutors said that Malinovskaya was advised of her rights three times. She had not requested help in translation and at one point said, "No problems with English language understanding."
Malinovskaya is currently being held on $10 million bail because she is considered a flight risk. The trial is set for Jan. 24.
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