WILMINGTON - After deliberating for more than 24 hours over the past week, jurors left court with no verdict once again yesterday in the case of Wharton undergraduate Irina Malinovskaya.
Malinovskaya is charged with the Dec. 23, 2004, first-degree murder of Temple University student Irina Zlotnikov. She faces life in prison if convicted.
Jurors gave little indication of their progress during the day, recessing only for a mid-afternoon break and to receive routine instructions from the judge at 4 p.m.
On Tuesday, jurors released a note at 3 p.m. stating that they were in a deadlock. In response, the presiding judge read them an Allen charge, in which he encouraged them to try again to reach a verdict. Jurors have released no notes since.
Malinovskaya's lawyers said that it is highly unusual for a jury to continue deliberating for so long after hearing an Allen charge.
Philadelphia criminal defense attorney Patrick Artur, however, said that as long as the jury is not releasing any more notes, it is common for deliberations to continue after such a charge.
But he added that a judge will generally declare a mistrial if jurors submit a second note declaring a stalemate.
Malinovskaya was first tried during the spring semester, but an 11-1 hung jury in favor of acquittal resulted in a mistrial. Deliberations in the first trial lasted less than 20 hours.
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