A self-interested liar unmoved by his girlfriend's death and inconsistent in his testimony is the portrait defense lawyers attempted to paint yesterday of Robert Bondar, the ex-lover of accused murderer Irina Malinovskaya.
Bondar's then-girlfriend Irina Zlotnikov was allegedly bludgeoned to death by Malinovskaya in his Delaware apartment in Dec. 2004.
This is the first time in three trials that the defense has subpoenaed Bondar as their own witness rather than cross-examining him as the prosecution's witness.
The defense focused on the contradictions in Bondar's past sworn statements by questioning him on a subject, then immediately bringing in witnesses and evidence to contradict him.
For example, when asked about the moments leading up to the discovery of his girlfriend's death, Bondar testified that he noticed the naked body in a pool of blood, then later opened the door to his bedroom to check on his pets.
Moments after this statement, a police officer who spoke with Bondar on the day of the murder took the stand to testify that Bondar said he had opened his bedroom door before he noticed the body.
The judge asked Bondar to watch this conflicting testimony, then return to the stand.
The defense also asked Bondar if he remembered smiling during his conversation with investigators hours after the murder, and he said he did not.
They then showed several video clips of Bondar smiling, laughing and discussing a movie while speaking with police on the day of the murder and the day after.
"I really don't remember what I was feeling at that time," he explained.
Bondar also told police, "If this goes unsolved, people will always have suspicions I was involved."
Audio recordings between prosecutors and Bondar in the months after the murder revealed his intentions to testify against Malinovskaya.
"I want this girl to go down," Bondar said. "If I cry, the jury will cry with me."
When asked about these statements yesterday, Bondar replied that he was depressed and not in the right state of mind at the time.
"I'm just babbling things," he said. "It's just my anger coming through."
In addition, Bondar has repeatedly testified that he was never physically attracted to Malinovskaya despite their romantic and sexual relationship.
In response, Hurley presented the jury with a series of sexually explicit e-mail messages that Bondar sent Malinovskaya describing pornographic scenes between the two.
Hurley also pointed out conflicting statements that Bondar has made regarding the number of times the two had sex after their break-up and the last time they were sexually involved.
Bondar remained straight-faced and solemn throughout his testimony, which lasted all day and will continue tomorrow.
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