Wharton undergraduate Irina Malinovskaya faces a long and arduous road ahead as she attempts to clear her name of a first-degree murder charge. Malinovskaya is being held for the Dec. 23 death of Temple University student Irina Zlotnikov, who was the current girlfriend of her ex-boyfriend.
Malinovskaya will remain in the Baylor Women's Correctional Institution in New Castle, Del., following last Friday's preliminary hearing in the Court of Common Pleas. According to Lori Sitler, a spokeswoman for the New Castle Department of Justice, the case has been accepted in Superior Court, but no future court dates have been scheduled.
"The [preliminary hearing] was held on [Jan.] 7, and at this point there haven't been any future dates set," Sitler said. "In homicide cases in Delaware, judges are specially assigned, and once that happens from the president judge of the Superior Court, then dates can be put on the calendar."
Sitler added that, "because of the circumstances of the homicide, [Malinovskaya is] being held without bail."
Malinovskaya has the right to an indictment by a grand jury, as well as a trial, Law School professor Paul Robinson said. There are time frames in which each of these steps must be completed.
However, this does not mean the process will be short.
"It's the sort of thing that's going to run on for a year," Robinson said, "depending on whether the defense counsel wants to speed things up or slow things down."
Malinovskaya remains a Penn student despite being scheduled to graduate after the fall semester, University spokeswoman Phyllis Holtzman said.
"It doesn't appear as though she will be among the December graduates," Holtzman added.
University officials would not elaborate further on the circumstances of this development, as they do not comment on issues directly relating to individual students.
Friends and associates of Malinovskaya spoke out upon hearing the allegations. Wharton senior Tamilla Kurbanova, who had been in a class with Malinovskaya, attested to Malinovskaya's character.
"From what I know, she is very nice," Kurbanova said. "She was very kind, and very nice to everyone."
A closer friend and Wharton employee, who spoke on the condition of anonymity and knew Malinovskaya through her role as president of the Russian Cultural Association, described her as a "successful student" who was "moderately outgoing" and very involved in charitable activities. He said he was "shocked" to hear of the charges.
"It's impossible for me to fathom," he said. "Knowing her, I don't think she is capable of this."
Kurbanova found the news similarly hard to believe.
"I'm not sure if [the allegations are] actually true or not," Kurbanova said. "I don't want to believe it until it's proved."
For Malinovskaya, the legal process is just beginning.
"We're in a holding pattern," Sitler said.
Neither Malinovskaya's lawyer nor her warden were available for comment.
