The Wharton senior charged with the murder of a Temple graduate student remains in a correctional facility in Delaware, as her class prepares to march in this weekend's graduation ceremonies.
Irina Malinovskaya, 22, was arrested late last year in connection with the brutal murder of Irina Zlotnikov, who was apparently romantically involved with the suspect's former boyfriend.
Malinovskaya has been charged with beating Zlotnikov to death with a blunt object in the early afternoon on Dec. 23 in her ex-boyfriend's New Castle, Del., home.
A native of Belarus, the 24-year-old Zlotnikov -- who was due to graduate this May with a Ph.D. in pharmacology from Temple -- was dating Robert Bondar, 32. The Widener law student was Malinovskaya's ex-boyfriend.
Malinovskaya -- a native of Rostov-on-Don, Russia -- is currently being held at the Baylor Women's Correctional Institution in New Castle, according to the warden, Patrick Ryan.
In addition to first-degree murder, Malinovskaya was also charged with possession of a deadly weapon during the commission of a felony, second-degree burglary and theft under $1,000 at a January preliminary hearing, Delaware Department of Correction spokeswoman Beth Welch said.
Malinovskaya's trial date was originally scheduled for Dec. 6. However, the prosecution has filed for a continuance because one of the witnesses cannot testify that day, according to Delaware Attorney General's Office spokeswoman Janice Fitzsimons.
"I have spoken verbally with a judge who said he has granted" the continuance, Deputy Attorney General Marsha White said, adding that a new date has not been set.
Malinovskaya's lawyer, Eugene Maurer, noted that the judge was not inclined to grant her bail because he felt she was a flight risk and might be picked up by immigration officers due to noncompliance with her student visa.
"We're sort of in a holding pattern right now until all the discoverable information is provided to us," said Maurer, who expects a January trial.
Though Malinovskaya was slated to graduate in December, administration officials said the former president of the Russian Cultural Association did not complete the requisite courses.
Friends and associates of Malinovskaya have described the finance and management concentrator as a "successful student" who was very involved in philanthropic activities.
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