WILMINGTON, Del. - State prosecutors presented the available forensic and DNA evidence in the trial of Wharton undergraduate Irina Malinovskaya yesterday -- but there was not much to show.
Yet prosecutors say there has been more emphasis on verbal testimony than on DNA because Malinovskaya, who is charged with first-degree murder, tried to leave the scene without a trace.
Calling on detectives, chemists and a blood-stain pattern analyst, the prosecution tried to convince jurors that Malinovskaya either changed outfits or washed her clothing after killing her former boyfriend's girlfriend.
None of the DNA found on Irina Zlotnikov's body was found to be Malinovskaya's.
The body was found in the New Castle, Del., apartment of Robert Bondar, who was dating Zlotnikov at the time of the murder and had previously dated Malinovskaya.
To support their argument, prosecutors said detectives found a blue liquid - which a forensics chemist testified was similar to a detergent or dish-washing liquid soap - on the body of Zlotnikov.
"In the state's mind, that shows that there was some cleanup effort" on the part of the killer, defense attorney Mary Burnell said.
The prosecution also called to the stand Paul Kish, an independent forensics consultant, to account for the various blood stains found on and around Zlotnikov's body.
According to Kish, the "geometry" of the blood indicates movement around the body - which he said is further indication that the murderer may have tried to clean up.
But defense attorney Eugene Maurer said he didn't buy it.
"Your testimony is based on a lot of assumptions," he said, pointing out Kish's estimates when assessing the scene in his testimony.
And though there was no blood or relevant DNA found in Malinovskaya's vehicle, Kish said any evidence that was on the murderer when leaving the apartment could have washed away by rain.
Still, employees at the company where Malinovskaya had rented her car testified that Malinovskaya was frantic upon returning it.
Rental agent Gladys Harris-Caldwell said Malinovskaya was "going on and on, [making] such a big deal out of the rental."
Harris-Caldwell charged Malinovskaya $128.03 for returning the car two hours late, a delay that Malinovskaya said occurred because the car was briefly stolen.
And for both sides, what happened between the murder and the return of Malinovskaya's car is a major - and difficult - question waiting to be resolved.
The trial will resume tomorrow morning at 9:30 a.m. at the New Castle County Courthouse in Wilmington.
