WILMINGTON, Del. - Under questioning by prosecutors, Wharton undergraduate Irina Malinovskaya broke down on the witness stand yesterday, weeping.
"I didn't kill [Irina Zlotnikov], I swear," she cried in both English and Russian.
But a man in attendance - possibly Zlotnikov's father or brother, who were both in attendance - shouted back in Russian, "Yes, you did."
This episode came near the end of Malinovskaya's final day of testimony, during which prosecutors continued to make the case that she was obsessed with her former boyfriend and she persistently denied that she is a murderer.
Malinovskaya is charged with the Dec. 23, 2004, first-degree murder of Zlotnikov.
During the cross-examination, Malinovskaya backtracked on earlier testimony and confirmed that she had documented her ex-boyfriend Robert Bondar's schedule from his 2004 spring and fall semesters at Widener University Law School, so that she would know when he was unavailable.
Bondar was dating Zlotnikov at the time of the murder.
Earlier in the week, Malinovskaya would not say whether she had created the files: two color-coded spreadsheets featuring every possible schedule combination based on the available times and professors for the classes that Bondar was taking at the time.
"You're making a bigger deal of this than it really is," Malinovskaya said yesterday, adding she is "familiar with Microsoft Excel."
Prosecutor Bill George also argued that Malinovskaya kept physical tabs on Bondar, specifically during the days leading up to the murder.
Malinovskaya testified that in an effort to celebrate her newly earned driver's license, she rented a car and drove to Bondar's apartment here three times in three days, including the morning Zlotnikov was killed.
The prosecution argued that Malinovskaya's road trips show that she grew jealous of the "female with the dark blond hair" she saw with Bondar, enough to drive her to murder.
But Malinovskaya repeatedly denied this, contending that she was "upset, not angry" that Bondar had a new girlfriend.
"I'm 100 percent sure I wasn't in a rage at the time," said Malinovskaya, who told George that no one who had seen the evidence would believe that she murdered anyone.
This part of Malinovskaya's testimony led to her tearful outburst, prompting President Judge James Vaughn to call a brief recess, during which a tear-stained Malinovskaya took time to compose herself.
Following the break, the prosecution called a handful of individuals back to the witness stand, including detectives, a SEPTA official and Bondar.
The chief investigator at the crime scene said that after an inspection, he found no vodka, cranberry juice or mixers that would support Malinovskaya's testimony that she and Bondar drank cosmopolitans together in the days leading up to the murder.
But upon cross-examination, the investigator added that he had neglected to look in Bondar's refrigerator or garbage for evidence of alcohol.
After the defense and prosecution give their closing statements today, Vaughn will hand over all the evidence to the jury for deliberations.
According to defense attorney Mary Burnell, the court expects - and hopes for - a decision by Friday afternoon.
