After two mistrials, the stage is set for the third act of the Irinia Malinovskaya murder trial saga.
The third trial of Malinovskaya, a Wharton undergraduate accused of murder, is to begin with jury selection this Tuesday, said Jason Miller, a spokesman for Delaware state prosecutors.
Miller said opening statements will likely begin during the middle of next week.
Malinovskaya is accused of beating to death Temple graduate student Irina Zlotnikov in New Castle, Delaware, on Dec. 23, 2004.
She has already been tried twice by Delaware state prosecutors, with both proceedings ending in mistrials.
Miller would not comment on prosecutors' reasoning for bringing the case to trial for a third time, a rarity in most criminal proceedings. But experts agree that the prosecution's persistence is an indication that the state strongly believes that Malinovskaya is guilty.
"Retrials are not fun at all, - the prosecution must really think they can win," Penn Law professor Paul Robinson said.
Temple Law School professor Edward Ohlbaum agreed, saying that state attorneys "must believe in the legitimacy of the prosecution" since they are pursuing a third trial.
But both Robnison and Ohlbaum added that a third trial does not necessarily give the advantage to the prosecution
"Since each side has seen the other side's case, it's hard to say if that will benefit one side or the other," Robinson said.
The discovery of new evidence could tip the scale in favor of either side, but Ohlbaum doubts the likelihood of this occurrence adding that, "There will probably be no surprises."
Miller would not comment if there is new evidence or new witnesses being brought forward in the case.
Instead, Ohlbaum believes this trial will focus on cross-examination because testimony could change slightly from the two previous trials, and both side's lawyers would attempt to exploit the discrepancies.
The first trial ended 11-1 in favor of acquittal, and the second trial deadlocked at 6-6, but Robinson believes that a verdict could finally be reached the third time around.
"Each side will do something different so [the trial] could turn out different," he said.
Malinovskaya, who hails from Rostov-on-Don, Russia, and was a senior in Wharton at the time of the murder, previously dated the victim's boyfriend, Robert Bondar, who was a Widener University Law School student at the time.
The victim, Zlotnikov, who died at 24, was on track to graduate the following May from Temple University with a Ph.D. in pharmacology. She was found dead in Bondar's apartment in New Castle, Delaware.
During her arrest, Malinovskaya admitted to being in the vicinity of Bondar's apartment on the day of murder.
The two previous trials have brought out explosions of emotions from both parties. One exchange in the second trial included a tearful Malinovskaya vehemently denying that she committed the murder, mixing in Russian and English, while Zlotnikov's family shouted back in Russian.
State prosectors have tried to prove that Malinovskaya's jealousy of Zlotnikov's and Bondar's romantic relationship was the impetus for the crime. Defense attorney Eugene Maurer countered by showing that not one piece of forensic evidence points to Malinovskaya's involvement in the murder.
Zlotnikov was found clutching a white hair that was not Malinovskaya's.
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