WILMINGTON, Del. - Through two expert analysts and one witness, Delaware prosecutors yesterday attempted to place Wharton undergraduate Irina Malinovskaya in the vicinity of the scene of Irina Zlotnikov's murder.
Malinovskaya is facing her third trial for allegedly bludgeoning Zlotnikov to death on Dec. 23, 2004, in the New Castle, Del. apartment of Robert Bondar, Zlotnikov's boyfriend and Malinovskaya's ex-lover. Two previous trials ended in hung juries.
The prosecution called Federal Bureau of Investigation special agent William Shute to testify on his analysis of calls made from Malinovskaya's cell phone during the days surrounding the crime.
Shute said records show that a steady stream of calls was made from Malinovskaya's cell phone while that phone was in Wilmington, Del., from the night of Dec. 21 until about 11 a.m. on the morning of Dec. 23.
The cell-phone tower that picked up those calls was less than 300 yards from Bondar's apartment, Shute said.
Prosecutors also called William Bodziak, a forensic consultant who specializes in foot imprints, to testify.
Two footprints were found on Zlotnikov's body and on a piece of paper at the crime scene.
Bodziak said he determined the shoes that made the heel imprints to be the Adidas Barricade 2 model.
He said the shoes that made the imprint were likely size-8 sneakers but could not determine if the shoe was a man's or a woman's.
Later testimony from New Castle County police detective Jeffrey Shriner indicated that police found two pairs of 7 1/2-size and one pair of size-8 Adidas shoes at Malinovskaya's apartment.
Also testifying yesterday was a Delaware police officer who said that, while he was off-duty the night of Dec. 22, 2004, a white woman with brown hair speaking in a Russian accent asked him for directions to the area near Bondar's apartment.
The officer identified Malinovskaya as that woman in the courtroom.
The trial will recess today and continue tomorrow morning in the New Castle County Courthouse at 9:30 a.m.
