A Los Angeles Superior Court judge ruled Monday that there’s enough evidence for the felony domestic violence case against Kings defenseman Slava Voynov to proceed.
The lone witness during the preliminary hearing, Redondo Beach Police Officer Gregory Wiist, testified that Voynov’s wife, Marta Varlamova, was distraught when he met her at Little Company of Mary Hospital in Torrance after the alleged incident in the early hours of Oct. 20.
Wiist said that Varlamova told him during two recorded interviews that Voynov punched her in the face during a Halloween party, then the alleged altercation continued at their home.
“He threw her to the ground multiple times,” Wiist said. “On the ground, he repeatedly kicked her all over her body in addition to choking her approximately three times.”
Voynov then pushed Varlamova into a flat-screen television mounted on their bedroom wall, Wiist testified that she told him, that opened a cut near the wife’s left eye and required eight stitches.
When Wiist toured the bedroom later that night, he described blood “everywhere” including covering the bed’s comforter, a trail leading to the bathroom and a bloody handprint on the floor.
Attorneys for Voynov and Varlamova have previously characterized what occurred as an “accident.”
Voynov’s attorneys, Pamela Mackey and Craig Renetzky, declined comment following the hearing.
Judge Hector M. Guzman also denied their motions to dismiss the case and reduce the charge to a misdemeanor.
Frank Dunnick, the lead prosecutor in the case, told the judge that “there’s evidence to suggest prior domestic violence” involving Voynov. He didn’t elaborate.
Mackey, known for representing Kobe Bryant, questioned Wiist about the circumstances of his two recorded interviews with Varlamova, her ability to speak English and that night’s timeline of events.
Voynov is scheduled to be arraigned Dec. 29. He remains suspended indefinitely from the Kings.
Varlamova didn’t attend.
Copyright © 2014, Los Angeles Times
