A 64-year-old College Township resident was found guilty by a Centre County jury Tuesday on charges of first-degree murder, third-degree murder, aggravated assault and possession of an instrument of crime.
The jury deliberated for about two hours before returning the guilty verdicts against Vladimir Podnebennyy. Immediately after the verdict was read, presiding Judge Thomas King Kistler sentenced Podnebennyy to serve the rest of his life behind bars at a state correctional institution.
The charges stem from an incident that occurred in October 2015 near Podnebennyy’s home. It was there authorities said he stabbed his wife, Natalya Podnebennaya, twice in the chest, which caused the fatal injuries.
Testimony opened in the case Sept. 23, with accounts from first responders, as well as testimony from Dr. Harry Kamerow, who performed the autopsy on Natalya Podnebennaya’s body. On Sept. 26, when testimony resumed, Podnebennyy’s daughters, who wished to remain unidentified during trial, took the stand. Both offered testimony to the court concerning the events leading up to the stabbing.
One daughter said her father contacted her several times in hopes she could convince her mother to return to him from her refuge at the Centre County Women’s Resource Center. She said he met with her before the incident and phoned her the day of the incident to let her know what happened. She said she contacted police about the events.
The other daughter said after her parents separated, he continued to contact her in an attempt to have her persuade her mother to return to him.
‘This was the most compelling evidence in the trial,’ Centre County District Attorney Stacy Parks Miller told the Centre County Gazette. ‘It was very emotional and heartbreaking. Too many times in domestic violence cases like this, the children suffer the most because they just didn’t lose their mother, but they are also losing their dad.’
The State College Police Department also provided electronic evidence from cellphone conversations between the couple, which showed nearly 150 messages from Podnebennyy to his wife in the seven days leading up to the killing.
‘He showed absolutely no remorse the entire time, from the first police interview all the way up through trial,’ said Park Miller. ‘He said, in jail tapes that were transcribed, that he was ‘not repenting.’ He felt justified in killing this woman because she would not reconcile with him.’
Testimony continued on Sept. 27 with State College Police Department detectives.
Detective Stephen Bosak conducted the first interview with Podnebennyy after the incident. He said he admitted to stabbing his wife. Bosak also produced transcripts of calls Podnebennyy made from the prison, which proved his state of mind before, during and after the event, as well as his admission of guilt.
Following the detectives’ testimony, the court offered Podnebennyy the stand to testify on his behalf; however, he refused.
Prior to the jury deliberations, defense attorney Karen Muir requested Kistler include language for the possibility of an involuntary manslaughter verdict. Kistler refused the request.
Park Miller said the district attorney’s office was pleased with the verdict and said it was satisfying to get justice for Podnenbennaya.
‘The sentence is what we expected,’ said Parks Miller. ‘He deserves to spend the rest of his life behind bars.’
