Semyon Varlamov takes the stand to defend himself

 

Day five of the Semyon Varlamov civil trial featured testimony by the Avalanche goaltender in which he presented his side of the events in the time leading up to, including, and following the October 29, 2013 incident. For complete coverage of the case thus far, see recaps for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

The defense started Varlamov’s testimony by addressing statements Evgeniya Vavrinyuk made in her police report, a report in which Vavrinyuk herself testified earlier in the week contained statements by her that did not accurately reflect events as they actually happened. Varlamov emphatically replied, “Nyet” when asked if he hit, kicked or stomped on Vavrinyuk. Again he said no when asked if he held her down by the neck with his knee, pulled her hair, or slammed her face into the ground. The defense then switched gears, asking questions that would help familiarize the jury with the defendant.

Varlamov described his life in Russia and his efforts to become an NHL goaltender. The defense established the rigors of an NHL season, paying particular attention to the amount of time spent in practices and on the road, laying a foundation for the reasons Vavrinyuk spent time alone while she lived with Varlamov in Denver.

Testimony moved on to how the defendant met the plaintiff. Varlamov described how the two initially met during the off-season in 2009 while he was visiting his family in Russia. The two began communicating and spent some time together before he had to go to Finland for training at the end of August 2009. Over the next three years, the two communicated occasionally and met in person several times, including a visit by Vavrinyuk to Denver and Los Cabos, Mexico.

They started dating in earnest in September 2012, during the NHL lockout. Varlamov returned to Russia to play for Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, which allowed Vavrinyuk and him to spend time together until early January. It was during that time that Vavrinyuk tattooed Varlamov’s name on her wrist, a move that embarrassed him as they were not in a relationship. He felt it was too soon for her to be saying that she loved him and wanted to start a family with him. He noted that she still has the tattoo.

When the lockout ended in early January 2013, Varlamov and Vavrinyuk returned to the United States together. As Varlamov invited Vavrinyuk to his home, he felt it was his responsibility to support her, so she did not pay rent or help with living expenses. The two spent the majority of his off time together, but the NHL lockout forced an unusually busy season for the league.

Varlamov testified that it was a “tense schedule” and that they essentially “played (games) every other day.” This upset Vavrinyuk as she disliked being alone so much. Varlamov introduced her to others and helped to enroll her in English classes so that she would have something to do while he was away. He even encouraged her to find a job; he grew up watching his mother work and believed working was a positive thing in a woman’s life.

The two broke up at the end of February 2013. Varlamov felt Vavrinyuk was too unhappy in the relationship for it to work. This upset Vavrinyuk, and she returned to Russia reluctantly. While participating in the World Championships in the summer of 2013, Vavrinyuk texted Varlamov, and the two began talking once again. Later that summer, the two went to Maldives for vacation together. Varlamov returned to the United States for training camp, but the two continued communicating. It was at the end of September 2013 when he invited her to return to Denver. She moved into his apartment with him.

The testimony turned its focus on the night of October 28, 2013 at that point. Varlamov described purchasing costumes: Little Red Riding Hood for her and Duffman of the Simpsons for him. The defense showed a picture of his costume, detailing that it was a single piece with a cape, hat, and belt designed to hold beer cans. Varlamov relayed the events of the evening, starting with the hours before the team Halloween party at the Chophouse, details that echoed what Yevgeniy “Jay” Khaletskiy said yesterday on the stand.

When the couple left for the party, Varlamov gave Vavrinyuk the keys to the apartment and elevator as she had a purse, and he did not have pockets. This was an important detail that would be addressed later in the day. Varlamov testified that the two were having fun at the party, talking to other members of the team and their wives, dancing, and playing games. He detailed how much alcohol he had drank throughout the evening, and while he didn’t keep exact count, he believed it totaled five to seven beers and two shots of Jagermeister. However, he did not consider himself drunk.

He felt Vavrinyuk was having fun until he was sitting on his own, looking at his phone, and she approached him, screaming at him and accusing him of texting other women. At that point, it seemed to him that she was drunk, and her behavior confused and embarrassed him. He attempted to calm her down, but she continued to scream at him and wave her arms around. He said it was upsetting, and when he couldn’t listen anymore, he left for the men’s restroom.

As testified earlier by Patrick Bordeleau, Vavrinyuk followed him into the restroom. Varlamov was again embarrassed as his two teammates, Bordeleau and Cody McLeod, were in there, urinating. Varlamov asked her to leave, stating it was not appropriate for her to be there, and as she kept yelling, the two teammates exited. She followed shortly thereafter, as did Varlamov. At this point, Varlamov asked her to leave the party, and she took a taxi home to the apartment around 11 p.m.

Varlamov remained at the party until it ended at midnight and then accompanied Bordeleau and PA Parenteau to Spill Lounge. The group stayed past closing, with Varlamov’s teammates leaving him sometime after 2:00 a.m. The Russian remained at Spill, talking with the bartender, until approximately 5:30 a.m. As the bar was closed, he did not have any additional alcohol. Upon leaving Spill, he walked home; it took about 15 minutes for him to arrive.

Once he got home, he realized he did not have his apartment key or elevator access key and had to ask the concierge to let him up to his place. The defense showed video for the jury from security cameras at the apartment building (outside, lobby, and elevator). The defense questioned Varlamov about his behavior, making a point of the facts that he was not stumbling or otherwise acting intoxicated and that his costume was neither ripped nor dirty and did not have blood stains on it as Vavrinyuk claimed during her testimony.

The defense then had Varlamov detail what happened when he came into the apartment. He testified that Vavrinyuk heard him enter, and while he was removing his shoes, she exited the master bedroom and began yelling at him. She approached him and yelled, “Where did you go, bitch?” and “Did you cheat on me? Did you go with prostitutes or whores? Where did you go? Why didn’t you come home? I was waiting for you, bitch. Where have you been?” Varlamov stated that she was standing in front of him while saying this and that he responded by raising his own voice, explaining that he’d gone to the bar with his teammates.

The two yelled back and forth and then, according to the testimony, Vavrinyuk punched Varlamov in the jaw “very hard.” Varlamov said he was in shock and yelled at her, “What the hell are you doing? Why did you do that?” He said that Vavrinyuk hit him a second time in the jaw. After the second time, Varlamov said he was in shock and didn’t want her to hit him again, so he grabbed her upper arms and held her there. She began to use her legs, kicking at him, so he started pushing her back into the bedroom. He eventually backed her up to the bed and laid her down.

He insisted he never said to her, “If we were not in America, I could kill you.” He claimed she never hit her head.

Varlamov then testified that he went into the kitchen and Vavrinyuk followed him. There, she threw a glass at him, barely missing his head. It shattered behind him. Then, he said, she took another glass and threw it at him, breaking that one as well. Varlamov once again expressed shock and became scared that she would hit him with the glass, so he moved towards the second bedroom in order to lock himself inside.

Vavrinyuk followed him and pushed her leg in between the door and the door frame, keeping it open. She continued to try to push her way into the room, getting her whole body into the opening at one point. Varlamov pushed her out of the opening and was able to eventually close and lock the door. The two yelled at each other for a bit longer, and then he hung his costume up in the closet and went to bed.

At around 11 a.m. the next morning, he got left the room to find her cleaning up the kitchen and sweeping up the broken glass. He said he was going to lunch and left the apartment. He went to a nearby restaurant, and during his meal received a text from her, stating that she was going to have an investigator come by and record the injuries and that she would tell the person Varlamov beat her up. He did not think she was being serious, but when she text again that he should have his lawyer contact hers, he realized this was serious.

He called his agent, and the two of them decided it would be best if Varlamov went back to the apartment, packed her belongings, cut off her access to his credit card, and changed the locks. Varlamov returned the apartment, and as he was taking her suitcases down to the lobby, Vavrinyuk was exiting the elevator. He quickly returned to the apartment, shut and locked the door, and told her it was over and that she was not allowed back in the apartment. He said he tried to set up a hotel for her and to help adjust her ticket so that she could go back to Russia, but she said she didn’t need anything from him other than his lawyer’s number.

The following day, Varlamov received a phone call from Avalanche head coach Patrick Roy, telling him that he needed to come to the Pepsi Center as charges had been filed against him. In a meeting with Roy, Greg Sherman, Charlotte Graham, and Jean Martineau, Varlamov relayed what had happened. Varlamov’s agent helped him secure an attorney, and the two of them went to the police station together.

During cross examination, the plaintiff’s attorney, Olaf Muller, took pains to illustrate Varlamov as being stronger and bigger than Vavrinyuk. He also peppered Varlamov with questions about how much he had to drink that night, eventually locking down an amount of alcohol that was more than he had earlier testified, determining he’d had 12-15 drinks on October 28th.

Muller asked various questions about Varlamov’s alcohol tolerance, showing that the goaltender did not drink often and, therefore, would feel the effects of alcohol sooner than a regular drinker. Varlamov admitted he could feel the effects of alcohol after two beers, but would not consider him drunk until he’d had eight or more.

Muller began to illustrate inconsistencies in Varlamov’s testimony, especially as it related to how he described the physical confrontation in the apartment. The attorney’s line of questioning focused on the location of the confrontation more than anything else.

The day ended with the jury asking questions, most of which was in order to clarify earlier statements. Evidence presentation is expected to conclude Monday morning, and due to scheduling conflicts, the trial will recess until Tuesday morning, at which time the jury will be released for deliberation.