NHL teams
Katie Strang, ESPN.com 9y

DA's office reviewing evidence

NHL, Los Angeles Kings

The lawyer for Marta Varlamova, Slava Voynov's wife, said his client did not wish for her husband to be arrested following an incident at their shared home that occurred last week.

Voynov, a defenseman for the Los Angeles Kings, was arrested on felony domestic violence charges at a Torrance, California, hospital, where Varlamova was being treated. Though he was later released on bail, a criminal investigation is ongoing with Voynov slated to appear in court Dec. 1.

"She just wants to keep her family together and keep their privacy somewhat respected to the extent that she could," Varlamova's Irvine, California-based attorney, Michael J. Walsh, told ESPN.com when reached by phone Monday afternoon.

Whether Varlamova wanted to press charges or not (she doesn't) remains irrelevant to the ongoing legal process, with Voynov arrested pursuant to violating California Penal Code 273.5 (a) Corporal Injury on an Intimate Partner. It is considered a crime against the state and is up to the discretion of the appropriate prosecutor, in this case the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office.

"In domestic violence cases, charges can be filed when determined appropriate by the DA despite what a victim desires concerning the case," said Lt. Joe Hoffman of the Redondo Beach Police Department, which arrested Voynov last Monday.

As it stands, the RBPD and Los Angeles County District Attorney's office have already met once to review the case, with the DA's office requesting further investigation.

A spokesperson for the DA's office told ESPN.com on Monday that they were in the process of reviewing the evidence.

When the two sides may meet again to determined a filing status -- misdemeanor, felony or dropping charges altogether -- remains unclear.

Hoffman told ESPN.com via email there is no set date when they will meet again, though he does not expect the process to drag out until Voynov's next court date.

Meanwhile, Voynov remains suspended indefinitely by the league as the Kings try to navigate uncharted territory about how long they could be without Voynov and what sort of implications that may have on their salary-cap situation.

According to Voynov's agent, Rolland Hedges, Voynov continues to skate on his own to keep up his conditioning in the case of future reinstatement.

Hedges said that he and his client are prepared to wait for the legal process to play out before determining what next step to take.

Though the collective bargaining agreement provides a mechanism for which Voynov can appeal his suspension, they are not rushing to do that until there is some sort of resolution on the legal front.

"We won't trigger the procedure until the investigation is further advanced," Hedges told ESPN.com when reached by phone Monday afternoon. "We know what the NHL wishes to do. We agree. Let's have the investigation further advanced until there is more information for all parties to address it. It's premature."

Walsh said his client wanted to shed her anonymity to combat false speculation as to who was involved in what he described as a "private and personal incident."

Varlamova married Voynov in August, according to Walsh, and continues to share a residence with him in Redondo Beach along with her child, who was present in the home at the time of incident, according to Walsh, but slept through it.

While Walsh, who spoke with Varlamova through a Russian-language interpreter, said he does not believe a crime was committed, he declined to elaborate about the circumstances.

"One of the reasons we're not going into detail is she doesn't want to be thrust into a role as some sort of proxy in a fight with people with different opinions about how the world should work," Walsh said.

Walsh said he could confirm that, as Voynov's lawyer Craig Renetzky told ESPN.com last week, Voynov did not strike his client.

"It was not a severe, life-threatening injury," Walsh told ESPN.com. "I can confirm that her injury was not a result of her being struck by Slava."

When asked if Voynov was responsible for causing her physical harm, Walsh responded:

"I'm not sure how I'd want to phrase that. There was an incident that led up to it. Both of them are characterizing it as an accident and that's probably all I want to say at this point," he said. "If there wasn't a criminal case pending, I'd go into more detail. It's not as horrific as some people are assuming it to be."

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