A well-known psychiatrist with a reported $2.5 million life insurance policy. A house guest with a felony record. A drunken party the night before.

The story was convoluted, but jurors still convicted 26-year-old Ibn Aquil of Baltimore of second-degree attempted murder for trying to strangle his cousin’s husband last spring.

After deliberating five hours over two days, the jury of eight women and four men also convicted Aquil of first-degree assault in the April 13, 2009, attack on Barry Maletzky, 68.

Sentencing before Clark County Superior Court Judge Rich Melnick was set for June 18.

Second-degree attempted murder carries a minimum sentence of nine years in prison. Aquil will likely face more time because of several prior felony convictions in Maryland, including arson and burglary, which will boost the potential sentence, Deputy Prosecutor Tony Golik said.

Time served for attempted murder and first-degree assault will be counted concurrently.

Testimony in the three-day trial indicated Aquil came with several family members from Baltimore to visit his 32-year-old cousin, Tiara Maletzky, last spring. The prosecution alleged he tried to kill Maletzky for his life insurance policy, for which Tiara — Maletzky’s wife —was a beneficiary.

Aquil was staying with the couple at Maletzky’s 8,000-square-foot home on Northeast 193rd Street. After attending a party with Tiara and another relative, an intoxicated Aquil arrived back at Maletzky’s house around 6 a.m. April 13.

Maletzky told jurors he was sleeping on the couch in his living room, letting his in-laws sleep in his bedroom, when he awoke to someone choking him. He only glimpsed his assailant before he fell unconscious.

Maletzky’s wife, Tiara, called 911, identifying Aquil as the attacker. The defendant then fled the home, jumping into an outdoor pool before climbing onto a neighbor’s roof. When sheriff’s deputies responded, Aquil told them, “I surrender,” Golik said.

The deputy prosecutor said in his closing argument that Aquil was present when Tiara discussed the life insurance policy with a relative. Golik, noting Aquil then chatted about what he would do with $2.5 million, identified that as the motive for the crime.

Defense attorney Suzan Clark had argued that someone else could have attacked Maletzky. In a no-contact order filed by Maletzky several days after the incident, the psychiatrist claimed another man present at the time — his wife’s former boyfriend — had tried to strangle him.

Maletzky, however, later recanted the story, saying he made up that story because he was scared of the former boyfriend.

The psychiatrist was once well-known in the Vancouver-Portland metro area for being an expert witness for defense attorneys at trial, often in insanity cases. His license has since been revoked in New York and Oregon for overstating his credentials.

Maletzky, who now lives in Portland, said he has been estranged from Tiara since about the time of the crime. He said they are in the process of finalizing a divorce.

Laura McVicker: 360-735-4516 or laura.mcvicker@columbian.com.

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