Housekeeper Arraigned on Murder Count

A Beverly Hills housekeeper who police say stabbed her elderly boss to death appeared in court Wednesday for arraignment on a charge of murder.

Tanya Belenkaya, 44, grinned broadly and sang loudly at times while public defender Lynn Meltzer-Brewer requested additional time to have her client evaluated by a doctor or psychiatrist. Ultimately, the Ukraine native did not enter a plea, but will do so at another hearing Monday in Santa Monica Superior Court.

Police say Belenkaya murdered Joseph Wiener, an elderly Holocaust survivor, while at his home in the 500 block of North Rexford Drive on Monday night. According to the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office, Belenkaya had worked as a live-in housekeeper for Wiener for five years.

In court Wednesday, the short and wiry defendant shouted “Hello everybody!” as she was escorted into the courtroom by sheriff’s deputies. As she walked past a Beverly Hills Police Department detective, she blew him a kiss, began singing to herself and swayed slightly with her hands cuffed behind her back.

Belenkaya was given a Russian interpreter, and at times shouted “No,” as her lawyer and Commissioner Roberta Kyman discussed the case. Kyman granted a motion by Meltzer-Brewer to enter a plea Monday so the defendant’s mental health could be examined.