New York Local News

NEW YORK (CBS) ― The Georgia man accused of gunning down a Queens dentist in front of his estranged wife and 4-year-old daughter has been brought to New York where he was finally arraigned on Thursday morning.

Mikhail Mallayev, 50, an Uzbekistan immigrant who resides in Chamblee, Ga., was arrested in November and faces second-degree murder charges for the Oct. 28 murder of 34-year-old Daniel Malakov.

The Queens courtroom was packed as Mallayev faced a judge for his arraignment hearing. Mallayev had been fighting extradition from Georgia.

"We really, really hope he's gonna be in prison for the rest of his life like he deserves" says Gavril Malakov, Daniel's brother.

Mallayev arrived in New York just before 5 yesterday afternoon. CBS 2 filmed exclusive footage of Mallayev being escorted through John F. Kennedy airport under heavy police guard. He was then swiftly taken to the 112th precinct station to be fingerprinted and photographed.

Police revealed after his arrest that Mallayev was linked to Malakov through marriage, apparently related to Malakov's estranged wife, Dr. Mazoltuv Borukhova.

Mallayev was denied bail, and is expected to stand in lineups sometime next week.

In a press conference today, District Attorney Richard A. Brown said Mallayev did not act alone.

"Mr. Mallayev is the sole individual who has been indicted but the indictment suggests that others may be involved," he said.

That could include Borukhova, who vehemently denied to CBS 2 any involvement in the murder.

Gavril Malakov isn't so sure though. "I think it's becoming more apparent that it's her who hired him and I think truth will come out," he said Thursday.

In court Thursday, Brown also said there were 65 calls made between Mallayev and Borukhova before the murder. Her attorney, however, told CBS 2's Investigative Reporter Scott Weinberg that if there was anything to those calls, police would have already taken action against her.

Malakov was killed while dropping off his daughter to Borukhova at a Forest Hills playground. Police say as the child went to greet her mother, a gunman wearing a black leather jacket and a dark hat approached the dentist, shot three rounds into his chest, and fled.

Police recovered a bleach bottle covered with tape that they believe was used as a makeshift silencer, and fingerprints lifted from the bottle led to Mallayev's arrest.

His fingerprints were on file stemming from a 1994 farebeating.

There was immediate speculation following the murder that Borukhova may have been involved, though she said in an interview with CBS 2 that she has nothing to do with the shooting. 

Malakov's mother, however, recognized a picture of Mallayev immediately and even said the suspect was in the couple's wedding.

But CBS 2 learned after Mallayev's arrest, detectives served warrants at Borukhova's apartment, her office, and two of her sisters' apartments, removing computers and videos from each location.

The death shocked his close-knit community of Bukharan Jews from the former Soviet republic of Uzbekistan.

"We lost a young, energetic, spiritual and promising member of the community," said Rabbi Itzhak Yehoshua, head of the Bukharian Rabbinical Council of America. "We will miss him for many years."

Malakov emigrated to the United States from Tashkent, one of tens of thousands of Bukharan Jews who arrived in the 1990s after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. He studied at New York University and Columbia University.

"He was able to accomplish the American dream," said Yehoshua. "There's a lot of grief in the community."

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