Oct 30, 2007 6:12 pm US/Eastern
Murdered Dentist's Father, Community Badly Shaken
Still No Arrests In Murder Of Dr. Daniel Malakov
FOREST HILLS, N.Y. (CBS) ―
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Police are investigating the shooting death of Queens dentist Daniel Malakov.
CBS
The devastated father of a New York dentist who was gunned down in broad daylight in front of his young daughter is speaking out in a cry for help after there have still be no arrests yet in the tragic crime.
"Maybe somebody saw from window, maybe somebody saw from apartment, maybe from street, if they can help, please help us, help police," Khaika Malakov tells CBS 2.
He has been heartbroken since his son, Dr. Daniel Malakov, was murdered at a Queens playground over the weekend. Dr Malakov had brought his 4-year-old daughter there to meet his estranged wife, Dr. Mozoltuv Borukhova, who allegedly had made violent threats to her husband after a judge awarded him custody of their daughter.
Police say a gunman shot him and escaped.
"Somebody called me, 'Somebody shot him!'" Mr. Malakov said.
The father says his son's wife and her family had become abusive in the days leading up to the shooting, even threatening their lives.
"They tell us you you will die, you will this, your will die, you are not good," he said.
Borukhova has been questioned by police, but has not been accused of anything.
"The chief rabbi here has urged members of the community not to pre-judge the case," said Stephen Scaring, Borukhova's attorney.
Outside the victim's former office, well-wishers have created a makeshift memorial. A sign on the door alludes to the tragedy.
With the day ending the way it began -- no word that the horrific crime was any closer to being solved -- Mr. Malakov continues to mourn the loss of his son.
"I don't know who can do it like this," he cried. "I don't know who can help us."
Meanwhile, members of the Bukharan Jewish community are also shocked that a murder could happen within their own. Grisly crimes don't often happen in Forest Hills, and residents say it's the kind of place where people know everyone's name and everyone's businesss.
"It's so strange, it's so unbelievable it would happen to a Bukharan family," said Fira Furman, a Forest Hills resident.
Residents are still debating whether it was Borukhova behind the murder.
"Come on, we all threaten each other. With kids, it was just words which comes out of her mouth. She was angry because he had her kids," one resident said.
Bukharan Jews come from central Asia, with most residents here arriving in the early 1990s after the breakup of the Soviet Union.
Community leader Boris Kandov brags that his phone book lists the name of every Bukharan Jew in the country. "Around 50,000 Bukharan Jews. Every one is in the telephone book," he says.
The chief rabbi of the community says he knew Dr. Malakov and his wife very well. He counseled the troubled couple prior to their divorce. "It was the American dream -- two young people came to America. They became doctors, they married, had a beautiful girl and they lived nicely and started all sorts of a nasty separation case, a divorce case," said Rabbi Itzhak Yehoshua. "It's an American dream that ended like a nightmare."
On Tuesday, old men played dominos in the playground where Dr. Malakov was murdered. Things seemed normal, though it's apparent the community is badly shaken.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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