Nov 9, 2007 3:43 pm US/Eastern
Judge Rules Against Mother In Queens Dentist Case
Daughter Grief Counseling, Supervised Visitation Rights For The Mother
QUEENS (CBS) ―
-
-
A family court judge ruled for the Queens dentist's 4-year-old daughter to remain in the custody of the ACS. They are expected back in court on December 11.
CBS
The judge in the custody battle of the 4-year-old daughter of murdered Queens dentist Dr. Daniel Malakov decided the child will stay in the care of the Administration for Children's Services.
The ruling is a blow to the child's mother, Dr. Mozoltuv Borukhova, who had been seeking custody in a long tug-of-war battle. After crying several times during the week, a much more subdued Borukhova, in the presence of her lawyer, expressed her disappointment with the court. "I'm very upset. Of course I don't agree with the judge's decision. But we will fight," she said on the steps of the courthouse immediately after the ruling.
The judge announced mandatory grief counseling for the dentist's daughter, who according to the judge, was suffering tremendously before her father's murder and certainly more so now. The decision also consisted of supervised visitation rights twice a week for the mother. The judge set December 11 as the next court date. Borukhova's lawyer, Florence Fass, believes the ruling to be irresponsible. "It's a dangerous legal precedence this court has set in a neglect case," Fass said. The ruling comes a day after the NYPD released a sketch of a man who may be a possible suspect in the murder of the Queens dentist.
Police released a sketch of the man just after 4 p.m. Thursday. The NYPD believes he is the person who shot and killed Dr. Daniel Malakov on Oct. 28 in a Forest Hills playground as he was taking his 4-year-old daughter Michelle to have a visit with his ex-wife.
Borukhova has been in court over the last two weeks trying to win custody of Michelle, but looming over everything is the murder investigation.
Borukhova has broken down several times in court and Thursday was no different. But the question remains: Who killed Michelle's father? The dead man's brother says Borukhova's mother screamed at his father, "You will be dead! And your kids will be killed!"
Fass, gave her take on what that exchange meant.
"It was sensationalism," she said. "If it was supposed to show that a 65-year-old woman was upset over the transfer of her granddaughter, the testimony succeeded."
Borukhova let out a tearful plea outside the family courthouse.
"She's everything I have. She's everything I work for. She's everything I live for," Borukhova said.
The man in the sketch is described as about 5-foot-8. Police say he's a white with a stocky build and gray hair. If you have any information on his whereabouts, please call Crimestoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
Click to enlarge
Stumble It!
Reporting
Comments