Forest Hills dentist’s wife charged in crime

Stephen Scaring, a lawyer for Dr. Mazoltuv Borukhova, is confident that his client will be acquitted of all charges following her grand jury indictment that she conspired to kill her ex-husband, orthodontist Daniel Malakov.
The stoic woman - who held her head high during court proceedings on Friday, February 8 - is accused of paying a hired killer, her uncle by marriage, Mikhail Mallayev, $20,000 to fatally shoot Malakov in the chest in the Annadale playground, near P.S. 175, on Sunday, October 28, 2007.
The murder took place in front of the couple’s four-year-old daughter, Michelle, during a scheduled drop-off of the girl.
“We’re going to go to trial and she going to be acquitted,” said Scaring, who claims the prosecution has no evidence of her involvement.
“I want you to die like him,” Khaiko Malakov yelled in his native Russian to Borukhova, according to published reports.
Following the incident, officers of the 112th Precinct in Forest Hills questioned Borukhova, a physician, who, according to witnesses, tried to perform CPR on her ex-husband.
At the time, police officials would neither confirm nor deny whether the estranged wife was considered a suspect.
“We spoke to her, but we speak to a lot of people during an investigation,” said Sergeant Kevin Hayes, a spokesperson for the New York Police Department (NYPD).
Police also seized computers from Borukhova’s home and office during the investigation.
Malakov’s mother, Malka, accused Borukhova of orchestrating the murder of the Ivy-league-educated dentist from the outset.
Following her father’s execution, Michelle went to live with his parents, but then was placed in foster care as her mother fought to regain custody.
Nearly a month after the murder, Mallayev, 50, was taken into police custody at his home in Chamblee, Georgia.
Authorities matched his fingerprints - which were on file with the New York Police Department from a 1994 arrest - to eight which were found on the crude bleach bottle and duct tape silencer that was used to muffle the gunshots.
After extradition to New York last month, Mallayev, who was ordered by the court to shave his beard, was arraigned on second-degree murder charges, two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon and one count of third-degree criminal possession of a weapon.
At his last court appearance, prosecutors revealed that Mallayev and Borukhova phoned each other nearly 90 times before the killing, and that one of the calls was placed near the scene.
According to District Attorney Richard A. Brown, following the murder, Borukhova and Mallayev had two more telephone conversations, which were followed by a meeting at Borukhova’s Forest Hills medical office.
On November 8, in Brooklyn, according to Brown, Mallayev deposited a total of $19,800 into 10 different bank accounts.
Both Mallayev and Borukhova were arraigned on Friday, February 8 before Queens County Supreme Court Justice Robert J. Hanophy on a five-count indictment charging them each with first-degree murder, second-degree murder and second-degree conspiracy.
These charges are in addition to those Mallayev already faces.
He is being held at Rikers Island; Borukhova was ordered remanded without bail.
The defendants each face life in prison without parole if convicted.
The next court date is set for February 15.
Michael Siff, Mallayev’s attorney, told The Courier Sun, “This is a fact-finding period. We have to examine all the evidence the District Attorney has turned over.”
Malakov’s family is fighting for custody of Michelle, who turns five on February 16.