Slain Dentist's Estranged Wife Arrested for His Murder

Three and a half months after Queens orthodontist Daniel Malakov was gunned down at a Queens playground in front of his young daughter, his estranged wife was arrested for his murder. Dr. Mazoltuv Borukhova was charged with murder and conspiracy and taken to a precinct house from her Forest Hills home. Malakov's mother told the Daily News, "They're dirty...her whole family, mother, sisters, all of them are animals. They committed such a dirty act, and I ask God for them to get everything they did to me, so that it would come back to them from God."

Malakov and Borukhova had been embroiled in a bitter custody dispute over their 4- (or 5-) year-old daughter Michelle after Malakov had been granted temporary custody. The day of his murder, he was dropping the child off to Borukhova, who performed CPR on her dying husband. Borukhova denied any involvement in the killing, but the man arrested in his shooting, based on fingerprints found on a homemade silencer, turned out to be a Borukhova's relation by marriage. The Queens DA's office revealed that Borukhova and suspect Mikhail Mallayev exchanged 65 phone calls - including one before the shooting - in the months leading up the murder.

Little Michelle Malakov has been in foster care since the killing; at family court hearings to determine custody after the murder, Borukhova accused Malakov of abuse and a State Senator revealed Borukhova and her sisters asked her what would happen if (a) Malakov wouldn't be able to care for Michelle or (b) Michelle disappeared. The Queens DA Richard Brown will be having a press conference today to discuss the charges.