Bucharian Dentist Shot to Death

NYTimes Article 02-17-08

Dentist Shot to Death While Taking Daughter to Queens Park

A 34-year-old orthodontist was shot and killed yesterday morning after leaving his office to take his 5-year-old daughter to a nearby playground in Queens, the police said. The girl was not injured.

The orthodontist, Dr. Daniel Malakov, was shot twice in the chest at an entryway to the Annadale Playground, on 64th Road at Yellowstone Boulevard, shortly before 11 a.m., the police said. He was taken to North Shore University Hospital at Forest Hills, where he was pronounced dead.

No one had been arrested as of yesterday evening, and the police said they had not identified any suspects or a motive. A woman, who would not give her name, said she saw men wearing black jackets run from the scene.

The girl, the only child of the orthodontist and his former wife, was the subject of a bitter custody dispute between the couple, relatives said yesterday. The playground was a regular meeting spot between visits for the girl’s parents.

“Four days or five days ago, he got custody of the child,” said the victim’s cousin Dr. Albert Malakov, 43, a dentist. “He took the baby to the mom today in the park, one block from his office. As far as I heard, they were all together, and then he was shot.”

Dr. Malakov moved to the United States from Uzbekistan in 1991, his cousin said, and attended the New York University College of Dentistry and the Columbia University College of Dental Medicine. He married a physician, and they divorced about four years ago, the cousin said.

Daniel Malakov usually worked a few hours every Sunday to accommodate his school-age patients in braces. A note taped to the office door yesterday said: “We are closed Sunday. Sorry.”

A doughnut shop owner near the orthodontist’s office said he was popular among his patients.

“A lot of my customers, they come in here and have coffee and tell me they can’t afford it, the work that he does, but that he will do it for half price,” said the shop owner, Lan Li. “He still does it. He’s very honest.”

The victim’s nephew, Ariel Malakov, 15, said Daniel Malakov gave his daughter anything she wished.

“For the past four or five days he had his daughter,” Ariel said. “He was making sure she was not scared, that she felt all right.”

Ariel said Dr. Malakov was distressed by the custody dispute, which led to a heated argument the night he took custody.

“My mom said to him, ‘Congratulations, you must be so happy, you have custody of your daughter now,’” Ariel said. “He said ‘No, I love her, but I really didn’t want it to happen like this. A daughter should have a father and a mother in her life. She shouldn’t have to go through this.’”

Daryl Khan contributed reporting.