NY - Prosecutors Fight Appeal of Mom Who Had Her Dentist Husband Executed

Forest Hills, NY - Prosecutors struck back against the appeal by Alan Dershowitz of Mazoltuv Borukhova’s murder conviction.

Assistant District Attorneys Donna Aldea and Gary Fidel submitted a 190-page brief to the New York Court of Appeals that reaffirmed the government’s case against Borukhova, who was sent to prison last year for life for hiring her distant relative to kill her estranged husband Daniel Malakov in a Forest Hills playground nearly three years ago.

The prosecutors contend that their case against the Uzbek physician and her distant cousin, Mikhail Mallayev, was strong and they proved that the pair conspired to kill Malakov so Borukhova could regain custody of her then 4-year-old daughter, Michelle.

Advertisement:
“[The] defendant’s current claim that there was ‘no evidence’ of any ‘agreement’ between defendant and Mallayev simply defies reason,” the brief said.

Nathan Z. Dershowitz, brother of the famed O.J. Simpson attorney and member of his legal team, said in his 150-page brief earlier in the year that the prosecutors had no clear evidence proving his client’s guilt and used prejudice and bias against the defense. One of the major points of the appeal was the fact that Queens Supreme Court Justice Robert Hanophy broke up closing statements between the defense and prosecution over a weekend and allowed the assistant district attorney, Brad Leventhal, two extra days to prepare.

“To overcome deficiencies in proof, the prosecutor needed the jury to view Borukhova as manipulative, uncaring, even irreligious,” Nathan Dershowtiz said in the brief, according to the New York Law Journal.

Alan Dershowitz, who will be appearing on behalf of Borukhova and is leading the appeal, according to the Law Journal, could not be reached for comment.

Malakov, also an Uzbek immigrant, had won custody of Michelle less than a week before he was killed at the Annadale Playground on Oct. 28, 2007. He had agreed with Borukhova to drop the girl off at the playground, but he was shot in the chest when he was approaching the park.

Three weeks later Mallayev was arrested at his own home in suburban Atlanta when police discovered his fingerprints were on a makeshift silencer left at the scene by the shooter. Three months after the shooter was arrested, police charged Borukhova with murder and conspiracy after they found numerous pieces of evidence, including more than 90 phone calls exchanged between the two that tied her to the killing.

The Queens prosecutors said circumstances leading to Malakov’s death showed a clear plot had been concocted