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Malakov trial date set for January

By Ivan Pereira

A date was set last week for the long−awaited trial of the duo accused of plotting the brazen shooting of a Forest Hills dentist right in front of his young daughter.

Queens Supreme Court Justice Robert Hanophy decided last Thursday to open Mikhail Mallayev and Mazoltuv Borukhova’s joint murder and conspiracy trial on Jan. 26.

Borukhova, 35, has been charged with hiring Mallayev, 51, her distant uncle, to kill her estranged husband, Daniel Malakov, last year after he gained custody of their 5−year−old daughter, Michelle, according to Queens prosecutors.

Although the trial has a tentative timetable set, Malakov’s father, Khaifka Malakov, said he is still frustrated that his son’s suspected killers have not faced full justice.

“It’s too long. Now it takes 1 12 years to get this going? I don’t understand this,” he said outside the courtroom.

Mallayev and Borukhova’s relatives did not have any comment about the developments. A handcuffed Borukhova’s face lit up as she gleefully nodded to her family during the 10−minute court conference.

On Oct. 28, 2007, Malakov, 34, a orthodontist who ran a private practice near his Forest Hills house, was shot twice in the chest as he was taking Michelle to visit her mother at the Annadale Playground at 64th Road and Yellowstone Boulevard. He had gained custody of the girl six days before his death following a long and bitter custody dispute with Borukhova.

Malakov’s family immediately blamed the Borukhovas for having a role in the shooting and a long police investigation backed up their suspicions. Last November, detectives arrested Mallayev at his home in suburban Atlanta, after they matched his fingerprints to prints found on a makeshift silencer left at the playground by the shooter.

In February, Borukhova was arrested and charged with first−degree murder and conspiracy along with Mallayev, her distant uncle.

Investigators said she and Mallayev had more than 90 phone conversations in the weeks leading up to the murder and only two following it. She allegedly denied hearing a gunshot or seeing the shooter despite being less than 10 feet from her ex−husband when he was killed, according to detectives.

If convicted, both face up to life in prison without parole.

Reach reporter Ivan Pereira by e−mail at ipereira@timesledger.com or by phone at 718−229−0300, Ext. 146.