The Queens woman accused of plotting to kill her estranged husband testified yesterday and today. Dr. Mazoltuv Borukhova and her husband Daniel Malakov were embroiled in a bitter custody battle over their young daughter Michelle. Malakov was fatally shot while dropping off Michelle to Borukhova in a Queens playground in October 2007.
A homemade silencer found at the scene had the fingerprints of Borukhova's uncle by marriage, Mikhail Mallayev. Borukhova was arrested last year, with the Queens DA's office noting that she made 90 phone calls to her uncle during a three-week period leading up the murder. Yesterday, while maintaining her innocence, she claimed she had called her uncle and aunt because she was monitoring her aunt's blood pressure. However, when the prosecutor asked why her relatives' EKG readings didn't have the correct timestamp, the Post reports, "Borukhova said she never set the machine's date and time stamps. But prosecutor Brad Leventhal then had her identify EKG readouts from 10 patients whose time stamps matched their appointments.
Today, she claimed that she didn't hear the gunshots—or see the killer—though she was just a few feet away. The NY Times reported that Malakov's father said of Borukhova, "She is ice heart. She is a professional liar," yesterday.
