Queens father shot to death

  Eyewitness News

(Queens - WABC, October 28, 2007) (WABC) -- A young father in Queens was murdered Sunday. Police are Sunday night investigating whether it may have been connected to a recent custody battle.

The shooting happened just before 11 a.m. in a playground near 102nd Street and 64th Avenue in Forest Hills.

Eyewitness News reporter Lucy Yang has the latest at the 112 precinct.

It was horrible and cold-blooded murder right outside of a children's playground. Now, a young father is dead.

His ex-wife is inside of the 112th precinct being questioned by detectives.

The young father was gunned down outside of a playground in Forest Hills Sunday morning.

You can see where the paramedics tried to save his life but they could not undo the damage from two bullets to the chest.

"We must find the killer. Help us, please," said victim's aunt, Hannah Mushiyeva. "He was very nice man."

The victim was 34-year-old Daniel Malakov, an orthodontist in Queens.

Relatives tell Eyewitness News he was divorced, a few days ago awarded custody of his 5-year-old daughter, Michelle.

Officials confirmed he arranged for the ex-wife to spend the day with the daughter when he went to playground to hand over the child, authorities believe a gunman was waiting for him.

As mourners filled the Malakov's home, other families left horrified that their little oasis for children had become a crime scene.

It is not clear at this hour if the young child witnessed the murder. We're told she was not harmed.

If the gunman had not entered the picture, Malakov would have picked up his daughter at 5 p.m. Sunday evening. Instead, she has no father to come home to.

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