The killers responsible for the broad-daylight slaying of a Forest Hills dentist in front of his daughter were convicted of first-degree murder in Queens County Court last week, and the family ties that bind the killers to their victim are almost as shocking as the reasoning why a mother would arrange to have her ex-husband gunned down in front of their daughter.

The 2007 murder of Dr. Daniel Malakov, a prominent Forest Hills dentist, grabbed front page headlines due to the fact that it occurred in front of his ex-wife, Dr. Mazoltuv Borukhova, and the couple’s five-year-old daughter on a Sunday afternoon in a crowded park.

After finding a homemade silencer in the park, Borukhova’s cousin, Mikhail Mallayev was identified as the shooter, and further investigation revealed that Borukhova had paid her cousin to murder the father of her child as the twisted finale to what relatives described as a lengthy custody battle.

According to testimony at the trial, Borukhova and Mallayev had nearly 100 telephone conversations with each other in the weeks leading up to murder as they came to an agreement regarding the murder of Malakov.

On October 28, 2007, Borukhov arranged to exchange their daughter at Annadale Playground in Forest Hills. After the broken family reunited at the park, Mallayev ran up to the couple and shot Malakov twice in the chest. Borukhov performed CPR on her ex-husband, who was pronounced dead later that day.

As revealed in the testimony, Borukhova and Mallayev had two phone conversations after the murder, at which point Borukhova deposited nearly $20,000 in ten different bank accounts.

After the silencer was found in the park and fingerprints were matched to Mallayev, he was apprehended in Georgia. After being questioned by authorities, Borukhova was arrested as well, and the two were both charged with the Malakov’s murder.

Both Borkhova and Mallayev were found guilty of first-degree murder and second-degree conspiracy. Mallayev was also convicted of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon. Their sentencing is set for April 21, and they both face up to life in prison for their crimes.

After the conviction was announced, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown spoke candidly about the tragedy and the effect that it has had on the couple’s young daughter, who was four at the time of the shooting.

“A four-year-old little girl has been forever traumatized by having witnessed the assassination of her father and that which occurred will forever be etched in her memory,” said Brown. “But beyond that, the child has lost not only her father, but her mother as well. Her father has been shot to death, and her mother now faces the prospect of spending the rest of her life in prison for having arranged for the father’s murder.”