A mentally ill and violent man fatally stabbed his mother, sister-in-law and two nephews before stuffing the children into a closet in a bloody scene in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, authorities and neighbors said.
New York Police Department (NYPD) officers found the body of 56-year-old mother Fayzidva Mavluyada, with numerous stab wounds to the neck, wrapped in a blanket inside 1590 West 8th St. near Avenue P around 10:20 p.m. Friday, officials said.
The bodies of both children – a girl, Kamila Shavkatova, 5, and a boy, Timur Shavkatov, 4 – were stabbed and stuffed into a laundry bag hidden in the closet, the sources said.
The sister-in-law of the alleged perpetrator, Maftuna Khakimova, 27, was found with numerous stab wounds.
The 24-year-old, believed to be one of Mavlyuda’s sons and the uncle of the murdered children, was arrested at the scene, police said. Charges are pending against him on Saturday.
A grieving, guilt-ridden neighbor stood outside the apartment door, recording the chaos inside, capturing the sound of children screaming, yelling in fear, calling for their mother, according to the audio.
“He keeps saying why I didn’t call the police, why I didn’t go to the door,” said the neighbor’s father, who preferred to remain anonymous. “But if he had come to the door, there would have been five dead.”
Another resident who only identified himself as Paul said he was outside smoking with his friends and saw the alleged killer leave the building.
Later, the children’s father followed them and asked the group: “Have you seen my family?”
“He ran out… and said, ‘My mother is on the ground, there is a lot of blood,’” the neighbor recalled. “My family is missing.”
The father, who called 911, entered the apartment with investigators when they arrived, the New York Post reported.
Meanwhile, the perpetrator returned to the scene, a witness said.
“I’m innocent. Arrest me. It wasn’t me,” the suspect shouted, according to Paul.
The suspect was also heard telling authorities that “there was someone else in the apartment,” the neighbor said, before police handcuffed the screaming man and put him in the back of a patrol car.
The alleged killer was well known in the building and his family did not let him out frequently, Paul said.
“He was scary,” Paul said. “I stayed away from him. He was a big, aggressive guy with a look in his eyes like a crazed bulldog.”
About a year and a half later, the man started telling people to call him “sensei,” said another resident who did not want to be identified.
“You could tell something was wrong with him,” she said. “He stopped smiling, he stopped saying ‘hello.’ I asked him if something had happened and he said, ‘Yeah, something with my dad.’ He didn’t give me any more details.”
Another neighbor heard the violence unfolding.
“I heard someone screaming, so I had a feeling something bad was happening, that someone had been hurt,” said Jennifer Ponzi, 44. “I saw three body bags come out of the coroner’s car.”
A neighbor identified as Javo said that the alleged person responsible for the deaths smoked marijuana and had moved on to consuming other types of drugs.
“When he smokes and does other things, he can’t control his anger,” the teenager said of his neighbor’s marijuana smoking habit.
Keep reading:
- Mother killed her daughter with abuse at home and had custody of her other children taken away: accusation in New York
- Woman killed her two babies in a New York shelter: accusation
- Son killed his elderly mother, NYPD says, friends in shock