Overseas Suspect Back In U.S., Faces Charges In Beating Death Of Shop Owner
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - An Australian man will appear in court Monday in connection to a 2009 murder that happened in Woodmere, N.Y.
Vladimir Tolstykh's family may finally feel a sense of hope that justice is within reach, reports CBS New York's Hazel Sanchez.
Nearly 10 years ago, the 35-year-old father of two was beaten to death as he was heading into work at Brighton Bazaar, his family business in Brighton Beach.
His killers eluded police by fleeing the country, but in 2014 one of the suspects, 37-year-old Akabar Gadjiyev, was arrested in Australia. He has now been extradited to the United States to face charges connected to the beating death.
Police say in March 2009, two masked men jumped Tolstykh after he parked his car in this parking lot down the street from his workplace.
Detectives were convinced the attackers knew Tolstykh's daily routine, knowing he would be carrying thousands of dollars in cash that Saturday afternoon to pay his employees.
A second suspect fled to Turkmenistan, where he remains. The United States continues to seek his extradition.
Tolstckh's wife, who still works at the family store, is expected to be in court to see the man accused of killing her husband.
The children, now 10 and 11 years old, sadly never really knew their father.