Late Friday night, July 19, 2024, police responding to an assault report in a Brooklyn, New York City apartment discovered four family members dead from multiple stab wounds. The victims were 56-year-old Fayzieva Mavlyuda, her daughter, 27-year-old Maftuna Khakimova, and her grandchildren, five-year-old Kamila Shavkatova and four-year-old Timur Shavkatov.
Officers had been dispatched to the apartment on the corner of Avenue P and West Eighth Street in the Bensonhurst neighborhood around 10:15 p.m. following a 911 call from the children’s father, who found his mother’s body.
The father, as he approached their apartment, encountered his younger brother, 24-year-old Shahboz Rajabboev, who lived in the apartment, scratched and covered in blood in the building hallway. When he asked Rajabboev where their mother was, the suspect mumbled something like “Go find her” before he left the building. The father entered the apartment and found his mother, Fayzieva Mavlyuda, dead from multiple stab wounds to the neck. He called 911 to report her death and also mentioned he could not find his wife and two children, who should have been home. While the father called 911, the suspect, Rajabboev, bizarrely called the police himself to report the dead bodies inside the home.
Responding officers found three more victims inside the home. Maftuna Khakimova, the man’s wife, was found in a bedroom, wrapped in a blanket. The bodies of the man’s children, Kamila Shavkatova and her brother Timur, were discovered in the closet of another bedroom, stuffed in laundry bags. Police determined that they had been strangled.
While investigators were at the scene, Rajabboev returned to the apartment and was taken into custody. Police did not immediately find the murder weapon and believe the suspect may have discarded it after leaving the home. Detectives suspect the killings were part of an ongoing domestic dispute.
The suspect told police in a video statement that he didn’t know what happened, claiming he had taken two grams of mushrooms. “Mushrooms” commonly refers to “magic mushrooms,” which are a type of fungi that contain the psychoactive compounds psilocybin and psilocin. These compounds are known for their hallucinogenic and psychedelic effects. He was previously arrested in 2023 for misdemeanor assault, which was later dismissed.
An apartment tenant described the father’s intense grief: “There were many family members outside here last night. I recognized some of them,” fifth-floor resident Jennifer Ponzi shared with the media. “The father was outside crying a lot. His whole world is destroyed, he lost his mother, his wife, and kids.”
The family, originally from Uzbekistan, was well-liked within the community. Neighbors shared memories of the grandmother, Fayzieva Mavlyuda, being helpful and kind. “Very good family. They live together. Mother, father, two sons, who are brothers, and the brother’s wife and their two kids,” one neighbor said. “But everyone knew him(suspect). He is a narco-man(drug abuser).”
Rajabboev faces four counts each of first and second-degree murder and was ordered held without bail. Authorities are still investigating the motive behind the killings. Detectives spent Saturday interviewing neighbors and gathering evidence. They urge anyone with information about the incident to come forward as they work diligently to piece together the events leading up to the killings and provide answers to a grieving family and community.