NYPD: Suspect in Woodmere man's 2009 slaying extradited to NY

The man accused of fatally beating a Woodmere shop owner has been extradited to New York.

News 12 Staff

Feb 2, 2019, 1:27 PM

Updated 1,910 days ago

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NYPD: Suspect in Woodmere man's 2009 slaying extradited to NY
A suspect in the 2009 slaying of a Woodmere man has been extradited to the U.S. from Australia, nearly 10 years after the murder.
Vladimir Tolstykh was 35 years old when he was beaten to death on March 4, 2009. Police say he was killed near his family's business in the Brighton Beach section of Brooklyn. He left behind a wife and 3-week-old daughter, and a photograph snapped the day before his death shows him with the infant on his shoulder.
Two suspects in the slaying allegedly stole $32,000 that Tolstykh had in a payroll bag. Police say the men then fled the U.S. for Turkmenistan, part of the former Soviet Union. Officials say one of the suspects, Abakar Gadiyev, then traveled on to Australia, where he was arrested in 2014.
For five years, the victim's family had been fighting to see the accused murderer extradited to the United States. The NYPD announced Saturday morning that it had finally happened.
News 12 Long Island spoke with the victim's widow, Rita, who says she always knew this her husband's alleged killer would be brought to justice. She was overcome with emotion. 
"I'm numb. My heart is beating. I'm speechless," says Rita Tolstykh. "I'm just glad this is coming to an end, justice is being served, and my husband will rest in peace."
The second suspect in the case has not been arrested, according to police. At last check, he was living as a free man in Turkmenistan, which does not have an extradition treaty with the U.S.
The NYPD says Gadiyev is back on United States soil and will be arraigned in New York.


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