Police have arrested a 76-year-old man they say gunned down his 65-year-old ex-wife outside of Brighton Beach’s Asser Levy Park last Thursday.
Following days of questioning, detectives from the 60th Precinct took Dimitry Kamenev, a resident of Brighton Seventh Street, into custody, charging him with murder.
Investigators say Kamenev opened fire on his ex-wife Alla Kamenev at the corner of W. Second Street and Sea Breeze Avenue at 11:50 am on Oct. 20 as he rolled past her on a bicycle.
Alla, a resident of Surf Avenue, was hit multiple times and died of her injuries at Coney Island Hospital.
Kamenev’s friends told reporters that he and his ex-wife were estranged, yet didn’t believe that the 76-year-old, who reportedly suffers from a number of health problems, could ride a bike — much less kill someone as he rolled by on one. Some surmised that Kamenev could have hired someone younger to kill his ex-wife.
Yet police are sure Kamenev’s responsible for his ex-wife’s death.
“He’s the shooter,” one police source told this paper. “He’s our only suspect.”
News of the slaying stunned local residents, especially since the shooting took place just paces away from a public park.
“We never have violence like that around here,” said one resident, who wished not to be named.
But Asser Levy Park has seen its share of combat: it was at the center of a lawsuit to block Borough President Markowitz’s plans to build a $64 million amphitheater. Residents said the noise booming from the new amphitheater would impact their quality of life and sued, claiming it violated an old and rarely enforced law that prohibits amplified music within 500 feet of a house of worship. A judge upheld the law and killed plans for the amphitheater’s construction, as well as future Seaside Summer Concerts — which Markowitz had hosted at the park since 1991.
Last Thursday’s slaying is the fifth murder to take place in Coney Island and Brighton Beach this year, where six murders occurred by this time last year.
Reach reporter Thomas Tracy at ttracy@cnglocal.com or by calling (718) 260-2525.
