Queens, NY: Richmond Hill man killed wife in front of kids: DA She had order of protection against him

A South Richmond Hill man was arraigned on murder and other charges on Jan. 25 after he allegedly killed his wife in front of their three children. He has been ordered held without bail and must return to court on Feb. 2, the Queens District Attorney’s Office said last week.
Oscar Novakovsky, 37, is accused of fatally stabbing his estranged wife, Diane Sharma, 32, in the neck, according to the DA. The killing allegedly took place between midnight and 1 a.m. on Jan. 15 inside the victim’s apartment on 117th Street in South Richmond Hill.
The murder occurred in front of Sharma’s children — ages three, five and nine — who saw her with lacerations to her hands and arms and the knife protruding out of her neck.
In statements made to the police at the time of his arrest, Novakovsky allegedly said, in part, “... The kids were screaming. The kids were trying to pull me off and were crying.” He was taken to an area hospital for treatment of cuts to his hands and arms, according to the DA.
Sharma had obtained an order of protection against Novakovsky after he allegedly tried to strangle her in September. It was still in effect at the time of the murder, according to the DA.
“He’s a brutal monster,” Sharma’s father, Mazuras Ali, 56, told the Chronicle the day after the incident.
A trail of blood from the house and along the sidewalk led police to the accused killer, Ali said. The NYPD asked him to identify the suspect at the scene and he did, stating that it was his son-in-law.
“I was totally shocked,” Ali said. “I never thought he could do something like this to her.”
Novakovsky, of 121st Street, is being charged with one count of second-degree murder, one count of aggravated criminal contempt, three counts of second-degree criminal contempt, three counts of endangering the welfare of a child and one count of fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon. He faces 25 years to life in prison if convicted.