In the early hours of March 24, 2015, a 30-year-old White / Caucasian male named Natik Nisimov was found unconscious on Ocean Parkway in Brooklyn, New York. Emergency services responded to a call just after 7 a.m. and discovered Nisimov lying on the sidewalk with a single gunshot wound to his chest. He was rushed to Coney Island Hospital, where he was pronounced dead a short time later. Investigators at the scene recovered a single shell casing, but the murder weapon was not found.
Nisimov, a resident of Gravesend and the owner of a salon in Kensington, was remembered by friends as a "great kid with a great heart," although it was noted he had some personal troubles.
The investigation into Nisimov's death unfolded over the following months. In June 2015, police arrested 31-year-old Jeffrey McCrae of Brighton Beach in connection with the murder. His arrest was initially for an unrelated grand larceny charge, but during his detention, McCrae confessed to shooting Nisimov in a video statement. He was subsequently charged with second-degree murder and criminal possession of a weapon.
The motive for the shooting appeared to stem from a violent incident that occurred earlier on the night of Nisimov's death. A mutual friend of both Nisimov and McCrae had been stabbed, and McCrae claimed he saw Nisimov pass a knife to the person responsible for the stabbing. However, the investigation concluded that Nisimov had no involvement in the stabbing incident. According to trial testimony, McCrae lured his friend to the location on Ocean Parkway and killed him.
In December 2017, Jeffrey McCrae was convicted of first-degree manslaughter and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon. On February 1, 2018, a judge sentenced him to 19 years in prison for the fatal shooting of his friend. In addition to his prison sentence, McCrae was also ordered to serve five years of supervised release.
