Brooklyn Man Sentenced to Life in Prison for Fatally Stabbing Former Roommate in Brighton Beach

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Wednesday, July 29, 2026

Brooklyn Man Sentenced to Life in Prison for Fatally
Stabbing Former Roommate in Brighton Beach

Defendant Ignored Order of Protection and Attacked
Victim in His Home in Early-Morning Ambush

Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez today announced that a Brooklyn man has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for fatally stabbing his former roommate inside the Brighton Beach apartment they once shared. The defendant broke into the victim's home in the early morning hours, violating a court order, and ambushed the victim.

District Attorney Gonzalez said, "This was a brutal and premeditated attack carried out in the supposed safety of the victim's home. The defendant ignored a court order, returned to the apartment they once shared and viciously took a life in a horrific act of violence. Today's sentence holds him accountable for that harm."

The District Attorney identified the defendant as Pavel Orgaev, 62, of Brighton Beach, Brooklyn. He was sentenced today by Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Eugene Guarino to life in prison without the possibility of parole. The defendant was convicted of first-degree murder, first-degree burglary and first-degree criminal contempt on December 6, 2024, following a jury trial.

The District Attorney said that, according to the evidence, in May 2020 the defendant and victim, Dimitri Buvenov, 45, were living together in a basement apartment in Brighton Beach. After an alleged physical altercation between the two left the victim with broken ribs, the defendant was arrested, and an order of protection was issued requiring him to stay away from the victim. Days later, on May 11, 2020, at approximately 3:30 a.m., the defendant walked from his nearby residence to the victim's apartment, which they had previously shared. In violation of the court order, the defendant unlawfully entered the home and fatally stabbed the victim numerous times.

The victim was discovered inside the apartment and pronounced dead at the scene.

The District Attorney thanked the KCDA Detective Investigators, the Digital Evidence Lab, and Homicide Paralegal Sarah-Jane Quashie for their assistance on the case

The case was prosecuted by Senior Assistant District Attorney Steven Bravo, of the District Attorney's Homicide Bureau, and Assistant District Attorney Chow Xie, Deputy Bureau Chief, under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney Leila Rosini, Homicide Bureau Chief.

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