Well-Known Jeweler Aron Aranbayev Killed in Hit-and-Run

Police say the crime occurred on Sunday at 11:15pm just steps away from his Forest Hills home, shortly after witnesses saw Aranbayev in a verbal altercation with the driver of a vehicle passing by. He died on Monday.

Police have yet to name the suspect, but they say the driver knew Aranbayev and that the hit-and-run stemmed from a dispute between them.

The driver of a dark Dodge Magnum is said to have run the jeweler down after Aranbayev yelled at him to stop driving so fast on his street.

A Queens jeweler to the stars was killed by a hit-and-run driver after the two got into a fight Sunday night in Forest Hills, police said.

Neighbor Alexander Balanevsky said Aranbayev was always polite. “The guy go back and hit him, that’s it”. Police believe the two may have been arguing over a parking spot.

Aranbayev, 40, was one of the founders of Rafaello & Co, a Diamond District jeweler that counted among its clients several celebrities, including Jay Z, Jamie Foxx, Alicia Keys, Ne-Yo, T-Pain, Carmelo Anthony and Drake, according to their website.

After starting with a jewelry wholesale business when he came to the US, Aranbayev and his relatives opened a store in 2009 and their work soon became renowned. “We give our close condolences to the family, and we hope everything will be alright”, said another. She said she just stepped out of the house to look at the “scene” where Aranbayev was struck before going to the funeral. “His work was his life …” Aranbayev’s Instagram had pictures of him posing with many of those clients, including Khloé Kardashian.

Aranbayev’s grieving cousin Gabriel Jacobs, who worked with him at Rafaello & Co., said, “We have no idea who could do this”. This Tuesday morning, friends and family of the killed jeweler to the stars came together to mourn the loss of the 40-year-old man.