One of the daughters of black civil rights leader Malcolm X has been found dead at her Brooklyn home, four days after two men were exonerated of killing her civil rights icon father in 1965.
Malikah Shabazz, 56, was found by her daughter at her home in Midwood, Brooklyn, at 4.40pm on Monday.
Her cause of death remains unclear but police say it is not suspicious.
Malikah never met her father; her mother, Betty, was pregnant with her and her twin sister when he was shot dead at the Audubon Ballroom in Washington Heights in 1965.
Three men were arrested and convicted; Muhammad Aziz, Khalil Islam and Thomas Hagan, who later changed his name to Talmadge Hayer and then Mujahid Halim.
All three spent decades in prison before being paroled; Aziz was released in 1985, Islam was released in 1987 and Halim was released in 2010. Islam died in 2009 in Brooklyn.
Last week, a judge vacated his conviction and that of Aziz, ruling that evidence was held back at trial that would have led to an acquittal. Halim, who has never denied the killing, remains convicted.
It's unclear how Shabazz felt about the exoneration; another of Malcolm X's daughters, Ilyasah Shabazz, supported it but called for a new trial to bring the true killers to justice.
But the likelihood of finding her father's true killers is slim; a recent Netflix documentary which revived interest in the case and included FBI interviews did not reveal who police think was responsible, and people who were previously implicated but never arrested are now dead.
Malikah Shabazz, 56, one of Malcolm X six daughters was found dead in her Brooklyn home on Monday, which police say does not appear suspicious
Malikah Shabazz's body is removed from her home in Midwood, Brooklyn, on Monday. She was found dead at 4.40pm by her daughter. Her cause of death remains unconfirmed
Shabazz, who was 56, and one of six children, was found dead by her daughter, Bettih-Bahiyah Shabazz, 23, in the home they shared together
Dr. Betty Shabazz (center), widow of the late Malcolm X, with her daughters (left to right) Malikah, Malaak, Qubilah, & Ilyasah at theater for the screening of the Spike Lee-directed film Malcolm X
'Full justice will not be served until all parties involved in the orchestrated killing of our father are identified and brought to justice,' she said.
The daughter of fellow civil rights icon, Martin Luther King Jr., Bernice King, tweeted her condolences together with a photo of Malikah and her twin sister Malaak, being held by their mother, Dr. Betty Shabazz
But the family was told the passage of time would make retrying the case all but impossible.
Over the years, Shabazz had a number of brushes with the law.
In 2017, she along with her daughter were charged with stealing a rental truck in which were seven pit bulls. The pair were arrested in southern Maryland,
Years earlier, in 2011, Shabazz pleaded guilty to stealing the identity of an elderly family friend in North Carolina. She ran up more than $55,000 in credit card charges.
The daughter of fellow civil rights icon, Martin Luther King Jr., Bernice King, tweeted her condolences together with a photo of Malikah and her twin sister Malaak, being held by their mother, Dr. Betty Shabazz.
'I’m deeply saddened by the death of #MalikahShabazz. My heart goes out to her family, the descendants of Dr. Betty Shabazz and Malcolm X. Dr. Shabazz was pregnant with Malikah and her twin sister, Malaak, when Brother Malcolm was assassinated.
'Be at peace, Malikah.,' King wrote.
Shabazz's death comes just days after two men who had been suspected of shooting her father were exonerated.
On Thursday, Manhattan judge Ellen Biben dismissed the convictions of Muhammad Aziz and the late Khalil Islam, after prosecutors and the men's lawyers said a renewed investigation found new evidence that they were not involved with the killing and determined that authorities withheld some of the evidence.
The pair were formally exonerated after years of doubt about who was responsible for the civil rights icon's death.
Three men were arrested and convicted; Muhammad Aziz (left) Khalil Islam, also known as Thomas 15X Johnson (right in 1965) and Thomas Hagan, who later changed his name to Talmadge Hayer and then Mujahid Halim. Last week, a judge overturned the convictions of Aziz and Islam, who died in 2009, 22 years after being paroled
Thomas Hagan, who later changed his name to Talmadge Hayer and then Mujahid Halim, is the only person who has ever confessed to the shooting. He is shown at the ballroom in Washington Heights where he shot Malcolm X on February 21, 1965, being wrestled by police
The investigation was launched by Cy Vance, the Manhattan District Attorney, following the broadcast of a six-part Netflix documentary last year which sparked renewed focus on the case.
Hagan was paroled in 2010. His conviction stands
Vance's conclusion that the conviction should be quashed is likely to be one of the most high-profile final acts for him as DA: he announced in March that he would retire at the end of this year, and not seek re-election after 12 years in office.
Vance, 66, apologized to Aziz in court on Thursday, and shook his hand.
Malcolm X gained national prominence as the voice of the Nation of Islam, exhorting black people to claim their civil rights 'by any means necessary.'
His autobiography, written with Alex Haley, remains a classic work of modern American literature and his life was turned into a 1992 Spike Lee film, starring Denzel Washington.
Washington was nominated for an Oscar for the role of Malcolm X.
Near the end of Malcolm X's life, he split with the Nation of Islam and, after a trip to Mecca, started speaking about the potential for racial unity.
It earned him the ire of some in the Nation of Islam, including the leader, Elijah Muhammad, who saw him as a traitor for abandoning the religion.
Malcolm was shot and killed while beginning a speech on February 21, 1965. He was 39.
Over the years, Malikah Shabazz had a number of brushes with the law. She is pictured in 2011, after pleading guilty to stealing the identity of an elderly family friend in North Carolina. She ran up more than $55,000 in credit card charges
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