Suspect in Nicki Minaj’s father’s death arrested after Robert Maraj murdered in hit-and-run
A SUSPECT has been arrested for the hit-and-run death of Nicki Minaj's father, cops say.
Nassau County confirmed to The Sun on Wednesday that an arrest has been made in the investigation involving the singer's father Robert, 64.
Nassau County law enforcement confirmed that Charles Polevich, 71, turned himself in to authorities during a press briefing.
Police tracked his 1992 white Volvo station wagon by using “pieces of video," according to .
Charles, who lives on Long Island, was charged with leaving the scene of an auto accident and tampering with evidence.
He has no prior criminal record.
was while walking between Roslyn Road and Raff Avenue in Long Island on Friday around 6pm in .
Cops told he was hit by a vehicle heading northbound before the driver quickly fled the scene of the crime.
There were witnesses at the time of the accident, though they were unable to identity the person behind the car.
Robert was taken to a local hospital in critical condition.
His injuries were too substantial and he passed away over the weekend.
, 38, has not yet publicly spoken about her father's passing, though a rep for the rapper confirmed Robert's death to TMZ.
She has had a , as she claimed he was abusive towards her mother, Carol.
In a 2018 from the Making a Queen documentary, Nicki recalled how her mom "would let my father be violent with her."
"[My mother] always brings up this story about when I was a little girl and I would stand in front of my mother [with my arms open]," the rapper said.
"That’s why maybe some people would describe me as abrasive or b***hy or whatever because I vowed from that age no man would ever abuse me, call me out my name, treat me like that."
Nicki told Now magazine that she was once really “afraid" when she saw him drag her mom out of a car and pull her along for a couple of blocks.
After hearing about Nicki’s thoughts on her childhood and her relationship to him, sources close to Robert told TMZ in 2012 that he thought her stories were “exaggerated.”
He admitted to having some anger issues, but he was reportedly upset about his daughter's childhood views.
Eventually, Nicki later shared with The Guardian that her dad was trying to get better.
She explained: “He went to rehab and cleaned himself up.
"Eventually they started going to church a lot, and he got saved and started changing his life.
“He’s away from drugs now. He doesn’t instill fear in people any more.”
According to , though, Robert was arrested twice in late 2013 for drunk driving.
One day after his first arrest, Nicki’s mom Carol filed a restraining order against her husband, which she was granted and which meant he was unable to contact her or show up to where she was.
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Carol eventually kicked Robert out of their home, and she found strength in the Christian church and became a domestic violence campaigner, setting up the Carol Maraj Foundation to help other victims of abuse at home.
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Nicki and her dad reconciled throughout the years and were seen together at various events.
The loss of her father comes just months after Nicki welcomed her first child, a baby boy, with her husband, Kenneth "Zoo" Petty.
