A forbidden relationship led to the attack of a Pompano Beach gay man that was so savage it left him blinded, according to court documents released this week.
The arrest warrants offer new details of the brutal attack — and the suspected motive — in the case against members of the Makarenko family, who were charged last week with attempted murder under Florida’s “hate crime” law.
Prosecutors say Inna Makarenko, 44, Yevhen Makarenko, 43, and two of their adult sons, Oleh and Vladyslav, stormed the man’s apartment in August, beating him and leaving him to die on the blood-covered floor for 13 hours. The attack was spurred because the parents found out the victim had been in a gay relationship with Oleh, authorities say.
Deputies found the severely injured man because they’d been called to the apartment complex for an unrelated call.
The Makarenkos’ defense lawyer, Michael Glasser, did not immediately return a request for comment. Last week, he told Herald news partner WFOR-CBS4 that the victim’s credibility was questionable because he waited six months to implicate the family.
“Many, if not all of them, didn’t even know this person in any way shape or form and they adamantly denied being there at the residence for any of the incident,” Glasser told the station. “Thus far, there’s really been scant and borderline nothing remotely compelling that points to this family having anything to do with this poor guy’s injuries.”
All four are charged with first-degree attempted murder, burglary with battery and kidnapping. Prosecutors have “enhanced” Inna, Yevhen and Oleh’s charges under Florida’s “hate crime” law. That means they all face up to life in prison on each count.
The victim, who has asked that his identity remain secret, had dated 21-year-old Oleh for about nine months — Oleh had slept over many times and even had a key to his apartment. But in the summer of 2021, the victim learned that Oleh’s father “found out that he was homosexual” and “was treating him poorly and was not accepting him.”
Oleh “also advised that his mother was going to force him to marry a woman,” according to the arrest warrant by Broward Sheriff’s Detective Conor Ryan.
Then on Aug. 6, the Makarenkos showed up at the victim’s apartment in Yevhen’s Lincoln Navigator and forced their way into the apartment. “All four suspects continued holding (the victim) and began punching, kicking and hitting (him) all over his face, head and body,” the warrant said.
“Unfortunately, your son’s gay,” the victim told Inna as he was being beaten, the warrant said.
At that point, one of them grabbed an “unknown object and struck him in the face.” The victim pretended to be dead, and the family members fled, leaving him covered in blood on the floor.
“He stated that the reason for this attack was because he was a homosexual, was dating Oleh and that the family felt that he made Oleh a homosexual,” the warrant said.
The victim, who was medically intubated for three weeks, did not initially tell police what happened. It was not until February that the man said “his memory of the incident” had returned and he wanted to press charges.
In addition to becoming blind, the man suffered extensive injuries, including a concussion, severe bruising and brain swelling, multiple fractures in his facial bones, and a fractured jaw. He’s had four surgeries, and will need at least two more. He “has been told he will most likely never regain eyesight in either eye again,” according to the warrant.
He’s also racked up over $100,000 in medical bills, the warrant said. “This crime was a senseless and unprovoked attack done onto a homosexual man, just due to the mere fact that he was homosexual,” Detective Ryan wrote.
Since the arrests, supporters of the Makarenkos have started an online petition proclaiming the family’s innocence. The page described the family as Ukrainian refugees who run successful door and interior design renovation companies. “The accusations are completely false and need to be defeated and ultimately dismissed!” the petition says.
Oleh’s female fiancée told WPLG-10 that the family is innocent — and that he is not gay.
“I don’t believe it at all, I have proof,” Christina Herman told the station. “I wear a ring which is an engagement and one kind of marriage ring. I know Alex has his ring in jail. That is proof to me. I know we are in a relationship.”
