Ukrainian Family Accused in Beating of Gay Man Heading to Court
The Ukrainian Makarenko family facing attempted murder charges for allegedly attacking and blinding a gay Florida man are heading to court on January 27. The mother and father will be represented by a public defender, but the son allegedly involved in the attack has chosen to represent himself.
As reported by NBC Miami, Inna and husband Yevehen Makarenko appeared before a judge in Fort Lauderdale on Wednesday. During this time, their 22-year-old son Oleh told the judge he wants to represent himself, with standby counsel available.
"We were represented by private attorneys for sometime before they weren't really able to get the job done so I'm gonna try to do it myself," Oleh said outside the courtroom, NBC Miami reports.
In court documents, there are allegations that Oleh had a relationship with the 31-year-old victim and his family attacked the man out of anger. The Pompano Beach man was left blind after the attack.
The Makarenko family denies those allegations, and Oleh's two older brothers, Pavel and Vladyslav, were initially charged in the case but are no longer considered suspects.
About the allegations, Oleh said, "The state knows that he's lying. The state knows that they don't have any evidence to support it."
He added, "The only thing they apparently don't know is that we have the evidence to prove our innocence."
Here's hoping the victim gets the justice he deserves.