Mother of Family Accused of Blinding Gay Man: We're the Victims
From left: Inna, Oleh, and Yevhen MakarenkoThe mother of a family accused of beating a gay man so badly that he was blinded now says her she never even met the victim.Inna and Yevhen Makarenko and their sons Oleh and Pavel are charged with attempted murder, battery, and kidnapping in the attack, which police say occurred August 6, 2021, at the victim’s home in Pompano Beach, Fla.
The first three were arrested by Broward County authorities in March and charged in April, and Pavel Makarenko was arrested later in New York.
Charges against another son, Vladyslav Makarenko, were dropped because evidence showed he was not in Pompano Beach when the assault took place.
The charges carry hate-crime enhancements.Police and prosecutors say the motivation was that the victim, a 31-year-old man whose name is being kept confidential, had been dating Oleh Makarenko, and that the family did not approve of the relationship.
