Alleged victim in hate crime case Makarenko speaks up

Oleh Makarenko (left) was involved with a man, but he turned against him after his parents Inna (top center) and Yevhen (bottom center) Makarenko allegedly found out about it. Oleh, his parents and brother Vladyslav Makarenko (right) allegedly attacked the victim at the victim’s Broward County home, leaving him so badly beaten that he lost his sight.

The victim of an alleged homophobic attack is speaking out with his side of the story, accusing his ex-boyfriend and ex’s family of hitting him badly over the relationship. Authorities said the victim lost his eyesight as a result of the attack.

“Because I’m gay, yes,” the man, who has not been identified, told the Miami-based TV station WPLG in an interview published on Thursday. “Because I’m gay, they think I made his son gay.”

This alleged ex-boyfriend, Oleh MakarenkoThe 21-year-old now has to answer for, among other things, attempted first-degree murder of his father Yevhen Makarenko43, mother Inna Makarenko44, and brother Vladyslaw Makarenko25. A lawyer for the Ukrainian immigrant family has denied a relationship and denied that his clients assaulted the man.

This was announced by the Broward County Sheriff’s Office that on August 6, 2021, one of their deputies responded to the victim’s apartment complex on an unrelated matter, but found his front door ajar. The man was on the ground – and there was blood and damage in his home.

MPs said the incident blinded the victim.

“Medically, there is nothing they can do for me,” the man told WPLG. “The nerves were dead.”

MPs said he was intubated for about three weeks and given a feeding tube for about three months. Injuries included a concussion, severe bruising and swelling, a misaligned left eye, brain swelling and a broken jaw.

“My mom used to depend on me and I can’t help her anymore,” he told WPLG. “I honestly don’t know how to hold it together.”

But according to documents, the man did not tell MPs about the beating last August. He went to the hospital after telling MPs he had been drinking and fell. One MP asked again, but he repeatedly said he fell.

“Over the next few months [the victim] could not provide a suspect or further information on this case as he could not remember what happened,” authorities said.

He only came forward with the allegations in February and said he had regained his memory of the incident, MPs said. The man later said he told deputies about the fall because he didn’t want to get Oleh in trouble, authorities said.

A defense attorney used the period between August and February to deny allegations.

“Many, if not all, did not even know this person in any way, shape or form,” attorney Makarenko said Michael Glaser has told WFOR. “Up until now, there has been really little and borderline nothing to suggest that this family has anything to do with this poor guy’s injuries even remotely convincingly.”

The Makarenkos, including Oleh, allegedly attacked the man at his home after the family discovered the gay relationship, which spanned from November 2020 to the alleged attack. Towards the end of July 2020, Oleh and the man reportedly didn’t speak to each other for two weeks after getting into an argument.

“During this time, [the victim] logged on to his laptop, which Oleh had previously used,” the MPs wrote. “[He] then he located text messages from Oleh’s mother, Inna Makarenko. The text message sent to Oleh stated that Oleh’s [father] found out he was gay and had a boyfriend. [The victim] then contacted Oleh by phone, who informed him that his father was now treating him badly and did not accept him. He also shared that his mother would force him to marry a woman.”

[Booking photos via Broward County Jail]

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