FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – A family of Ukrainian immigrants has been held behind bars without bond for the past six weeks over an alleged brutal hate crime.
They are accused of beating a gay man so badly that he went blind.
The mother of that family, Inna Makarenko, was in court on Monday.
She has been in jail for the past 47 days.
The victim in the crime originally told police that he fell. It wasn’t until six months after the beating that he implicated the family.
The state argues that the victim changed his story because he was in a nine month homosexual relationship with Oleh Makarenko and afraid of the family.
Attorneys for the prosecution read text messages that they claim were sent by Oleh Makarenko to the victim. Thousands of text messages.
They argue that Oleh Makarenko’s family was mortified by the relationship and that Inna Makarenko was forcing her son to marry a woman.
Because of a lack of physical evidence, the case rests on the victim’s credibility.
A judge granted Inna Makarenko bond, but she will be held on an immigration hold.
She is a Ukrainian citizen, and her attorney believes she will be out of jail in a matter of days.