Miami Herald: Broward family savagely beat gay man because they felt he ‘made’ son gay

David Ovalle of the Miami Herald reports four members of a Broward family were charged with attempted murder last week – as a hate crime – after beating a 21-year-old gay man for 13 hours – leaving him to die – because the family thought the gay man made their son gay. After nine months, the family found out one of their sons was gay and the father, mother, and two other sons, broke into gay man’s house in Pompeo Beach, Florida and attacked him so savagely, the man was left blind.

All four family members are charged with first-degree attempted murder and burglary with battery and kidnapping. The family held and beat the man for 13 hours. Police found the victim after being on the property for an unrelated call.

The victim was medically intubated for almost one month and only told police what happened months later after he said he regained his memory of the incident. The victim has over $100,000 in medical bills from four surgeries and been told it is highly unlikely he will ever regain eyesight again. Family members who have been charged are Ukrainian refugees and have run a successful door and interior renovation company. The family has many supporters who have started an online petition asserting the family’s innocence, which reads, “The accusations are completely false and need to be defeated and ultimately dismissed!” The Markenko family attorney denies all charges.