Gelman Says He's Too Crazy To Convict
Maksim Gelman says he’ll be back on the streets in no time at all, claiming he’s too crazy to convict and will escape prosecution for his alleged 28-hour stabbing spree more than two months ago.
“It’s okay, I’ll beat this,” Gelman told an officer before his February arraignment, according to court documents first reported in the Daily News. “I’ll go to a mental hospital for a few years and then I’ll get out on the street again, you’ll see.”
Gelman will stand trial in Brooklyn and Manhattan courts for the murders of his stepfather, a female acquaintance and her mother, and a pedestrian. He is also charged with stabbing or slashing several others, and three carjackings in a violent rampage that paralyzed Sheepshead Bay, Midwood and other sections of New York City as police gave chase. He was in Brooklyn Supreme Court on Tuesday for arraignment on the Brooklyn portion of his alleged murder spree.
Since his February arrest, Gelman’s has let slip a slew of statements, swinging from complete despair to accusations of abuse and boasts of his violence.
According to the Daily News, court documents indicate he told detectives that victim Yelena Bulchenko died because “she was a bitch.” Asked again why his victims had to die, he replied: “Because I said so!”
He then “just sat there smirking and [staring] at me for several minutes,” said the detective.
Shortly after his arrest, he claimed the DEA set him up and that the police physically mistreated him. At the time of his arrest, he reportedly told police “Please just kill me now,” and later said, “They are going to kill me. I’m trying to make my peace with God.”
He also claimed he had cancer, and antagonized fellow inmates by boasting of his alleged deeds.
After his arrest, Gelman was transferred to the psychiatric ward at Bellevue Hospital Center, but is now at Rikers Island.
He “seems to be in a somewhat precarious emotional condition right now,” defense lawyer Edward Friedman told the judge, according to the Daily News, describing his client’s “fragile mental state.”
