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Alleged Killer Indicted on Subway Slashing Charges in Manhattan

By DNAinfo Staff on February 23, 2011 2:27pm

Interactive
A timeline of Gelman's alleged killing spree.
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By Shayna Jacobs

DNAinfo Reporter/Producer

MANHATTAN CRIMINAL COURT — An alleged killer accused of murdering four people in Brooklyn before slashing a commuter on an uptown No. 3 train was arraigned Wednesday via video feed from the psychiatric ward at Bellevue Hospital.

Appearing on his attempted murder and assault charges for the first time in Manhattan, an image of Maksim Gelman was transmitted to the courtroom. He has already been arraigned on murder charges in Brooklyn after allegedly murdering four people and injuring several others.

Gelman sported a scruffy beard and sat quietly with his head down, next to his lawyer as his charges were read. He was handcuffed and dressed in light blue hospital scrubs.

Maksim Gelman, 23, is accused of going on a two-day slashing spree that left four people dead and four others wounded.
Maksim Gelman, 23, is accused of going on a two-day slashing spree that left four people dead and four others wounded.
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AP/NYPD

He was charged with trying to kill Lincoln Center employee Joseph Lozito at about 9 a.m. on Feb. 12 on an uptown No. 3 train between the West 34th Street and West 42nd Street stops.

"You're going to die!" Gelman allegedly shouted at Lozito, moments before he was restrained by transit police.

Gelman said next to nothing during the arraignment, but thanked his Legal Aid attorney, Laura Stasior. 

"Alright, alright, thank you," Gelman answered softly as he was ushered away by court officers. 

Authorities said Gelman, 23, stalked and then murdered 20-year-old Yulena Bluchenko, his ex-girlfriend, in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn. He also allegedly killed her mother and his own stepfather, with whose car he allegedy mowed down Steve Tannenbaum, 60, who died shortly after at a nearby hosptial.

After the disturbing spree, prosecutors said he fled to Manhattan, apparently still armed with a kitchen knife.

Gelman is being charged separately in Brooklyn for murder. He was ordered held without bail again on Wednesday, which amounted to a formality because he was already denied bail in Kings County.

He will be arraigned on the still sealed indictment in Manhattan Supreme Court on March 15.