By Shayna Jacobs
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN SUPREME COURT — An alleged maniac charged with murdering his stepfather, ex-girlfriend and two others in a two-day rampage claimed he was terminally ill and rambled to police about what he'd done, court papers filed Tuesday show.
"I did this because I have cancer," he told police after his arrest on Feb. 12, claiming he has six months to live, according to documents released at his arraignment Tuesday.
"I've had a doozy of a day," he added.
Gelman pleaded not guilty to attempted murder and assault charges from Bellevue Hospital psychiatric ward during a video arraignment in Manhattan Supreme Court. He has been held there since the incident.
Gelman, 23, allegedly continued his blabbering in an NYPD squad car on the way to the West 35th Street precinct house, telling officers, "My family is all f---ed up," and warning officers, "You should stay away from angel dust."
Gelman's alleged murder spree started in Brooklyn on Feb. 11, when he attacked his own stepfather, reportedly over a fight for the car keys. He allegedly murdered 20-year-old Yelena Bulchenko and her mother in their Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn home, then mowed down Steve Tannenbaum, 60, who died shortly afterwards, officials said.
The following morning, Gelman was caught after allegedly slashing a Lincoln Center employee who was commuting to work on an uptown No. 3 train between 34th and 42nd streets.
But upon his capture, Gelman told police he wished they would have just shot him.
"I wish you had shot me. I would have been better off if you had shot me," he told authorities, according to the court documents.
Gelman is being prosecuted seperately in Brooklyn Supreme Court for the four murders and other assaults that allegedly took place there.
He is due back in Manhattan Supreme Court June 7.
