Today is Thursday, February 11, 2021.

On this day in 2011, Maxim Gellman killed a young woman he was stalking, along with her mother,

a stranger on the street, and his own stepfather. When asked why they had to die,

Gelman answered, because I said so.

Welcome to Today in True Crime, a Spotify original from Parcast. Due to the graphic nature of this killer's crimes, listener discretion is advised. We advise extreme caution for children under 13. Today we're covering the brutal Mad Max stabbings committed by Maxim Gelman. Let's go back 10 years to Brooklyn, New York, around 5 a.m.

on February 11, 2011.

There's an obvious reason most drug dealers avoid using their own product, especially when

that product is PCP, notorious for causing erratic behavior and fits of extreme rage.

But 23-year-old Maxim Gelman wasn't most dealers.

When he picked up a kilo of cocaine before sunrise that

morning, he was already high on PCP, and all of a sudden the paranoia hit him hard. He felt

himself shake as a wave of fear washed over him. He was certain the feds were after him. They were definitely tracking his

car. He had to get out of the country. Without a second thought, Gelman jettisoned the cocaine

into the river and sped to his mother's apartment to retrieve his passport. As he turned the place

upside down looking for it, he woke his mother up.

She could tell he was on drugs and refused to help him flee the country.

She wouldn't even let him leave the apartment.

It wasn't long before Gelman's stepfather, Alexander Kuznetsov joined the argument.

As the three of them yelled at each other, Gelman's rage consumed

him, and he snapped. He grabbed a kitchen knife from the counter and stabbed his stepfather

until it broke. Undaunted, Gelman then grabbed a carving fork and kept stabbing 55 times. He finally stopped when he realized his

mother was calling the police. As she cried to 911, he gathered up at least five more knives

...