Algonquin double killing was ‘heinous, grisly,’ victim’s family says

Family members of an Algonquin man bludgeoned to death by his stepson on Nov. 29, 2021, said Tuesday that the 64-year-old was vibrant, loyal, enjoyed fishing, cared for people and “hated confrontation.”

Maxim Parnov, 37, pleaded guilty last month to first-degree murder in the killing of Peter Almen and was sentenced to 50 years in prison.

Parnov, who sat stoically in the courtroom Tuesday dressed in orange jail-issued garb during a victim impact hearing, also was charged with the first-degree murder of his mother Elvira “Ella” Almen, 56. However, this charge was dismissed as part of the negotiated plea accepted by McHenry County Judge Tiffany Davis on May 22.

Had he also been convicted of killing his mother, he would have spent life in prison.

Two counts of concealing a homicidal death also were dismissed.

Parnov is required to serve 100% of his sentence and when released from prison, he will serve three years of mandatory supervised release, according to sentencing documents in the McHenry County courthouse.

Family members who spoke during Tuesday’s victim impact statement hearing described what Parnov did as “heinous and grisly.”

“This is where I’ll leave the forgiving up to God.”

—  Ruth Almen, sister of Peter Almen, 64, who was killed by his stepson Maxim Parnov, 37, Nov. 29, 2021.

Almen’s daughter said in a statement read by Assistant State’s Attorney Randi Freese that her child will never know her grandpa and never have the same memories she did of fishing with him.

Sharon Winner, Peter Almen’s first wife and mother of his three daughters, said she had known Almen since she was 7 years old.

She described Peter Almen as “vibrant and engaging.”

When Peter Almen married “Ella” she asked if her son, Parnov, could move in with them temporarily, Winner recalled.

But when Parnov moved in with his dogs Winner said Almen told her the arrangement turned into a “living hell” and that Peter Almen was working on buying Parnov a place of his own to live.

“He murdered his mother for nothing. ... He snuck back into the house and murdered them both for nothing,” Winner said.

“The gaping hole their absence leaves will never be fixed,” Winner said. “They will be forever missed.”

Parnov, who has been held in McHenry County Jail on $5 million bond since his arrest after being captured in Wisconsin, is accused of killing his mother and stepfather in their two-story home located in the 400 block of La Fox River Drive, and hiding their bodies.

Parnov was initially charged with six counts of first-degree murder and two counts of concealment of a homicidal death, according to court records.

Parnov “inflicted blunt force trauma” on the couple in the home they shared, causing their deaths, prosecutors wrote in the indictment.

Authorities said he then “concealed” his mother’s body in a freezer and his stepfather’s in a cabinet and loaded them inside a U-Haul truck, according to the indictment.

Parnov then fled to Wisconsin where he was captured a week later by Kenosha County sheriff’s deputies at a home in Salem.

Authorities have said at the time of the killings Parnov and the couple had been arguing but have not divulged what they were arguing about.

A well-being check was made at the house when Peter Almen did not show up for work, authorities said.

Ruth Almen, Peter Almen’s younger sister, said she struggled with how to tell their then 93-year-old mother that her son had died and in such a “heinous and grisly” way. She later said telling their mother what Parnov did to her son has exacerbated their mother’s dementia.

Looking at Parnov from the witness stand, Ruth Almen said that as she tried to tell their mother what Parnov did to Peter she struggled to explain “details of what you did in your childish rage.”

Ruth Almen also recalled how her brother watched over her, taught her to fish, catch frogs, appreciate classic rock ‘n’ roll music, and how he could identify most any car driving past the home where they grew up in Rock Island.

She said he loved his first and second wives, his three daughters, enjoyed art, photography, reading science fiction and watching Monty Python.

“Peter was very loyal and his relationships were important to him,” Ruth Almen said. “He hated confrontation.”

She said though he loved “Ella,” when she brought Parnov into their lives she “brought along a world of trouble.”

She said her brother had confided in her that Parnov struggled with his diagnosed mental illnesses and substance abuse, and did not take his medicine as prescribed often causing tension in the home. Her brother told her that Parnov needed to be institutionalized.

At one point in an email Ruth Almen said her brother wrote, in reference to Parnov moving in: “I’m afraid we are in for a wild ride.”

Looking at Parnov from the witness stand Ruth Almen said “This is where I’ll leave the forgiving up to God.”