Editing József Barsi (section)

==Domestic abuse==
[[File:Jozsef_&_Judith_Barsi.png|thumb|József with his daughter, Judith.|link=Special:FilePath/Jozsef_&_Judith_Barsi.png]]
Maria Barsi soon began grooming her daughter to become an actress.<ref name="latimes">Johnson, J. [http://articles.latimes.com/1988-08-07/local/me-382_1_child-abuse A Script of Fear : Repeated Threats by Father of Child Actress Carried to Tragic End], ''LA Times'' (August 7, 1988)</ref> At five, Judith was discovered at a skating rink.<ref name="latimes" /> She appeared in over 70 commercials and guest-starring roles on television.<ref name="latimes1">[http://articles.latimes.com/1988-08-23/local/me-919_1_child-abuse-files Local News in Brief : Child-Abuse Files Ordered Opened], ''LA Times'' (August 23, 1988)</ref>

As Judith's career successfully increased, József became increasingly abusive, jealous, and paranoid, and would routinely threaten to kill himself, his wife, and daughter.<ref name="NE">Girl who appeared on 'Growing Pains' told show's star: My dad says he's going to kill me! ''The National Enquirer'', (September 9, 1988)</ref> His alcoholism worsened and resulted in him getting arrested three times for drunk driving.<ref name="latimes" /> In December 1986, Maria reported his threats to the police and also reported that József had hit her in the face and choked her. After police found no physical signs of abuse, Maria eventually decided not to press charges against József.<ref name="latimes" />

After the incident, József reportedly stopped drinking but continued to threaten and abuse his wife and daughter. Before Judith left to shoot ''Jaws: The Revenge'' in the Bahamas, József threatened Judith with a knife, telling her, “If you decide not to come back, I will cut your throat.”<ref name="latimes" /> Maria stated that József showed her where he kept his gasoline and warned her he intended to burn the house down if she and Judith left. He reportedly hid a telegram informing Maria that a relative in Hungary had died, to prevent her and Judith from leaving America.<ref name="sherry">[http://articles.latimes.com/1988-09-18/news/vw-2980_1_family-tragedy A Lesson Learned From Family Tragedy], ''LA Times'' (September 18, 1988)</ref> Judith told her best friend that József, in a fit of rage, once threw pots and pans at her in the kitchen, giving her a nosebleed.<ref name="NE" /> Because of her father's abuse, Judith began putting on weight<ref name="sherry" /> and plucking out her eyelashes and pulling out her cat's whiskers.<ref name="latimes" /> After breaking down in front of her agent during a singing audition for ''All Dogs Go to Heaven'', Judith was taken by Maria to a child psychologist, who identified severe physical and emotional abuse and reported her findings to Child Protective Services.<ref name="latimes" />

The investigation was dropped after Maria assured the caseworker that she intended to start divorce proceedings against József and that she and Judith would move into a Panorama City apartment she had recently rented as a daytime haven away from József.<ref>[http://articles.latimes.com/1988-09-07/local/me-1411_1_judith-barsi Inquiry in Barsi Case Dropped Too Soon, Panel Says], ''LA Times'' (September 7, 1988)</ref> Friends urged Maria to follow through with the plan, but she resisted reportedly because she did not want to lose the family home and belongings.<ref name="latimes" /> As József was obsessed with cleanliness, Maria stopped cleaning the family home to drive him out. Judith's half-sister Ági visited the house and later described it as a “living pigpen”.<ref name="Documentary" /> A week before the murder-suicide, Maria told a next-door neighbor that she intended to cash her daughter's $12,000 federal tax refund check before József could get it.<ref name="fuentes" />