József Barsi: Difference between revisions
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[[File:Barsi Couple.jpg|thumb|300px|right|József (left) with his wife Maria (right)]] | [[File:Barsi Couple.jpg|thumb|300px|right|József (left) with his wife Maria (right)]] | ||
'''József "Arizona Joe"<ref name=latimes /> Barsi''' was a Hungarian-American plumbing contractor who was known as the father of child actress Judith Barsi, and the husband of her mother, Maria Eva Barsi, both of whom were his victims. | '''József "Arizona Joe"<ref name=latimes /> Barsi''' (November 26, 1932-July 29, 1988) was a Hungarian-American plumbing contractor who was known as the father of child actress Judith Barsi, and the husband of her mother, Maria Eva Barsi, both of whom were his victims. | ||
==Early life and marriages== | ==Early life and marriages== | ||
Barsi had [[w:Hungarian diaspora|fled]] [[w:People's Republic of Hungary|Communist Hungary]] after the [[w:1956 Hungarian Revolution#Soviet intervention of 4 November|1956 Soviet occupation]] at age 19. He initially settled in [[w:France|France]], and married a fellow Hungarian refugee named Klara, with whom he had two children, a son named Barna (1957-1995), and a daughter named Ági (1958-2008). József soon developed a | Barsi had [[w:Hungarian diaspora|fled]] [[w:People's Republic of Hungary|Communist Hungary]] after the [[w:1956 Hungarian Revolution#Soviet intervention of 4 November|1956 Soviet occupation]] at age 19. He initially settled in [[w:France|France]], and married a fellow Hungarian refugee named Klara, with whom he had two children, a son named Barna (1957-1995), and a daughter named Ági (1958-2008). József soon developed a [[w:alcoholism|drinking problem]], and began to physically abuse his wife.<ref name=agibarsi>Barsi, Ági (1999), ''What will you do?'', A Better Life, ISBN 0967169399</ref> Ági, and other close contacts, later wrote that József suffered from low self-esteem, stemming from mockery over his Hungarian accent and the social rejection he suffered in Hungary, due to his [[w:Legitimacy (law)|illegitimate birth]].<ref name=latimes /><ref name=agibarsi /><ref name=Documentary/> | ||
After the family moved to New York in 1964, József extended his abuse to his son Barna, prompting Klara to escape with the children to Arizona five years later. Although József attempted to reconcile himself with his family, Klara filed for divorce after he threw a cast iron skillet at her in a drunken rage. Shortly after the divorce, József moved to California,<ref name=agibarsi /> where he worked as a plumbing contractor. There, he met Maria Virovacz, a waitress in a Los Angeles restaurant known as a meeting place for immigrants.<ref name=latimes /> | After the family moved to New York in 1964, József extended his abuse to his son Barna, prompting Klara to escape with the children to Arizona five years later. Although József attempted to reconcile himself with his family, Klara filed for divorce after he threw a cast iron skillet at her in a drunken rage. Shortly after the divorce, József moved to California,<ref name=agibarsi /> where he worked as a plumbing contractor. There, he met Maria Virovacz, a waitress in a Los Angeles restaurant known as a meeting place for immigrants.<ref name=latimes /> | ||
Maria, herself a Hungarian immigrant escaping the Soviet occupation, was born in rural southern Hungary,<ref name=latimes /> and suffered psychological and physical abuse from her father. The two married, and Judith's birth quickly followed in Los Angeles, California, where Judith was raised.<ref name = "Documentary"/> | Maria, herself a Hungarian immigrant escaping the Soviet occupation, was born in rural southern Hungary,<ref name=latimes /> and suffered psychological and physical abuse from her father. The two married, and Judith's birth quickly followed in Los Angeles, California, where Judith was raised.<ref name = "Documentary"/> | ||
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==Murder-suicide== | ==Murder-suicide== | ||
Judith was last seen on the morning of Monday, July 25, 1988, while she was riding her bike on her street.<ref name = "Documentary">[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqsL2c73OHc DEATH OF A FAMILY - Judith Barsi's story ''Arnold Shapiro Productions'' (1989)</ref> On that same night, József shot Judith in the head while she was asleep in her room. | Judith was last seen on the morning of Monday, July 25, 1988, while she was riding her bike on her street.<ref name = "Documentary">[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqsL2c73OHc DEATH OF A FAMILY - Judith Barsi's story], ''Arnold Shapiro Productions'' (1989)</ref> On that same night, József shot Judith in the head while she was asleep in her room. Maria, hearing the gunshot, ran down the hall, where József met her and shot her as well. József spent the next two days wandering around the house,<ref name = "Documentary"/> and said during a phone call with Judith's agent on Tuesday night that he intended to move out for good, and just needed time to "say goodbye to [my] little girl."<ref name=latimes /> He then poured gasoline on the bodies and set them on fire.<ref>[http://articles.latimes.com/1988-07-29/local/me-7875_1_child-actress Local News in Brief : Bodies Identified as Child Actress, Mother], ''LA Times'' (July 29, 1988)</ref> He later went into the garage and shot himself in the head with a .32 caliber pistol. <ref name = "fuentes">[http://articles.latimes.com/1988-07-28/local/me-9912_1_apparent-murder-suicide Three Dead in Apparent Murder-Suicide], ''LA Times'' (July 28, 1988)</ref><ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/1988/07/30/us/child-actress-is-slain-apparently-by-father.html Child Actress Is Slain, Apparently by Father], ''NY Times'' (July 30, 1988)</ref> | ||
==References== | ==References== | ||
<references/> | <references/> | ||