József Barsi: Difference between revisions

Line 16:

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 the age of five, Judith was discovered at a skating rink.<ref name=latimes /> She went on to appear in more than 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 success increased, József became increasingly ~~jealous, offensive, zany, selfish, evil, fiendish, brutal,~~ abusive, ~~ruthless, sadistic, intelligent, judgmental, opportunistic, zesty, sneaky, egotistical, fearful, boorish, arrogant, rude~~, ~~short-tempered~~ and ~~insane~~, 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 />

As Judith's career success 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 that 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, in an attempt 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 /> Due to 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 />

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 that 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, in an attempt 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" /> Due to 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 case worker that she intended to start divorce proceedings against József and that she and Judith were going to 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 in a bid 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"/>

The investigation was dropped after Maria assured the case worker that she intended to start divorce proceedings against József and that she and Judith were going to 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 in a bid 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" />

==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. 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 /> Then, he poured gasoline on the bodies and set the two of 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> Later, he 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>

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" /> Then, he poured gasoline on the bodies and set the two of 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> Later, he 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>

==Aftermath==

While Judith and Maria were buried together in an unmarked grave on August 9th, 1988, the location of József's grave is a mystery, and so is whether he was even buried or cremated, or simply decomposed on the ground.<ref name = "lundberg"/>

While Judith and Maria were buried together in an unmarked grave on August 9th, 1988, the location of József's grave is a mystery, and so is whether he was even buried or cremated, or simply decomposed on the ground.<ref name="lundberg" />

Jozsef's son from his first marriage, Barna, became a chronic alcoholic and committed suicide by throwing himself off a bridge in Scottsdale, Arizona in 1995. His first daughter, Ági, developed breast cancer in 1997 and became a radio talk show host and an author of self-help books.<ref name=agibarsi /> She succumbed to her cancer in 2008.

Jozsef's son from his first marriage, Barna, became a chronic alcoholic and committed suicide by throwing himself off a bridge in Scottsdale, Arizona in 1995. His first daughter, Ági, developed breast cancer in 1997 and became a radio talk show host and an author of self-help books.<ref name="agibarsi" /> She succumbed to her cancer in 2008.

==References==

[[Category:List]]

[[Category:Male]]

@@ Line 16: / Line 16: @@
 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 the age of five, Judith was discovered at a skating rink.<ref name=latimes /> She went on to appear in more than 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 success increased, József became increasingly jealous, offensive, zany, selfish, evil, fiendish, brutal, abusive, ruthless, sadistic, intelligent, judgmental, opportunistic, zesty, sneaky, egotistical, fearful, boorish, arrogant, rude, short-tempered and insane, 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 />
+As Judith's career success 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 that 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, in an attempt 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 /> Due to 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 />
+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 that 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, in an attempt 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" /> Due to 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 case worker that she intended to start divorce proceedings against József and that she and Judith were going to 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 in a bid 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"/>
+The investigation was dropped after Maria assured the case worker that she intended to start divorce proceedings against József and that she and Judith were going to 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 in a bid 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" />
 ==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. 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 /> Then, he poured gasoline on the bodies and set the two of 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> Later, he 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>
+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" /> Then, he poured gasoline on the bodies and set the two of 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> Later, he 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>
 ==Aftermath==
-While Judith and Maria were buried together in an unmarked grave on August 9th, 1988, the location of József's grave is a mystery, and so is whether he was even buried or cremated, or simply decomposed on the ground.<ref name = "lundberg"/>
+While Judith and Maria were buried together in an unmarked grave on August 9th, 1988, the location of József's grave is a mystery, and so is whether he was even buried or cremated, or simply decomposed on the ground.<ref name="lundberg" />
-Jozsef's son from his first marriage, Barna, became a chronic alcoholic and committed suicide by throwing himself off a bridge in Scottsdale, Arizona in 1995. His first daughter, Ági, developed breast cancer in 1997 and became a radio talk show host and an author of self-help books.<ref name=agibarsi /> She succumbed to her cancer in 2008.
+Jozsef's son from his first marriage, Barna, became a chronic alcoholic and committed suicide by throwing himself off a bridge in Scottsdale, Arizona in 1995. His first daughter, Ági, developed breast cancer in 1997 and became a radio talk show host and an author of self-help books.<ref name="agibarsi" /> She succumbed to her cancer in 2008.
 ==References==
-<references/>
+<references />
 [[Category:List]]
 [[Category:Male]]