Case #6: The Murders of Judith Barsi and Her Mother

Warning:

This case involves the murder of a child. It also involves abuse. Read further at your own risk. 

Who Was Judith Barsi: 

Judith Barsi

Jusith Barsi was a child actress during the 1980s. She was probably best known for voicing the character Ducky in The Land Before Time. Some of her other credits included Jaws: The Revenge and All Dogs Go to Heaven. Perhaps, her most unfortunate (and somewhat ironic) role was in a movie called Fatal Vision. It was about a doctor who murdered his wife and two kids. 

Judith's family:

The Barsi Family

Jozsef Barsi and his wife Maria Virovacz fled Hungary in 1956 when it was occupied by the Soviet Union. They had done so separately. On the surface, the two seemed to have very different upbringings. Maria lived in a rural university town. Jozsef came from a rough industrial part of Hungary. However, looking a little deeper, they both had problems. Maria was abused by her father, and Jozsef was bullied by his peers. He had also allegedly told people that he grew up without a mother or a father in his life. The two didn't meet until after they came to America. They met at a Los Angeles restaurant. When they first married, everything seemed good. They were both happy. However, Jozsef had always had a noted temper, and often, little things could set him off. On June 6, 1978, Judith was born.  

The Abuse: 

Jozsef eventually turned to alcohol, and he would often become violent and angry towards his family. He would often make threats to kill his family and himself. While Jozsef's threats were primarily verbal, this was not always the case. Apparently, Judith had once told a friend that her father had thrown pots and pans at her. She was also often afraid to return home. Because of the constant and severe physical, emotional, and verbal abuse, Judith eventually developed a disorder known as trichotillomania, a disorder that typically makes people pull out their own hair. However, in Judith's case, she would instead pull out her eyelashes and her cat's whiskers. Eventually, Judith had a breakdown in front of her agent, and she was taken to see a child psychologist. This psychologist actually reported findings of abuse to Child Protective Services. Maria promised CPS that she would divorce Jozsef and move into an apartment with Judith. Maria never actually did follow through with this however. After everything that happened with CPS, Jozsef stopped drinking. But, that didn't stop the abuse. He would continue to threaten to kill his family either by burning the house down, or by cutting their throats. Sometimes, he would threaten to kill Maria. Other times, he would threaten to kill himself and Judith and leave Maria alone so that she would suffer. There was also an instance where Maria had given Judith a kite. Her father took it from her. When she told him he was going to break it, he called his daughter a spoiled brat who wouldn't share, and then broke it into as many pieces as he possibly could. Allegedly, before Judith left to go film Jaws: The Revenge, her father held a knife to her throat and threatened to kill her if she and her mother didn't return home immediately after the movie wrapped. During this point in time, there was a noted shift in Judith's mood and behavior. Beforehand, she was seen as bubbly and happy.  

The Murders: 

Police remove the bodies from the Barsi home 

On July 25, 1988, Jozsef shot Judith in the head while she was asleep. He also murdered his wife as well. Two days later, he burned their bodies and then shot himself in the head. Judith was only ten years old. 

Final Notes: 

This was one of the cases I knew I wanted to cover from the beginning. Obviously, because all three are dead, there really wasn't a lot for me to cover after the murders. But, there were plenty of events that happened leading up to the murders of Judith and her mother. 

Sources:

https://apnews.com/article/0ac6babb250b4f72d242749a15781498

https://dailynewshungary.com/this-child-actress-was-shot-by-her-own-father/   

https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-08-07-me-382-story.html

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