In February 2025, the Nyíregyháza Court of Justice in the first instance sentenced the defendant to 15 years in prison and a 10-year ban from public affairs for the crime of homicide and the crime of unlawful deprivation of liberty committed with cruelty and while armed.
The prosecutor appealed for a harsher sentence, while the defendant and his lawyer appealed primarily for acquittal on the charge of unlawful deprivation of liberty, and secondarily for a reduction of the imposed sentence. According to the facts established by the court of first instance, the defendant and the victim had been in a relationship since 2021. Due to the man’s jealousy, they often argued, and the defendant repeatedly abused the woman, who, however, never reported the incidents to the authorities.
Following an argument in May 2023, the woman left home and went to stay with an acquaintance, who took her into his home in Nyírkáta. The defendant learned of his partner’s whereabouts, and one night in May 2023, he observed the house from the street and noticed the victim coming out with her acquaintance and talking next to the house.
The man then approached them, grabbed the victim by the hair, and dragged her into the street against her will while holding a knife in his other hand. From there, he forcibly dragged her into a wooded area, where he repeatedly hit and cut her, then removed the drawstring from his own trousers, wrapped it around the pregnant woman’s neck, and tightened it with such force that she died on the spot. At the time, the victim was 20 weeks pregnant, which the defendant was aware of. After committing the act, the man fled the scene and hid with relatives.
The Debrecen Court of Appeal, presided over by Dr. Tamás Háger, upheld the first-instance judgment, which has now become final.
