On December 10, 2025, the Debrecen Regional Court delivered its verdict in the case of a man accused of attempting to murder his girlfriend with particular cruelty. The defendant also pressed a knife to the woman’s throat during the attack.
The court found the defendant guilty of attempted murder committed with particular cruelty and of unlawful deprivation of liberty committed with a weapon. He was sentenced to 11 years in prison and banned from holding public office for 10 years. The court also ruled that he is not eligible for parole.
According to the court, the defendant and the victim lived in properties close to each other in Balmazújváros. Despite being married, the woman began a relationship with the defendant in the summer of 2022. Her husband was aware of the affair and repeatedly asked her to end it or seek a divorce. On the afternoon of October 11, 2022, the victim went to the defendant’s home, where he pressured her to leave her husband and start a new life with him. She consistently refused, which angered the defendant. Later, around 6 p.m., as the woman was walking to a neighbor’s house, the defendant ran up to her, grabbed her by the throat, dragged her into his home, and threatened to set her on fire if she did not choose him.
The defendant then took a large knife and pressed it against her neck, repeatedly threatening to kill her. Shortly afterward, he poured wine from a plastic bottle over her head and clothes. Escalating further, he grabbed a 5-liter plastic container filled with motor gasoline and poured it on the victim’s face, chest, and left side, then ignited her clothing with a lighter. The fire immediately engulfed her clothes, burning her face, hands, and chest. She ran out of the house, placed her arm in a water barrel in the yard, and removed her outer clothing. The defendant then threw her a short-sleeved T-shirt and threatened to kill her if she told anyone about the incident.
The woman subsequently left the scene and went to a friend’s property, hoping to find her husband, who she did. She reported the incident to him, and he contacted the police and emergency services. The victim sustained first-, second-, and third-degree burns covering 25% of her body surface.
During sentencing, Judge Csaba Lányi cited several aggravating factors: the defendant’s criminal record, his self-induced intoxication, and the severe disturbance to public peace caused by his actions. It later emerged that the victim was a pregnant woman in need of protection at the time of the attack, and her injuries resulted in permanent disability, which was also considered an aggravating factor. Mitigating circumstances included that the crime remained in the attempted stage, the passage of time, and that the defendant had previously cared for his bedridden sibling.
The decision is not final; both the prosecution and the defendant, along with his lawyer, have three working days to file an appeal. The court has maintained the defendant’s pre-trial detention.
