Saturday, October 10, 2020

Maria Szendi-Horvath, Would-Be Serial Killer – Hungary, 1913

FULL TEXT (Translated from German): Our Budapest correspondent reports: The 25-year-old mill installer Johann Nemeth, who was born in Oroshaza, was the victim of murder and insurance fraud. He fell in love with the sister of the owner of a mill at Kis-Csak, Josef Szendi-Horvath. The girl persuaded the young man to insure his life at 8,000 K and to have the policy made out in the girl's name. Nemeth responded. But no sooner was the girl in possession of the policy than she and her brother decided to murder the bridegroom. Under the influence of Berbesserong works they lured Nemeth into the mill, made him drunk and then escorted him to the railway embankment in the evening.

There Szendi-Horvath slew the Nemeth with club, then shot a revolver bullet into the corpse and thrust the revolver into his hand to create the appearance of suicide; then they put the body on the rails. The next train coming from Orosvar tore the corpse to pieces. The police discovered the perpetrators in a very short time. The girl cynically confessed to the crime and said that she had persuaded eight other men to take out life insurance, a total of 52,000 kroner, and that she had wanted to murder all of them. In addition to the two siblings, the gendarmerie arrested a brother-in-law named Stephan Cziszar because traces of blood were found on his jacket sleeve, which aroused suspicion of his complicity in the murder.

[“A Female Bluebeard.” (“Ein weiblicher Blaubart.”), Prager Abendblatt (Prague, Bohemia), Feb. 28, 1913, p. 6]

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Orosháza is a city situated in the westernmost part of Békés county, Hungary, on the Békés ridge bordered by the rivers Maros and Körös. Orosháza is an important cultural, educational and recreational centre of the region.

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FULL TEXT: Unser Budapester Korrespondent meldet: Der aus Oroshaza gebürtige 25jährige Mühleninstallateur Johann Nemeth wurde das Opfer eines Mordes und Versicherungsbetruges. Er verliebte sich in die Schwester des Kis-Csaker Mühlenbesitzers Josef Szendi-Horvath. Das Mädchen überredete den junge Mann, sein Leben auf 8000 K zu versichern und die Polizze auf den Namen des Mädchen ausstellen zu lassen.

Nemeth ging darauf ein. Kaum war aber das Mädchen im Besitze der Polizze als es mit dem Bruder beschloß, den Bräutigam zu ermorden. Unter dem Verwände von Berbesserongsarbeiten lockten sie Nemeth in die Mühle, machten rhn betrunken und beleiteten ihn dann Abends zum Eisenbahndamm.

Dort erschlug Szendi-Horvath den Nemeth mit einem Knüttel, schoß eine Revolverkugel in den Leichnam und drückte ihm den Revolver in die Hand. um den Anschein eines Selbstmordes hervorzurufen; dann legten sie den Leichnam auf die Schienen. Der uächste aus Orosvar kommende Zug riß den Leichnam in Stücke. Die Gendarmerie ermittelte aber in kürzester Zeit die Täter. Das Mädchen ge st and zynisch das Verbrechen und erzählte, es habe noch andere acht Männer zu Lebensversicherungen überredet, insgesamt auf 52.000 Kronen, und habe auch alle diese ermorden wollen. Die Gendarmerie verhaftete außer den beiden Geschwistern einen Schwager namens Stephan Cziszar, weil an seinem Rockärmel Blutspuren gefunden wurden, die den Verdacht seiner Mittäterschaft an dem Morde hervorriefen.

[“Ein weiblicher Blaubart.” Prager Abendblatt (Prague, Bohemia), Feb. 28, 1913, p. 6] 

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Midwife Schmidt, Serial Black Widow – Germany, 1897

FULL TEXT (Translated from German): Midwife Schmidt was sentenced to death by the jury court in Verden for murder and attempted murder, and also to twelve years imprisonment, permanent loss of honor and heavy fines. Schmidt had poisoned her first two husbands and tried to murder her current husband using poisoned food.

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FULL TEXT: Vom Schwurgerichte in Verden wurde die Hebamme Schmidt wegen Mordes und Mordversuches zum Tode, außerdem zu zwölf Jahren Zuchthaus, dauerndem Ehrverlust und Traguug der Kosten verurtheilt. Die Schmidt hatte ihre beiden ersten Ehemänner vergiftet und ihren jetzigen Mann mittels vergifteter Speisen zu ermorden versucht.

[“Ein weiblicher Blaubart.” Prager Tagblatt (Prague, Bohemia), Mar. 5, 1897, p. 10]

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Verden an der Aller, also called Verden or simply Verden, is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, on the river Aller. It is the administrative centre of the district of Verden. Verden is famous for a massacre of Saxons in 782, committed on the orders of Charlemagne, for its cathedral, and for its horse-breeding.

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http://unknownmisandry.blogspot.com/2017/04/husband-killing-syndicates.html

For more than two dozen similar cases, dating from 1658 to 2011, see the summary list with links see: The Husband-Killing Syndicates

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For more cases of “Baby Farmers,” professional child care providers who murdered children see The Forgotten Serial Killers.

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“Attendorf Black Widow,” Suspected Serial Husband-Killer – Austria, 1886

FULL TEXT (Translated from German): One reports from Fraustadt, March 16th: “Our city has been in great excitement since Sunday. A landowner in Attendorf was called up because she is suspected of having poisoned her four husbands one after the other; her fourth husband died suddenly on March 3rd. Today a judicial commission went to Attendorf to exhume the corpses."

[“A Female Bluebeard.” (“Ein weiblicher Blaubart.”), Wiener Allgemeine Zeitung Morgenblatt (Vienna, Austria), Mar. 20, 1886, p. 6] 

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Attendorf is a former municipality in the district of Graz-Umgebung in the Austrian state of Styria. Since the 2015 Styria municipal structural reform, it is part of the municipality Hitzendorf.

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FULL TEXT: Man meldet aus Fraustadt, 16. März: “Seit Sonntag befindet sich unsere Stadt in großer Aufregung. Eine Bauerugutsbesitzerin in Attendorf ist gefänglich eingezogen worden, weil sie im Verdachte steht, nach einander ihre vier Ehemänner ver ­ giftet zu haben; ihr vierter Mann verstarb am 3. März plötzlich. Heute hat sich eine gerichtliche Commission nach Attendorf begeben, um die Exhumirung der Leichen vorzn- nehmen."

[“Ein weiblicher Blaubart.” Wiener Allgemeine Zeitung Morgenblatt (Vienna, Austria), Mar. 20, 1886, p. 6]

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For links to other cases of woman who murdered 2 or more husbands (or paramours), see Black Widow Serial Killers.

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