Erzsébet Papp, Mrs. János Holhós (Penészlek, Jan. 28,
1935 - Miskolc, Jan. 23, 1962) Hungarian serial killer, the
"nicotine killer,” who was executed for her crimes: four murders. She was
married twice and had four daughters. A child by her second husband died at the
age of three months during the period of her murders, and might itself have
been murdered.
The case is infamous for the continuous incompetence of
police investigators, who botched the investigation from the beginning, even
with the exceedingly suspicious death of a 5-year-old girl.
The method of murder was poisoning commercial nicotine plant
spray, which contained a lethal, concentrated toxins, which she added to
brandy.
Erzsébet Papp was born in 1935 as the daughter of János Papp
and Julianna Krivács. He had high intelligence at the time, primarily
according to documents related to his lawsuit, but his moral sense was
underdeveloped.
1) Aug. 1, 1957 – Ilona Tarnóczi
She committed her first murder as preparation for killing
her first husband, István Rostár. This and - her subsequent murders – were
not committed due to any serious motivating reason he simply used poisoning to
assuage resentment over petty matters. Before she was murdered her husband,
experimented with the dosage. She killed a dog and a neighbor’s five-year-old
girl (Helena Tarnóczi) by dissolving tobacco leaves and putting the
extraction in a drink. A large dose of highly concentrated nicotine killed the
little girl immediately, but her death was classified as a natural death, so
there was no investigation.
Erzsébet poured the nicotine concentrate into a 2 liter
brandy bottle and hid it under a corner table. Unsure that the poison would be
enough to kill her husband, she decided to give it a try first with Ilona
Tarnóczi, 5, who lived next door and often came to play with Erzsebet’s 2-year-old
daughter, Irén. She gave the child wine, then poured nicotine into a glass and
gave it to the little girl. The child took a sip, then became ill, then
staggered out onto the street, where she finally collapsed and died.
The medical examination of the child was botched, as was the
police investigation – a pattern that was to be repeated three more times
concerning three more murders. The autopsy stated the cause of death as
suffocation, postulating that, while vomiting, a slimy mash of food had blocked
the little girl's larynx, causing her to asphyxiate.
2) August 7, 1957 – Mrs. Jozsef Furtos
Erzsébet’s neighbor and friend, Mrs. József Fürtös, whose
sin was so much that she had offended by gossiping was the next to die. Pretended
to reconcile, brought brandy. She died quickly. Erzsébet was interrogated by police
she told them she had arrived to find her friend ill. The empty brandy bottle
was on the table, unnoticed by investigators. An autopsy showed the woman was
four months pregnant.
An investigation was not started on the suspicion of murder,
but on suspicion of attempted self-inflicted abortion. The coroner, with
reliable ineptitude, classified the death as suicide.
3) August 23, 1957 – István Rostár
Erzsabet’s first husband, István
Rostár, was an alcoholic who had verbally abused her several times while
drunk. It was he was the final target of her preparatory homicidal activities.
But the woman was quite the empiricist. She tested the poison on increasingly
large victims: first a dog, second a small child and finally on an adult woman.
She had already gotten away with two murders, so her confidence in escaping
punishment was high. She was now ready for divorce-by-murder.
When the couple went for dinner at the Hunting Horn
Restaurant on August 23, 1957, she had her brandy bottle with her. She spiked
her husband’s drink; he died within minutes. The medical examiner classified
the cause of death as alcoholism. A few months later Erzsabet gave birth to a
child by the murdered husband which lived only three months.
4) April 23, 1959 – Ferencné Juhos
Erzsabet remarried. In 1959, she wed János Holhos in Penészleken and
moved to the village. Not long after, Erzsabet quarreled with her new
husband’s sister, Mrs. Ferenc Juhos, and killed her with
the standard nicotine coctail. Even then, police were not suspicious, yet the
poisoner had made a serious error: she redeemed for deposit the brandy bottle
in which she had kept her poison. Because the bottle was re-cycled and had not
been sufficient cleaned, two people were to receive severe poisoning from the
residue. Authorities examined the bottle, and found twice the lethal dose of
nicotine contained inside. They identified the person who had redeemed the
bottle. because there were several mysterious deaths in Erzsabet’s circle, they
initiated an investigation. The bodies of the little girl and husband were
exhumed.
Erzsabet was arrested September 6, 1960. Although Erzsabet
denied guilt throughout the process, she was sentenced to death in 1961 and on
January 23, 1962, executed by hanging.
***
CHRONOLOGY
Jan. 28, 1935 – Erzsébet Papp, born “from Nyírség.” Parents:
János Papp and Julianna Krivács.
Aug. 1, 1957 – Ilona Tarnóczi (5) murdered; Pereces. (Helena
Tarnóczi)
Aug. 7, 1957 – Mrs. Jozsef Furtos, 4-mo. pregnant friend,
murdered; “suicide”; (Fürtös Józsefné).
1957 – Ferenc Janos murdered; neighbor.
Aug. 23, 1957 – Istvan Rostal. Husband No 1 murdered; “alcohol
poisoning.” Rostár István.
Early 1958 –gave birth to her child from her deceased
husband, who also died under unclear circumstances at the age of 3 months;
moved from the village of Pereces to Moldles.
1959 – married János Holhos again in Penészleken;
move to Moldles.
Apr. 23, 1959 – Mrs. Ferenc Juhos, sister of János Holhos
murdered. Juhos Ferencné
1959 – Ferenc Ónodi, buys brandy in recycled bottle and is
made ill.
Sep. 6, 1960 – Elizabeth Papp Holhos
arrested.
1961 – Erzsébet convicted of killing four people. Sentenced to
life imprisonment
1961/62 – Supreme Court re-sentences to death.
Jan. 23, 1962 – Erzsébet hanged at the age of 27 in Miskolc.
[SOURCE: N. Nagy Zoltán, “Holhos Jánosné avagy a rendőrség
csődje,” (“Mrs. János Holhos, or, the bankruptcy of the police”), Egyperces
Krimi, Jan.17, 2015]
***
FULL
TEXT: Budapest – Mrs. Janos Holhos; 27; of Pereces, North Hungary; has been
executed for murdering four people as an experiment before he attended to
dispose of her husband, a newspaper reported today.
Mrs.
Holhos bought some poison but wasn’t sure if it was potent enough to kill her
husband.
So
she gave some to the five-year-old daughter of a neighbour. The child died.
Encouraged,
but not wholly satisfied Mrs. Holhos fed it next to Mrs. Jozsef Furtos, against
whom she bore a grudge.
The
woman died, Mrs. Holhos then quickly eliminated another neighbour, Ferenc
Janos; and her first husband, Istvan Rostal.
[“Experiment
In Murder,” syndicated (AP), The Daily Gleaner (Kingston, Jamaica), Jan. 27,
1962, p. 15]
