The 2008–2009 neo-Nazi murders of Roma in Hungary were a series of murders perpetrated by four Neo-Nazis (Árpád Zoltán Kiss, István Sándor Kiss, Zsolt István Pető and accomplice István Csaba Csontos) against people of Roma ethnicity, occurring between July 2008 and August 2009.
The perpetrators had previously obtained firearms and Molotov cocktails after robbing a house in Besenyszög, using them in numerous attacks in 10 locations, killing six people in the process. The subsequent investigation revealed that the gang were skinheads from Debrecen, and their motive was retaliation for crimes committed by Roma and a desire to incite anti-Roma sentiment among the ethnic Hungarian population.
All four were arrested on August 21, 2009, at a nightclub in Debrecen, where two of them worked as bouncers. The criminal proceedings began on March 25, 2011, and lasted until August 6, 2013. Árpád Kiss, István Kiss and Zsolt Pető were sentenced to life imprisonment, while István Csontos was a given a 13-year sentence without a chance of parole, with an expected release date of August 2022.
Case overview Pretext From the very beginning, the four men planned the crimes in advance, selecting several sites which received high media coverage because of past incidents involving the Roma and non-Roma population.
The weapons used to carry out the attacks were acquired from a robbery on March 7, 2008. On that day, the Kisses and Pető, who were aided by an unidentified accomplice, broke into the home of a hunter in Besenyszög, who had previously offered to sell them his Franchi M610 VSL. Presenting themselves as police officers, they tied up the occupants with duct tape, threatening them with two objects that resembled real guns. The robbers scavenged the hunter's weapon cabinet, taking the following items: a 7x64mm Mauser rifle with a Swarovski Optik scope, a 12x76mm Fabarm MAX2 Bock sporting rifle, a 12x76mm Franchi M610 VSL semi-automatic shotgun, a FÉG Bock shotgun, an IZS-58 MHE shotgun, a 22mm BRNO M2E hunting rifle, a 16x70mm 158 type rifle and two double-barrel shotguns.
After the robbery, the gang began to plan and scout their locations from an apartment on Poroszlay Street in Debrecen. The vehicle used for the attacks was an Opel Astra belonging to Árpád Kiss' wife, which initially had its license plate covered, but later was replaced by fakes manufactured by István Kiss' girlfriend, Edit.
Attacks Debrecen In preparation for the crimes, the gang decided to hold a practise shooting. On June 2, 2008, after midnight, Árpád Kiss fired several shots at the refugee camp in Debrecen with one of the rifles.
Galgagyörk Galgagyörk was chosen as the first location because there had been previous clashes between the ethnic Hungarian and Roma communities, which were heavily reported in the press. More specifically, the men learned of it from a report on Echo TV about an ethnic Hungarian family being driven out of their homes and the involvement of the Magyar Gárda. While the people who had forced the family to leave were never identified, the gang nevertheless decided to opt for an attack on the local Roma community.
On July 21, 2008, the Kisses and Pető opened fire on several residential buildings and breaking several windows. While several people, including minors, were present during the attacks, no injuries were reported. The attack was considered a failure, as the press erroneously considered that this might have been caused by a local feud between residents.
Piricse Due to the lack of media coverage, the perpetrators considered the Galgagyörk attack to be a failure. This led Árpád and István Kiss to plan another one, and on August 7, 2008, the two of them met with Zsolt Pető to plan their next move, agreeing that they strike in Piricse. The trio got into a car and drove towards their destination, stopping at Encsencs to change the license plate. On the night of August 8, 2008, Molotov cocktails were thrown at two houses on Ady Endre Street and a shotgun shot fired through the window of one building. One of the sleeping occupants, Magdolna Gyetyinás, left the house to check out what was going on, causing István Kiss to shoot her with one of the shotguns, hitting her in the leg and elbow. During their escape, the trio fired several more shots at the houses.
Nyíradony On the night of September 5, 2008, Árpád Kiss carried out another attack by himself in Nyíradony, using the Mauser rifle to penetrate the window of a house on Jázmin Street in the Tamásipuszta section of the village. Two adults and their four children, in addition to the victim's mother and three minor siblings and brothers, were present in the building, but none were harmed. While they had woken up from the attacks, they decided to wait for the attacker to leave, refraining from switching the lights on as to not draw attention.
Tarnabod During their next meeting on September 27, the main trio planned another attack, this time in Tarnabod, where it was reported that some Roma had murdered an elderly man. In addition to their usual armament and clothing, they also carried with themselves VHF radios to keep in contact.
Two days later, at midnight, Zsolt Pető threw two Molotov cocktails at a house on Tarna Street, one at the wall and the other at a window, before firing at it with his Fabarm. Meanwhile, the Kisses threw their cocktails at another house, before all three fled towards Tarna Creek. Along the way, they shot at another victim who was standing by the window in his home, but failed to hit him. In total, five buildings were shot at or had Molotov cocktails thrown at them, but miraculously none of the residents had been harmed.
Despite the attackers' intentions, they had unknowingly attacked ethnic Hungarian residents living in the village, as that neighborhood was populated mainly by elderly women.
Nagycsécs On November 3, 2008, the trio attacked two houses on György Dózsa Street in Nagycsécs. One of the buildings was occupied by a married couple and their mentally handicapped, deaf-mute child and the homeowner's physically disabled brother; the other had another couple and their two minor children.
Árpád Kiss had stationed himself at a field with his Mauser, covering for István Kiss and Zsolt Pető, who were throwing cocktails at the building. The noise caused the occupants of the buildings to wake up and start extinguishing the flames. The attackers shot and killed József and Tiborné Nagy on the spot, and severely wounded the other man from the adjacent building.
A peculiarity noticed by investigators was that, despite István Csontos not being present during this attack, footprints from a fourth person were found at the crime scene, whose identity has not been established to this day.
Alsózsolca Another attack was carried out on December 15, 2008, on Pista Dankó Street in Alsózsolca, with the targets being an 18-year-old and a 16-year-old chopping firewood near their home. Árpád Kiss shot at the 18-year-old from the other side of the Sajó river with his Mauser, missing him, but instead piercing through his companion's clothing. He fired another shot, hitting the older victim in the hip area and causing him to collapse. Despite his life-threatening condition, he was rescued, but was left permanently disabled from his injuries.
Tatárszentgyörgy In 2007, a conflict occurred between ethnic Hungarian and Roma residents in Tatárszentgyörgy, leading to intervention from the Magyar Gárda and members of the National Guard, a right-wing paramilitary organization demanding for the segregation of Romas from ethnic Hungarians. This stunt subsequently led to the organization being outlawed by the government. Because of his incident, the gang chose Tatárszentgyörgy as their next target.
On February 23, 2009, the trio arrived in front of a house on Fenyves Street, occupied by 29-year-old Róbert Csorbá, his wife and three children. Árpád Kiss hid himself in the trees while his two cohorts attacked head on, with Zsolt Pető throwing two Molotov cocktails into the attic and walls, causing them to light on fire. When Csorba noticed the fire, he picked up two of his children and ran towards the patio door. He was seen by István Kiss, who fired at the terrace twice with his Franchi, fatally hitting Róbert and his 4-year-old son, Robika, and seriously injuring the daughter Bianká, who fled back towards the house.
Tiszalök In this incident, the three main perpetrators were joined for the first time by István Csontos, who knew of the previous attacks and wanted to participate due to his anti-Romani convictions, acting as their getaway driver. Unlike the previous times, Zsolt Pető was not present during the attack in Tiszalök. While Árpád and István Kiss were committing the crime, Csontos waited in nearby Polgár, returning to the crime scene to pick up the brothers and then leave.
Tiszalök was chosen due a 2008 parade organized by the National Guard, and the subsequent counter-protest by the Roma community. The attack took place on April 22, 2009, at 10PM, with Árpád, who was hiding in some nearby grass, opening fire with his shotgun at a house on Nefelejcs Street. This caused the homeowner, Jenö Kóka, to try and flee via the yard, but was seen by the attackers, who shot at him with their rifles, hitting him in the chest and killing him on the spot.
Prior to the murder, police assured the public that they could cordon off the county in a maximum of ten minutes. However, an hour and a half after the murder, one of the Kiss brothers phoned Csontos and told him to pick them up. Csontos was stopped on the way by police officers, but despite having an empty guitar case, military binoculars, maps and a radio in his car, Csontos was let go by the officer and was not questioned further. Ten minutes later, he picked up the brothers from a nearby railway embankment and they all drove away from the area. On the way back, the car got stuck in mud on a dirt road, making Árpád Kiss make a phone call to his partner, Évá N., to help them out (this call would later be used to track down the killers). Évá N. went there in the early hours with her own car, picked up the trio and drove them back to Debrecen, with them returning the next day with a farmer, whom they had asked to help tow their car away with his tractor. This happened only 40 kilometers away from the crime scene.
Kisléta The last known attack occurred in Kisléta on August 3, 2009. On that night, the Kiss brothers and Zsolt Pető approached a house on Bocskai Street from the fields, while István Csontos returned to Debrecen with the car until he would be called back to pick his associates.
After approaching the front door, two of them kicked it down and broke inside, where Pető fired at the doorframes with his Fabarm. They then went to the bedroom and opened fire at the two people they found lying in bed. The mother, Mária Balogh, was killed on the spot, while her daughter, Ketrin, who was hiding behind her mother, survived. After the incident, she was left with permanent brain damage.
After the attack in Kisléta, police patrols were increased in the area, so one of the men began carrying around a pistol, in case a shoot-out with police occurred. Disappointed with the results, the trio planned to also attack the mayor of the village, who, according to them, was a leftist who always gave the jobs to Roma people. Later on, an allegation by a Magyar Gárda employee claimed that one of the men likely attended Mária Balogh's funeral, as a suspicious man with a tattoo on his right upper arm, most likely Árpád Kiss, was seen there.
Later plans