Homeless man in Budapest turns out to be a serial killer

Photo: Police Hungary

Several homicides may be linked to the homeless person who stabbed another homeless person on Kámfor Street in August 2020. If the suspicion turns out to be right, the serial killer can expect life imprisonment.

According to Magyar Nemzet, the Central District Court of Buda did not release 46-year-old László E. on parole on New Year’s Day. László E. has been under arrest since August on the suspicion of having committed murders. Although the man’s arrest would have expired, the investigating authorities found out that he could have been linked to at least three murders, and his arrest was prolonged.

The newspaper recalls that a bleeding man was found on August 26, 2020, at the ruined railway site on Kámfor Street in District XIII of Budapest.

The victim was still alive, and he could tell the paramedics who arrived at the scene that he had woken up to someone stabbing him in the chest. He was taken to the nearest hospital, but he was in such condition that several surgeries were needed to save the victim’s life. When searching the crime scene, the police found the homeless László E. nearby. Investigators found evidence that the man stabbed his acquaintance in the chest with the intent to kill due to an old, unsettled dispute.

This year seems to have taken a toll on people as in another case, a man from Rákoscsaba killed his own mother and committed suicide afterwards.

Telex says that the name of László E. came up in the investigation of a criminal case in May and July 2020.

On May 27, 2020, the body of a 29-year-old homeless man was found next to the same premises on Kámfor Street in Angyalföld, Budapest. According to the medical examiner, the victim was stabbed and robbed. Forensics say that he might have been killed for his disability pension of HUF 50,000 (€~140) which he withdrew the day before he was murdered. In July, a third homeless man was attacked in the same neighbourhood. He said that a stranger asked for money, and when he refused, his assailant beat him, broke his cheekbones in several places, and took the victim’s valuables when he fell to the ground.

Due to the proximity of the locations, the style of perpetration, the brutal cruelty, and the violence, the police came to the conclusion that all three cases on Kámfor Street could be linked to László E.

The Budapest Police Headquarters have merged the cases and, according to the evidence obtained, László E. is suspected of voluntary homicide on several instances and attempted homicide on two instances, where the victims were unable to defend themselves, for financial gain.

The suspect gave no detailed confession regarding any of his crimes, and during his interrogations, he regularly denied committing crimes against life. In order to prevent his escape and to ensure his presence in the proceedings, the Central District Court of Buda extended the suspect’s arrest for two additional months and ordered his assessment at the Forensic Psychiatric and Mental Institution.