Bela Kiss
Hungary- Béla Kiss: The Hungarian Serial Killer
- A Strange Hobby
- A Gruesome Discovery
- A Desperate Hunt
- The Method and Victims
- The Elusive Killer
Béla Kiss: The Hungarian Serial Killer
Béla Kiss was a Hungarian serial killer who lived near Budapest from 1900 onwards. He worked as a tinsmith and had a keen interest in astrology and the occult. In 1912, Kiss began corresponding with several women, many of whom he invited to his home. During this time, he hired a housekeeper named Mrs. Jakubec, who later could not provide any information about the women who visited the house.
A Strange Hobby
During this period, some of Kiss's neighbors noticed that he had developed a peculiar hobby - collecting large steel drums. When questioned by the police, Kiss explained that he intended to store gasoline in them, which he believed would be needed during the upcoming war. When the war did start, Kiss enlisted, leaving his home and his housekeeper behind.
A Gruesome Discovery
In July 1916, Budapest police received a call about a strange find - six large metal drums. The constable assigned to investigate the nature of the discovery remembered Kiss's plans to stockpile gasoline and thought it might be relevant. However, when the drums were opened, the stench emanating from them bore no resemblance to gasoline. To their horror, the detectives discovered the bodies of murdered women in each of the barrels.
A Desperate Hunt
An urgent manhunt was launched to capture Béla Kiss, but it was unclear whether he was still alive or in captivity. Moreover, his name was relatively common in Hungary. The housekeeper was detained, and the postal service was alerted in hopes of intercepting any correspondence that could reveal a possible accomplice. The housekeeper, Miss Jakubec, came under suspicion as she was the sole beneficiary of Kiss's will. However, she insisted that she knew nothing about his gruesome activities and even showed the police a secret room in his house where books, a desk, and albums filled with photographs of women were kept. Many of these women turned out to be his victims.
The Method and Victims
According to evidence and documents found in his home, the police determined that Kiss found his victims through personal ads in newspapers. Naive women saw him as a potential suitor and willingly met with him. He carefully selected single women without close relatives who would quickly notice their disappearance. Kiss would first lure his "brides" into giving him money under various pretenses. If they refused, he remorselessly killed them. He would also kill those who entrusted their savings to him.
The Elusive Killer
Several reports suggested that Kiss was in a Serbian hospital, but the police arrived too late. In his bed, they found the body of another soldier, while Kiss managed to escape. This trick of substituting himself with dead soldiers worked for him on several occasions during the war. Despite several sightings of people matching his description, the official fate of the man responsible for at least 24 murders remains unknown.
