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Ferentz SantoManiac
Country:
 Hungary |
Content:
Biography of Ferenc Santo
Ferenc Santo, a notorious maniac, was found dead, leaving only mute witnesses who couldn't provide details about his crimes - why he killed a widow and attacked two young men. Without a killer, the motives behind his crimes can only be speculated upon. Throughout history, human civilization has been marred by wars, which have led and continue to lead to the devaluation of human life and the normalization of violence and crime. When violence is justified in the name of a cause that lacks moral purpose in the eyes of the people, it inevitably encourages individuals with maniacal tendencies to resort to violence for what they perceive as justified reasons. Crimes of this nature are recorded in the history of every country, with the highest number occurring after wars. Even 10-15 years after the end of World War II, crimes involving the use of firearms by the population continued to occur. In the autumn and winter of 1954, the peace of the population on the northern shore of Lake Balaton was disrupted by extraordinary events. The initial gunshots didn't cause much concern, as no deaths or injuries occurred, but two young men were left deeply frightened.
The First Incident
This incident occurred in October 1954. Ferenc Moricz and Istvan Tamas, two friends, were riding their motorcycle late in the evening on the highway from Balatonederics to Szigliget. Suddenly, two shots rang out in the darkness. They noticed sparks from the barrel among the bushes. Although the shooter missed the men, they felt the motorcycle being hit by something during the shots. They discovered that gasoline was leaking from the fuel tank, indicating that the shooter had aimed well as the bullet hit the gas tank. There were no further shots, and the noise of the motorcycle drowned out the softer sounds of the shooter's footsteps receding through the bushes. The investigation couldn't establish the identity of the perpetrator. Ferenc Moricz and his friend didn't possess any valuable possessions, so it was likely that the motive behind the attack was something else. That evening, the two young men had visited their acquaintances, who were working in the village and renting accommodation from Kalman Nameni. The girls, who had arrived from another part of the country, didn't have any jealous male acquaintances who would carry out an armed attack.
The Second Incident
Three months later, on January 23, 1955, Jozsef Madar was traveling from Tapolca to Balatonederics to visit his elderly sister, Jozsefne Genchi. The widow lived alone in a dilapidated house. However, the siblings were never destined to meet again. Upon entering the house, Jozsef Madar greeted his sister, but his greeting remained unanswered. Upon closer inspection, he saw his sister lying on the floor with a pool of blood spreading from her head. The police searched for witnesses without success. On the sparsely populated hill covered with vineyards, there were few people during winter, and those who were present couldn't provide any explanation regarding the crime or the suspects. Experts were called in to investigate. They meticulously searched the floor and furniture of the apartment centimeter by centimeter to find the bullet and cartridge case. The victim had two wounds, indicating the number of shots fired. One bullet had passed through her body, and it was found in the furniture. Two cartridge cases were also discovered. During the autopsy, the forensic experts extracted the second bullet from the woman's body. The examination of the wounds on the victim allowed them to reconstruct the presumed sequence of the murder. The first bullet hit the woman's forehead and exited through the back of her head. The second shot was fired into the back of her head. This suggested that the killer initially stood in front of the victim and shot her, then, when she fell to the ground, shot her in the back of the head. The village was still in turmoil when another bloody drama unfolded.
The Final Tragedy
On January 27, in Balatonederics, gunshots echoed once again. Ferenc Santo, the ex-husband of Kalman Nameni's daughter, unexpectedly appeared in the yard and accused his father-in-law during a heated argument of interfering in his relationship with his ex-wife. The argument escalated, and Ferenc Santo pulled out a pistol from his pocket and fired three shots at his father-in-law. Kalman Nameni fell to the ground. His daughter, who had been watching the men from the house's doorway, ran out onto the street when she saw her ex-husband brandishing a pistol during the argument. But Santo's rage turned towards his wife. He chased after the pregnant woman running on the street and shot her multiple times, resulting in her death. Afterwards, he took his own life at his home. From his farewell letter, it became clear that he had been planning this brutal crime for a long time. With Ferenc Santo dead, the mute witnesses couldn't provide any details about the recent events. To shed light on all the committed crimes, experts had to make the mute witnesses speak.
Expert Investigation
The experts systematically examined the physical evidence, studying the bullets found at the scene of the widow Genchi's murder, the bullet extracted from Ferenc Moricz's motorcycle fuel tank, as well as the bullets and cartridge cases found at the Nemeni family's murder site. Under the microscope, the experts discovered characteristic features that left no doubt that the bullets fired from the former gendarme's pistol caused the deaths of both him and his wife, as well as the widow Jozsefne Genchi. Moreover, the same weapon was used in the murder of Kalman Nameni, Ferenc Moricz, and Istvan Tamas. Ferenc Santo, who could have provided answers to the events of the past months, was dead. The motives behind his crimes could only be speculated upon.
