Miami

Police: Hungarian national charged in Miami, Miami Beach murder cases possibly targeted ‘elderly gay community’ – WSVN 7News | Miami News, Weather, Sports


MIAMI (WSVN) – Police caught and cuffed a Hungarian national accused of several crimes after investigators from two law enforcement agencies discovered they were looking for the same person.

Miami Beach Police Chief Wayne Jones and City of Miami Police Chief Manuel Morales addressed reporters at a news conference held Friday after, they said, they stopped a man suspected of targeting and killing two men in two separate instances.

“There’s no doubt in my mind, had he not been caught, he would have done this again and again and again,” said Jones.

Police identified the suspect as 25-year-old Zsolt Zsolyomi.

“A Hungarian citizen that had come to the country sometime last year, overstayed and was already in our system ready to be deported,” said Morales.

Investigators said that during his extended stay, Zsolyomi preyed on at least two victims, one back in November in Miami Beach, and the other in January in Miami.

Miami Police said it started when they were called out to a crash in the Little Havana neighborhood, near Northwest 14th Avenue and Second Street.

“[Officers] discovered physical evidence, as well as video evidence, indicating that there had been an individual that had been in the vehicle that had strangled the driver and then staged the vehicle crash in an attempt to cover up the homicide,” said Morales.

Officials said it did not take long for investigators to realize this homicide was connected to a separate incident.

“We discovered it was related to another homicide, very similar to one we had in the City of Miami, involving the same individual,” said Morales.

The arrest report states that other incident happened in November at an apartment located near 10th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue in Miami Beach.

Investigators said the victim’s family in the November case “became concerned when the victim did not show up for work.”

Miami Beach Police responded to the victim’s home after the family called them, and they found the victim “face down in the bathtub.”

Medical examiners said the cause of death was “strangulation.”

But police said the crime spree did not stop there.

A day after the killing of the South Beach man, detectives said, Zsolyomi was involved in a hit-and-run at the intersection of Southwest 13th Street and 22nd Avenue in Miami.

Zsolyomi was apprehended on Wednesday and charged with second-degree murder charges.

Police believe the two killings may be linked.

“It appears now that the connection might be that he was targeting the elderly gay community,” said Morales.

“He is the epitome of evil,” said Jones.

Zsolyomi appeared before Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Mindy S. Glazer Thursday afternoon. She denied his bond.

Police said the suspect had also traveled to Orlando, so they’re asking anyone with information to come forward.

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