Peter Demeter (19 April 1933, Budapest, Hungary) is a Hungarian-born Canadian man convicted of arranging the murder of his wife, as well as attempting to arrange the murder of both his cousin's son and a lawyer's daughter.
In 1956, Demeter immigrated to Canada and by 1962 he had started a successful career as a land developer in Toronto.
He married an Austrian-born model, Christine Ferrari, in 1967. The marriage was strained, and on 18 July 1973, 33-year-old Christine Demeter was found murdered in the garage of their family home in Mississauga, Ontario. Demeter was convicted of the murder in 1974 and was sentenced to life imprisonment.[1]
While in prison, Demeter has been weakened by stroke and a heart attack, and he has had chemotherapy administered three times.[2]
Demeter was convicted again, while still serving his sentence, for trying to arrange the murder of his cousin's son.[3]
In May 2006 a judge ordered Demeter to provide a DNA sample to the country's DNA data bank.[2]
Demeter is currently serving his term at the medium-security Bath Institute in Ontario. In a CBC interview on 30 May 2006, he said conclusively that he will be in prison for the rest of his life.[2]
Demeter's story served as the basis for the 1978 film I Miss You, Hugs and Kisses, where he is renamed Charles Kruschen and played by actor Donald Pilon.