Judith Barsi

Judith Barsi
Born	Judith Eva Barsi (1978-06-06)June 6, 1978 Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Died	July 25, 1988(1988-07-25) (aged 10) Canoga Park, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Cause of death	Homicide
Resting place	Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Hollywood Hills
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1984–1988

Judith Eva Barsi (June 6, 1978 – July 25, 1988) was an American child actress. She began her career in television, making appearances in commercials and television shows, and later appeared in the films Jaws: The Revenge, The Land Before Time, and All Dogs Go to Heaven, supplying the voice for animated characters in the latter two. In 1988, after years of physical and mental abuse, her father, József, shot and killed Judith and her mother, Maria, before shooting himself in a double murder–suicide.

Family history

Judith's father, József, fled Communist Hungary after the 1956 Soviet occupation. He eventually relocated to New York in 1964, and then to California,^[1] where he met Maria Virovacz.^[2] Maria, herself a Hungarian immigrant escaping the Soviet occupation, was born in rural southern Hungary,^[2] and suffered psychological and physical abuse from her father. József and Maria married, and Judith's birth quickly followed in Los Angeles, California, where Judith was raised.^[3]

Career

Maria began grooming her daughter to become an actress,^[2] and at the age of five, Judith was discovered at a skating rink.^[2] Judith went on to appear in more than 70 commercials and guest roles on television.^[4] As well as her career in television, Judith appeared in several films including Jaws: The Revenge and provided the voice for the character of Ducky in The Land Before Time.

By the time she entered fourth grade, Judith was earning an estimated $100,000 a year, which helped her family buy a three-bedroom house in West Hills, Los Angeles.^[5] As she was short for her age (she stood 3 ft 8 in (1.12 m) at age 10),^[2] Judith began receiving hormone injections at UCLA to encourage her growth. Her petiteness led casting directors to cast her as children that were younger than her actual age. Her agent was quoted in The Los Angeles Times as saying that when Judith was ten, "she was still playing 7, 8".^[2]

Abuse and murder

As Judith's career success increased, József became increasingly abusive, jealous and paranoid, and would routinely threaten to kill himself, his wife, and daughter. His alcoholism worsened, and resulted in three separate arrests for drunk driving.^[2] In December 1986, Maria reported his threats and physical violence toward her to the police. After police found no physical signs of abuse, Maria eventually decided not to press charges against József.^[2]

After the incident, József reportedly stopped drinking, but continued to threaten his wife and daughter, which included threats of cutting their throats as well as burning down the house. He reportedly hid a telegram informing Maria that a relative in Hungary had died, in an attempt to prevent her and Judith from leaving America.^[6] Physical violence continued, with Judith telling a friend about her father throwing pots and pans at her, resulting in a nosebleed.^[7] Due to her father's abuse, Judith began putting on weight^[6] and exhibited disturbing behavior, which included plucking out all her eyelashes and pulling out her cat's whiskers.^[2] After breaking down in front of her agent during a singing audition for All Dogs Go to Heaven, Judith was taken by Maria to a child psychologist, who identified severe physical and emotional abuse and reported her findings to Child Protective Services.^[2]

The investigation was dropped after Maria assured the case worker that she intended to begin divorce proceedings against József and that she and Judith were going to move into a Panorama City apartment she had recently rented as a daytime haven from József.^[8] Friends urged Maria to follow through with the plan, but she resisted, reportedly because she did not want to lose the family home and belongings.^[2]

Judith's grave marker decorated with roses in 2004.

Judith was last seen riding her bike on the morning of July 25, 1988.^[3] That evening, József shot Judith in the head while she was sleeping in her room, then shot Maria.^[5] József spent the next two days wandering around the house,^[3] and said during a phone call with Judith's agent on the next night that he intended to move out for good, and just needed time to "say goodbye to my little girl."^[2] He then poured gasoline on the bodies and set them on fire.^[9] After incinerating the bodies, József went into the garage and shot himself in the head with a .32 caliber pistol.^[10][11] On August 9, 1988, Judith and her mother were interred at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Los Angeles.^[12]

Aftermath

Judith's final film, All Dogs Go to Heaven, in which she voices the orphaned Anne-Marie, was released in 1989.^[13] Don Bluth, the director of The Land Before Time, described her as "absolutely astonishing. She understood verbal direction, even for the most sophisticated situations,"^[14] and he had intended to use her extensively in his future productions.^[15]

Filmography

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Judith Barsi.

• Judith Barsi at the Internet Movie Database
• Child Actress Judith Barsi: A Life Cut Tragically Short, Crime Library
• Judith Barsi at Find a Grave