Murderer in notoroius Szécsény case sentenced to life

The murderer of a 14 year-old girl received an actual life sentence on Wednesday, reports origo.hu. The verdict is not final yet, as the defendant's lawyer has appealed against the punishment.

Tamás Pongrácz forced a 14 year-old girl into his car with a knife in April 2005 in Szécsény (Nógrád county). After inflicting a series of injuries on the victim, he threw her into a cesspool, where the girl drowned.

Following the session, the judge said he chose the harshest punishment in order to ensure that the defendant will be removed from society for good.

Pongrácz spoke for 40 minutes in court and denied that he was guilty. He claimed to have found the girl covered in blood on the side of the road and only put her in his car to take her to the hospital. The girl, however, collapsed, and he threw her into the cesspool to get rid of the body.

Pongrácz added that he doesn't feel guilty because he had neither murderous nor sexual intentions. As he thought the girl was already dead, he does feel guilty about doing what he did to a live person. "My body doesn't obey my will, but the will of someone else, someone who is stronger than me," he said.

According to tests conducted by the authorities, Pongrácz is neither insane nor a paedophile. However, he does have sadistic-masochistic urges, and is emotionally insecure.

• Email
• Save to My Caboodle