MIAMI BEACH, Fla. – A Hungarian national is facing two counts of second-degree murder in connection with at least two separate South Florida homicides. Police said the killings, in Miami Beach and Miami, occurred just a few months apart.
Authorities said Zsolt Zsolyomi, 25, was arrested following an investigation that linked him to both cases.
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One of the homicides occurred on Nov. 21, 2024, at an apartment on Pennsylvania Avenue in Miami Beach, according to investigators.
According to a warrant filed by a Miami Beach detective, Zsolyomi was in a romantic relationship with the victim, 66-year-old Carlos Villaquiran.
The warrant stated that text messages from October 2024 indicated Villaquiran had accused Zsolyomi of physical abuse, theft and using a fake name, “Thomas Kray.”
The victim, who eventually discovered Zsolyomi’s real identity, texted him “I can’t believe what you did to me and what you took from me,” followed by a picture showing a “prominent injury to his right eye,” police wrote in the warrant.
At first, Zsolyomi denied causing the injury, but later responded, “Sometimes I don’t know what to do when I’m drunk,” and apologized multiple times to Villaquiran, the warrant stated.
The victim then sent several messages asking Zsolyomi to return his cellphone and other belongings before he filed a police report, according to investigators.
A month later, police said family members of Villaquiran found him face down in a bathtub in his own apartment after he was apparently strangled.
Neighbor Tyler Futch described Villaquiran as a friendly man with a great sense of humor.
“He always said hello when we crossed paths,” Futch said. “He’d ask if I wanted to grab a beer with him and would always crack jokes.”
An autopsy revealed Villaquiran had sustained internal trauma to both sides of the neck, a fractured rib, and a broken bone in his neck. Police said his injuries were “consistent with strangulation.”
Surveillance video showed Zsolyomi coming and going from the apartment the night of the murder, according to the report.
Fingerprint evidence also connected Zsolyomi to a second homicide in Miami, authorities said.
Police said on Jan. 19, a man, identified as 71-year-old Rodolfo Fernandez was found dead in the driver’s seat of a crashed Kia Soul with both front seatbelts wrapped around his neck near Northwest 14th Avenue and Second Street in Little Havana.
The Miami-Dade Medical Examiner’s Office ruled Fernandez’s death a homicide.
Police said additional surveillance footage showed Zsolyomi leaving the passenger side of the vehicle after the crash, and his fingerprints were found on the car involved in that case.
Police said both deceased victims were disabled seniors.
Investigators later determined Zsolyomi was also seen on surveillance at the Miami Beach crime scene, at the time with blonde hair. They identified him as the suspect and found that he had used Thomas Kray as an alias in that case.
Prosecutors also noted that Zsolyomi had been involved in a strong-armed robbery incident last year and was previously arrested in Broward County.
A public defender has been appointed to represent Zsolyomi, who was also placed on an immigration hold. According to the arrest warrant, he is in the United States illegally after overstaying his visa.
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“This fellow is a really bad guy,” Miami Beach Police Department Chief Wayne Jones said at a news conference on Friday. “He is the epitome of evil. He hunts his prey, he is patient, and then he kills them.”
Zsolyomi appeared in court Friday morning and is being held without bond. The judge also found probable cause in each case and granted the state’s motion for pre-trial detention.
Authorities believe he may have had contact with other potential victims and are urging anyone with information to call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-8477.