Israeli student beaten to death in Hungary
Ofir Gross found dead under the wreckage of a destroyed house in the town of Debrecen after being beaten to death with bricks; two arrested suspects robbed him and then killed him; Gross's sister: 'I can't accept it.'
Gross, 40, from Jerusalem, was studying medical engineering in Germany. He was missing for more than a week in Hungary, to which he travelled after his studies. After Gross failed to make contact with his family, an Israeli police representative informed the Hungarian authorities who then sent out a special search team.
On Sunday, Hungarian authorities announced that Gross’ body had been discovered and that two suspects, aged 19 and 21, had been arrested on suspicion of murder. The Foreign Ministry confirmed the identity of the body.
“We were notified that two suspects were arrested. This is extremely difficult for us,” said Hannah, Ofir’s mother. “We don’t know too much and we are trying to process this terrible news.”
According to Hungarian reports, the murder was carried out in the yard of an abandoned house in which Gross was spending the night in a sleeping bag. The two suspects attacked Gross in an effort to steal his cellphones, his laptop and his cash. The suspects then found bricks in the garden and used them to beat Gross to death.
In an attempt to cover up the murder, the two attackers took Gross's body to a destroyed building site and covered it with construction waste. They then sold one of his cellphones and his laptop before burying his other phone along with his tent and backpack.
Prior to his disappearance and subsequent murder, Gross stayed at his friend’s home in the city of Tiszakecske in southern Hungary, but then had to leave for Budapest. He then made his way to Debrecen where he searched for an apartment.
“His friend took him to the town and from there he called us and told us that he had nowhere to sleep,” his sister Gali told Ynet before the discovery of his body. “That was the last conversation we had with him, right before the Seder (Passover feast -ed.). He doesn’t have a Facebook account and he asked me to go into groups and find him a place to sleep. During this conversation, he said that he had met a young man who offer him to sleep at his place, and he hasn't responded (to us) since. Up to that point, we spoke every day on WhatsApp and on the phone, but it is like the earth swallowed him now.”
Gali also wrote on Facebook: “It is hard for me to write right now...It is a kind of acceptance of the situation and how can this kind of thing be accepted?! Anyway, it is important for me to say thank you to everyone who was active and shared the post, to everyone who supported and suggested ideas, and to everyone who point me to people who can help. I don't wish this on anybody but now, unfortunately, I have experience in this. I have to let you know how much this helps. Thanks to you, I was not alone. You were part of my team.”
“Barbaric animals took my brother, Ofir, from me. Ofir is a special person, as one of his friends wrote, he was one in a million. He is smart, knowledgeable, inquisitive, curious, and uses his wisdom in order to help those who need it,” Gali continued.
“Sensitive, with a gentle soul, funny, creative, highly educated, handsome and blue-eyed. Seeker of justice, he is someone who strives to be honest which for him is more important than anything. He has a stubborn belief in his way and in himself. (I cannot write about him in past tense). Ofir, I already miss you so much! It hurts and is so hard to believe and to accept.”
