The Hungarian man who police said was responsible for two brutal murders in Miami-Dade County is now believed to have been targeting members of the LGBTQ+ community.
City of Miami Police Chief Manny Morales and Miami Beach Police Chief Wayne Jones revealed to reporters on Friday more details on how they managed to track down 25-year-old Zsolt Zsolyomi, saying they believed he had been targeting elderly gay men.
“This individual who was out there, preying on members of our community, would have gotten away with these crimes if it wasn’t for the diligent work of our investigators and the partnership with these agencies,” Morales said.
Zsolyomi is facing two counts of second-degree murder from the cases dating back to November and January, in which police said he had befriended both men before strangling them to death. Zsolyomi is currently being held without bond and he has been placed on an immigration hold because authorities said he overstayed his visa.
Carlos Villaquiran, the first victim, was a 66-year-old man who was discovered dead in the bathtub of his Miami Beach apartment on Nov. 21, where the medical examiner determined that he died of “homicidal violence to include strangulation.”
Two months later, 71-year-old Rodolfo Fernandez de Velasco was found dead in his car with both front seatbelts wrapped around his neck after a crash in Little Havana.
Jones said if it wasn’t for the multi-agency collaboration, Zsolyomi wouldn’t have been found and arrested.
“Thank goodness we did because there’s no doubt in my mind that if he had not been caught, he would have done this again, and again, and again,” he said.
Authorities are asking anyone who may been victimized by Zsolyomi or who has information related to similar cases to contact Miami Police’s Homicide Unit at (305) 603-6350. Those who wish to remain anonymous can contact Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at (305) 471-TIPS (4877) or submit their tips on crimestoppersmiami.com.
