ForeverMissed
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Her Life

Abuse and murder

November 2, 2014

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. 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.

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.Physical violence continued, with Judith telling a friend about her father throwing pots and pans at her, resulting in a nosebleed.Due to her father's abuse, Judith began putting on weightand exhibited disturbing behavior, which included plucking out all her eyelashes and pulling out her cat's whiskers.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.

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. 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.

Judith was last seen riding her bike on the morning of July 25, 1988. That evening, József shot Judith in the head while she was sleeping in her room, then shot Maria.József spent the next two days wandering around the house, 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." József went into the garage and shot himself in the  Head

 

Judith's grave marker decorated with roses in 2004.

October 29, 2014

Maria began grooming her daughter to become an actress,and at the age of five, Judith was discovered at a skating rink.Judith went on to appear in more than 70 commercials and guest roles on television.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. As she was short for her age (she stood 3 ft 8 in (1.12 m) at age 10),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"

How She Became a Actress

October 29, 2014

Maria began grooming her daughter to become an actress,and at the age of five, Judith was discovered at a skating rink.Judith went on to appear in more than 70 commercials and guest roles on television.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.As she was short for her age (she stood 3 ft 8 in (1.12 m) at age 10), 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".

About Her Life

October 22, 2014

The only child of Jozsef Barsi and Maria Benko, Judith Eva Barsi beat 10,000 to 1 odds when she was discovered at a San Fernando Valley skating rink at 5 1/2 years old in 1983. She was mistaken for a three year old child. Her first commercial was for Donald Duck Orange Juice and she went on to appear in anywhere between 50-100 commercials, several episodes of various TV series and 3 major motion pictures. Her mother, Maria, was the main thrust of her career as a Hollywood starlet, but also took great pains in trying to give her a normal, happy childhood, bringing her Hungarian meals like duck to school for her lunch everyday. Her happy childhood did not last long, however. Beginning in 1985, Jozsef would often be home drunk rather than working his job as a plumber and he refused to let Maria work. The family was put on welfare for a brief period of time as a result, until Judith's career started taking off in 1986 and 1987. By the time she entered fourth grade, she was pulling in an estimated $100,000 a year and the income bought them a nice four bedroom house on a quiet street in West Hill. As her career soared