1. József Barsi
Judith Eva Barsi is the little girl who serves as the original voice of the character of Ducky in the first Land Before Time film. However, she lived a living hell and died at the hands of her father, József, alongside her mother, Maria.
Groomed to be an actress by her mother from a young age, there was no doubt that young Judith was talented. However, this didn’t go down well with her father, who became jealous that his daughter’s popularity was rising and she was the family’s primary breadwinner, earning over $100,000 per year.
Faking Changes
József was an alcoholic and threatened to kill himself, his wife, and their daughter. The police arrest him three times for drunk driving. Finally, in December 1986, a fearful Maria went to the police. She told them about her husband’s threats against her and Judith. The abuse turned physical after he hit and choked her in the face. However, no physical signs are found, and she chooses not to press charges.
After this incident, József stopped drinking but proceeded with the threats. He issued threats, including slitting his wife and daughter’s throats and burning down the family home in West Hills, California. He is so paranoid that he hides a telegram from Maria. József didn’t want her leaving America with Judith and presumingly never coming back.
Judith is cast in Jaws: The Revenge, which will film in the Bahamas. József threatens his daughter with a knife. He shows Maria gasoline cans and says he will burn the house down if they leave.
Getting Worse
The physical abuse got so bad that Judith pulled out her eyelashes and cat’s whiskers. She even put on weight. Finally, she breaks down in front of her agent during a singing audition for a film later released after her death; All Dogs Go To Heaven. Maria takes her to a psychologist who quickly identifies severe physical and emotional abuse.
Unfortunately, Child Protection Services drop the case when Maria tells the caseworker she is beginning divorce proceedings. She intended to move herself and Judith to an apartment in Panorama City as a haven during the day. However, Maria’s friends urge her to proceed with her plans.
Maria knows her husband is a clean freak, so she stops cleaning the house in a desperate act to get him to leave. But unfortunately, her stepdaughter and Judith’s half-sister, Ági, visit them and deems the house a “Living pigpen”.
Judith’s last appearance alive was on July 25, 1988, as she rode her bike in the street. That night, her father walked into her room and shot her in the head as she slept. Her mother runs down the hall but meets József, who attacks her. Then, for two days, he walks around the house aimlessly.
József Says “Goodbye”
He spoke with Judith’s agent and told her he would move out but needed to say goodbye to his little girl. He then took the gasoline, poured it over the corpses of his wife and daughter and set them alight. In his final moment, he entered the family’s garage, took his .32 calibre pistol and shot himself in the head.
On August 9, 1988, Judith and Maria are buried in unmarked graves. It’s unknown where József was buried, if he was cremated, or if he was left to rot.
