By the time she began fourth grade, Barsi was earning an estimated $100,000 per year (equivalent to $258,000 in 2023) allowing her family to buy a three-bedroom house in West Hills, Los Angeles.

[1] Before Judith left to film Jaws: The Revenge, József reportedly held a knife to her throat and threatened to kill her if she didn't return.

[1] After the incident with the police, József reportedly stopped drinking, but continued to threaten Maria and Judith with violence, including threats to burn down the house.

He also reportedly hid a telegram informing Maria that a relative in Hungary had died, hoping to prevent her from leaving the United States with Judith.

[7] As a result of being abused, Judith Barsi began gaining weight[6] and developed compulsive behaviors, such as plucking out her eyelashes and pulling out her cat's whiskers.

[1] 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 him.

"[5] On July 28, 1988, the Los Angeles Times reported that three people had been found dead in an apparent murder–suicide and that the bodies were believed to be those of Barsi, her mother Maria, and her father József.

[5] The article quoted Police Lt. Warren Knowles as saying that a flammable liquid, presumably gasoline, had been poured on the bodies of Maria and Judith by József.