Peter Demeter (/ˈdɛmətər/; born 19 April 1933) is a Hungarian-born Canadian former real estate developer convicted in 1974 of arranging the murder of his wife.
While serving his sentence and living in a convicts' halfway house, in 1983 Demeter was charged on two counts with trying to arrange the kidnapping and murder of the son of his cousin; the latter was managing his financial affairs.
Demeter was born in Budapest, Hungary into a wealthy family that became impoverished following World War II and the rise of the Communist government.
[4] Demeter was charged with the murder of his wife Christine on 18 July 1973 at their home at 1437 Dundas Crescent North, Mississauga, Ontario.
[5] The other significant witness was Demeter's former friend and police informant, Csaba Szilagy, who testified that the defendant had tried to hire him to murder Ferrari.
[8] On 6 December 1974, the Canadian government requested extradition from Hungary of Imre Olejnyik, who was suspected of the physical murder of Christine Demeter.
In 1988, he was charged with planning to kidnap and murder the daughter of his lawyer, Toby Belman, resulting in two additional life sentences.
[13] The murder and trial were the subject of By Persons Unknown: The Strange Death of Christine Demeter, by George Jonas and Barbara Amiel, winner of the Mystery Writers of America's 1978 Edgar Award for Best Fact Crime book.