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Gizella Bodnár

1926 – 2019

Hungarian thief

ThiefCriminal
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About Gizella Bodnár

Lived 1926 – 2019 (aged 92). Gizella Bodnár was a Hungarian thief and criminal.

Gizella Bodnár (18 October 1926 – 6 February 2019) known as Repülős Gizi (“Airplane Gizi”) was a Hungarian burglar, who became known in the early 1950s. According to the media, she was infamous for using the then-frequent domestic flights to travel to different cities, break into houses there, then fly home, avoiding suspicion, since police would not suspect someone living that far away from the crime scene.

Life She was the fourth of six children of a railroad engineer father and a housewife mother. She began to steal smaller things while still a child; she attributed her kleptomania to meningitis she survived at the age of six. Part of her modus operandi was to go to a neighbour in the morning and borrow some condiments for cooking, which she would return in the evening, providing herself an alibi for two distinct parts of a day in a different town. Later she moved to the town of Komárom, where she was arrested in January 2009, at the age of 82, for breaking into a house. Late in her life, she was diagnosed with kleptomania: she admitted liking "shiny things" and claimed that she mostly gave away her loot to other people instead of selling it, a claim supported by the fact that at the time of her death she had no possessions to her name. and September; in the latter instance, she was found in a cupboard, where she claimed she hid from the rain outside. She was arrested in February 2016 in Sukoró, then in August 2017 in Tatabánya.

Bodnár died on 6 February 2019, aged 92.

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Important facts

Birth century
Occupation
Thief, criminal
Nationality
Also known as
Gizella Bodnar, Airplane Gizi, Flying Gizi

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped Gizella Bodnár's

Frequently asked questions

Who was Gizella Bodnár?

Hungarian thief

When was Gizella Bodnár born?

Gizella Bodnár was born on 18 October 1926 in Miskolc.

When did Gizella Bodnár die?

Gizella Bodnár died on 6 February 2019 in Budapest.

What was Gizella Bodnár's occupation?

Gizella Bodnár was a thief and criminal.

What nationality was Gizella Bodnár?

Gizella Bodnár was Hungarian.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Gizella Bodnár

· Wikidata: Q1248505

· DBpedia: Gizella Bodnár

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Gizella Bodnár. https://biography.guide/gizella-bodnar/

MLA: "Gizella Bodnár." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/gizella-bodnar/.

Chicago: "Gizella Bodnár." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/gizella-bodnar/.

Data last updated: 2026-09-20 · Spot an error? Report a correction.

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