Pál Gyömbér

Pál Gyömbér (November 7, 1859 – April 2, 1890) was a Hungarian serial killer who killed five people and attempted to kill three others in the Great Plains area from 1888 to 1889, in order to steal money and give it to his sweetheart. He would later be convicted, sentenced to death and hanged for his crimes.

Early life Pál Gyömbér was born on November 7, 1859, to a poor family in Csanytelek, the illegitimate child of an unmarried woman named Ágnes Gyömbér. His early life is poorly documented, but according to court records, he never attended school, was illiterate and jobless. Gyömbér himself would later claim that he grew up in an unloving environment, moving from homestead to homestead, and had lived in Kunszentmárton for four years. Despite these circumstances, his friends described him as a hard worker who refused to drink and gamble. While she reciprocated his feelings, he found it difficult to make a living from normal work, and so Gyömbér started committing minor crimes, for which he would be arrested and sent to prison. In order to cover his tracks, Gyömbér rearranged the scene, taking out plates and pots to make it look like there had been multiple perpetrators, before looting the pub. He later gave some of the stolen garments to his fiancée and mother-in-law. Before he could kill her, the axe's head broke off the handle and became unusable, prompting Gyömbér to grab a manger hanging from the wall and finish off Rókus. He then put the woman's body back in the bed and covered it, before stealing 25 forints, a pair of boots and a suit, before closing the door and leaving. He unsuccessfully attempted to appeal his sentence, and on April 2, 1890, he was hanged at the Csillag Prison. His body was later buried in the prison cemetery next to the road in Dorozsma, near Szeged. Following his execution, according to contemporary customs, the court auctioned off the murder weapons.

In culture The contradiction stemming from the acts of a cold-blooded murderer and the romantic love Gyömbér showed towards his wife piqued the interest of Hungarian society at the time. In the surrounding towns, his picture was sold on the street, and poetic tarpaulin booklets describing his deeds were handed out. Writer Géza Gárdonyi published poems about him, and peasants from the countryside included him in songs and murder ballads.