The federal government ordered him to be deported, but he lost him. He is now accused of killing two Florida men.

The arrest of a Hungarian in Miami earlier this month may have been arrested for a pair of murders police believe they had tried to cover up.

However, the strangulation of two older men could have been avoided if one of South Beach and the other of Little Havana were sent home a few months before the murder, if US immigration and customs enforcement realized he had stayed for more than two years of 90-day visa exemption and expelled him.

Instead, the 26-year-old Zsolt Zsolyomi was equipped with an ankle monitor that was somehow disabled. And for the next five months, he became a ghost of immigrants and police before he captured him earlier this month.

“Zsolyomi is an illegal foreigner from Hungary who has overstayed his visa,” said Ice spokesman Nestor Yglesias.

Two murders after the deportation order

The Hungarian citizen was deported two months before 66-year-old Carlos Alonso Villakiran was found strangled in a six-inch bathtub water in an apartment in Miami Beach. Two months later, 71-year-old Rodolfo Fernandez de Velasco was killed and the driver’s side seat belt was securely held to his neck after the car arrived at a Miami fence.

Police believe that both murders were staged. Both men had photos of Zsolyomi on their mobile phones, police said. Police say at least one man, Villakiran, was associated with a Hungarian.

Zsolyomi’s strange story of losing out began in July 2024 when he was accused of stealing a $50 woman in Miami Beach, and Ice issued him a final removal order. However, police say the next five months were filled with a series of suspicious decisions by immigrant staff and extreme violence by Zsolyomi.

Despite his July arrest, ICE did not detain Zsolyomi until September 6th. That day, he was taken to Chrome Detention Center in South Miami-Dade, equipped with an ankle monitor and released through an alternative detention program. By September 19, the Homeland Security Intensive Supervisory Appearance Program warned ICE that Zsolyomi’s monitor had been tampered with.

Ice was informed of Zsolyomi and told to report, but “he escaped,” Ice’s Iglesias said.

It was not until September 25th that Zsolyomi cases were called Ice’s escape control squad. And law enforcement did not meet in person on February 19th – five months later, when Miami and Miami Beach Police captured him in downtown Miami and charged him with murdering two men.

The day after Zsolyomi’s arrest earlier this month, Ice asked Miami-Dade’s amendment to hold another 48 hours for the US Department of Homeland Security if he is released. However, a spokesman for the Miami-Dade Amendment said it is unlikely that a release will occur.

“He wasn’t leaving our prison anytime soon,” said Juan Diaz Granados, a spokesman for the revision. “He has to meet our local rates. He will be charged here.”

Still, it is worth asking questions whether Zsolyomi will be returned to Hungary before the trial. The Trump administration is focused on returning immigrants who have committed crimes or have continued their visas and returned to their home country.

Efforts have been scattered so far, but immigration officers have ignored immigrants who have been denied bonds and instead appear to focus on immigrants who have been released after being charged with a crime.

Zsolyomi, who was charged with two-degree murder, remains in jail at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center and has been denied bonds.

I wonder why he wasn’t deported

Doral immigration lawyer Angel Real said Zsolyomi is likely to go to trial in South Florida. However, he has taken an exception to the way Hungarian citizens were treated with ice.

Leal said the federal agency has several opportunities to return Zsolyomi long before the two men were killed. Leal also said when Zsolyomi entered the US in 2022, Hungary was part of a Visa waiver program that allowed visitors to stay unquestionably for three months.

“But if you were staying, you were deported immediately,” the lawyer said. “It’s inexplicable why he wasn’t taken away after 90 days or after he was charged with strong armed robbery.”

According to court records, Zsolyomi is represented by Miami-Dade assistant public defender Brian McCormack. The Public Defender’s office declined to comment. Just like the family of the man he was charged with murder.

Controversial Florida laws may emerge

The extraordinary case is also one of the first cases to fall under Florida’s latest and controversial law, an automatic death sentence for undocumented immigrants convicted of capital offences. Gov. Ron Desantis signed the law just two weeks ago.

Under the new law, immigrants in countries where domestic immigrants are illegally convicted of capital felony such as sexual abuse of young children must be sentenced to death, abolish ju-degree discretion and exclude constitutional precedents.

The charges against Zsolyomi could rise to first-degree murder if the state sends the case to a large ju court, which indicts him. Both first and second degree murders are capital offences.

Miami-Dade state lawyer spokesman Ed Griffith said his firm would not speculate whether Zsolyomi’s case falls under the new law. He also said it was inappropriate to comment on an ongoing case outside the courtroom.

After Zsolyomi’s arrest last week, police just stopped calling him a serial killer. They asked anyone with information to come forward, saying they were worried that there might be other victims.

“There’s a certain amount of prey and patterns,” said Miami Police Chief Manuel Morales. “The man will do that again.”

First robbery, then two murders

According to ICE records, Zsolyomi entered the US from Hungary through its 90-day visa waiver program on October 2, 2022. But he passed that and apparently blended into the temporary nature of Miami Beach.

Sometimes he would sleep at someone else’s house. He also lived on the streets. Police believe he traveled as north as Gainesville, and also visited Osceola County and Orlando.

Zsolyomi’s first interaction with law enforcement appears to have occurred in April 2024 when the Broward Sheriff’s Office arrested him on petite theft charges. Details were not available immediately. Police said his arrest warrant for the murders of the two said he was Thomas Clay.

In July 2024, Zsolyomi’s exploit escalated and attracted the attention of a larger audience.

His arrest report suggested it was mid-afternoon in Miami Beach and Zusoliomi. He grabbed $50 from her and took off on foot.

A small group and a woman chased. They pinned him at the Lincoln Road Store and attracted the attention of the police. Zsolyomi was detained and charged with a single count of strong armed robbery.

State prosecutors dropped the charges on September 25, the day after Zsolyomi was taken into custody by ICE. Police believe his first murder took place less than two months later.

On November 21st, the family was worried that they had never heard of it from Villakiran. Inside, they found an amputee dead in the bathroom. The camera in the apartment featured a thin white man in dark clothing and a baseball cap that went out and went out several times a day. He was the only person.

Villarquin’s car and house keys were missing. Police also found some intimate texts on the victim’s mobile phone between him and a man named “Thomas.” In the text, Villarquin accused Thomas of abusing her (where she can be seen wearing a monitor on her left ankle). Police said Villakin discovered Thomas’ real name and threatened to go to police if his belongings were not returned.

Villarquin’s 2002 Honda CRV was stolen, and the Honda CRV was found on the night of murder. He was involved in an accident on Southwest 22nd Avenue and 13th Avenue. Zsolyomi was released on bail, police said, but they were able to retrieve his fingerprints.

On January 20th, a major Miami Beach detective was notified by Miami Police about a similar crime. A day ago, a car crashed into a fence in Little Havana, with Fernandez DeVerasco inside.

However, according to a medical inspector at Miami-Dade, the death was not caused by an accident. Rather, De Velasco discovered that his seat belt was twisted tightly around his neck. Police discovered the fingerprints of Zsolyomi on the vehicle and identified him through photos on De Velasco’s mobile phone.

Zsolyomi was captured on February 19th in downtown Miami. He said police admitted to both murders because he did not fight. They said he had known Villarkin for a few weeks and Zsolyomi only met De Velasco at a gas station within four hours of his death.