A 51-year-old Brainerd man arrested for assault told authorities "I finally lost it" when he allegedly tried to kill his girlfriend at a rural Brainerd home.
Laszio James Szathmary was charged Tuesday in Crow Wing County District Court on five felonies-second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon to cause substantial bodily harm; second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon; terroristic threats; third-degree assault to cause substantial bodily harm; domestic assault by strangulation; and one gross misdemeanor charge of interrupting with a 911 call.
Szathmary had his first appearance in front of Judge Erik Askegaard in Crow Wing County District Court. Askegaard set unconditional bail at $250,000 or $200,000 with conditions, to include he may not possess a firearm or ammunition, cannot have alcohol, controlled substances or other drugs, cannot make contact with victim and can't enter any bars or liquor establishment.
According to the criminal complaint filed against Szathmary:
• At 5:07 p.m. Sunday, Crow Wing County Sheriff deputies were dispatched to a residence on Birchwood Lane, Brainerd, in response to an open 911 call. Dispatch advised deputies they could hear a female yelling "Stop, get off me" and a dog barking in the background.
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As a deputy was arrived, he walked to the residence and could hear a female voice yelling and screaming. He observed the front door was partially open and could see a person lying on the floor and believed it to be the female screaming. The deputy pushed on the door, the female moved out of the way and he was able to enter the residence. The deputy observed the female, sitting propped against the wall. The deputy asked the male, identified as Szathmary, what took place and Szathmary shook his head. The woman continued to yell and stated he beat her up and she wanted medical attention and was transported to Essentia St. Joseph's Medical Center in Brainerd.
• A sergeant was advised by paramedics that during the transport to the hospital the woman made comments that the defendant had struck her several times with the butt of a handgun during the assault. The woman explained Szathmary has depression and substance abuse issues and he had been more secluded and spending time in the bedroom. The woman asked two subjects, identified as B.J.A. and M.D.F. in the complaint, to come over to see if they could help Szathmary. This meeting took place 20-30 minutes prior to the assault. Szathmary asked B.J.A. and M.D.F. to leave and as they left, they advised the woman to call law enforcement. After they left the residence, the woman got a cup of coffee, her coat, grabbed her purse, put her shoes on and got the dog to go outside.
• She stepped outside the door when Szathmary grabbed her purse and pulled her back into the house, saying, "I want my ... Ativan" the complaint stated. When she stepped outside the house she took her cellphone and the cordless phone with her. When Szathmary was pulling her into the house, she called 911 and he slapped the phone out of her hand and continued to pull her back into the house. The woman said the cut marks on her left wrist were from the defendant pulling her into the house and she was trying to pull her way out and he slammed the door on her arm more than 10 times.
• The woman said she started screaming hoping the 911 call went through or her neighbors would hear her. When Szathmary got her back in the house, he hit her twice in the head, with a closed fist, which stunned her. She explained Szathmary put his arm around her neck so his elbow was pushing into her throat and continued to strike her with a closed fist five to six times on the left side of her face. The woman said she started to get dizzy because she could not breathe and she let her weight go limp and started to slump to the floor. Szathmary took her head and turned it to the side as if he was trying to "twist it off" and then he put his hands around her neck from behind and squeezed until she could not breathe. The woman explained when she went to the floor the defendant started punching the back of her head and saying things like, "are you glad I didn't kill you yet," "are you ready for some more" and "catch your breath because we're gonna start again." The woman grabbed her cellphone and the defendant stepped on her and threw her back into a shoe bench by the door and the back of her head hit the wall and the floor. The woman said she ended up on the floor in the corner behind the main entry door and Szathmary kneeled on her abdomen, continued to punch her head and face and grabbed a BB handgun off the bench and struck her several times on the head and face with the gun. The woman said there also was a pellet gun rifle in the corner and was not sure if the defendant struck her with the rifle or not. The woman told the sergeant Szathmary kept telling her that she was going to die, "I hope you're ready to die because you're going to die" and she believed she was going to die.
• The sergeant observed several small cuts and swelling to the woman's left wrist, both on top and bottom, a small cut on her right eyebrow, a cut and swelling on her left cheek, a bite mark on her right ring finger, swelling and red marks on her forehead and red marks on both sides of her neck. The physician advised the sergeant that the woman had a fracture to her left nasal wall.
• While at the residence the deputy walked Szathmary to the living room and asked him what took place. He said she swindled his camper away from him and she kept pushing and pushing. "I finally lost it."
