The arrest earlier this month of a Hungarian national in Miami for a pair of murders that police believe he tried to cover up may have stopped a potential serial killer from striking again.

But the strangulation deaths of the two older men — one on South Beach, the other in Little Havana — could have been avoided had the accused killer been sent home several months before the murders, when U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement realized he’d overstayed his 90-day visa waiver by more than two years and ordered him deported.

Instead, Zsolt Zsolyomi, 26, was fitted with an ankle monitor that he somehow managed to disable. And over the next five months he became a ghost to immigration and police, before his capture earlier this month.

“Zsolyomi is an illegal alien from Hungary who overstayed his visa,” said ICE spokesman Nestor Yglesias.

Two murders after deportation orders

The Hungarian national was ordered deported two months before Carlos Alonso Villaquiran, 66, was discovered strangled face down in 6 inches of bathtub water in his Miami Beach apartment. Two months later, Rodolfo Fernandez de Velasco, 71, was found dead, his driver’s side seat belt fastened tightly around his neck after his car careened into a fence in Miami.

Police believe both murders were staged. Both men had photos of Zsolyomi on their cellphones, police said. And at least one of the men, Villaquiran, had a relationship with the Hungarian, according to police.

The strange tale of Zsolyomi’s disappearance began in July 2024, when he was charged with robbing a woman of $50 on Miami Beach and ICE issued him a final order of removal. The next five months, however, would be filled with a series of questionable decisions by immigration officials and extreme violence by Zsolyomi, according to police.

Despite his July arrest, ICE didn’t take Zsolyomi into custody until Sept. 6. That day, he was transferred to the Krome Detention Center in south Miami-Dade, fitted with an ankle monitor and released through the Alternatives Detention Program. By Sept. 19, Homeland Security’s Intensive Supervision Appearance Program alerted ICE that Zsolyomi’s monitor had been tampered with.

ICE said Zsolyomi was notified and told to report, but “he absconded,” ICE’s Yglesias said.

It wasn’t until Sept. 25 that Zsolyomi’s case was referred to ICE’s Fugitive Operations Unit. And law enforcement didn’t see him again in person until Feb. 19 — five months later — when Miami and Miami Beach police captured him in downtown Miami and charged him with the murders of the two men.

The day after Zsolyomi’s arrest earlier this month, ICE asked Miami-Dade Corrections to hold him an extra 48 hours for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, should he be released. But a spokesman for Miami-Dade Corrections said a release is not likely to happen.

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“He’s not leaving our jail anytime soon,” said corrections spokesman Juan Diasgranados. “He has to satisfy our local charges. He will be prosecuted here.”

Still, whether Zsolyomi is returned to Hungary before a trial is worth questioning. The Trump administration is intensely focused on returning immigrants who have committed crimes or overstayed their visas, back to their home country.

Though the effort has so far been scattershot, immigration officials seem to be ignoring immigrants who have been denied bond and instead focusing on those released after being charged with a crime.

Zsolyomi, who’s been charged with two counts of second-degree murder, remains jailed at the Turner Guilford Knight correctional center and has been denied bond.

Questioning why he wasn’t deported

Doral immigration attorney Angel Leal said Zsolyomi will likely stand trial in South Florida. But he takes exception to the way the Hungarian citizen was handled by ICE.

Leal said the federal agency had several opportunities to return Zsolyomi long before the two men were murdered. Leal also said when Zsolyomi entered the U.S. in 2022, Hungary was part of a visa waiver program that allowed visitors to stay without question for three months.

“But if you overstay, you’re summarily deported,” said the attorney. “It’s inexplicable to me why he was not removed after the 90 days or after he was charged with the strong-armed robbery.”

Court records show Zsolyomi is represented by Miami-Dade Assistant Public Defender Brian Mccormack. The public defender’s office refused comment. As did family members of the men he is charged with killing.

Controversial Florida law may come into play

The unusual case could also be one of the first to fall under Florida’s newest and controversial law, the automatic death sentence of any undocumented immigrant convicted of a capital offense. Gov. Ron DeSantis signed it into law just two weeks ago.

Under the new law, any immigrant in the country illegally and convicted of a capital felony — such as murder or the sexual abuse of a young child — must be sentenced to death, removing the jury’s discretion and challenging constitutional precedent.

Charges against Zsolyomi could rise to first-degree murder if the state sends the case to a grand jury and it indicts him. Both first- and second-degree murder are capital offenses.

Miami-Dade State Attorney Spokesman Ed Griffith said his office wouldn’t speculate on whether Zsolyomi’s case falls under the new law. He also said it would be inappropriate to comment on an ongoing case outside of a courtroom.

After Zsolyomi’s arrest last week, police stopped just short of calling him a serial killer. They did say they were concerned there could be other victims and asked anyone with information to come forward.

“There’s a certain prey and pattern,” said Miami Police Chief Manuel Morales. “The guy would do it again.”

First a robbery, then two murders

ICE records show Zsolyomi entered the U.S. from Hungary on Oct. 2, 2022, through the 90-day visa waiver program. But he stayed well past that, apparently blending in with the transient nature of Miami Beach.

Sometimes he slept at other people’s homes. Other times he lived on the street. Police believe he traveled as far north as Gainesville and also visited Osceola County and Orlando.

Zsolyomi’s first interaction with law enforcement appears to be in April 2024 when the Broward Sheriff’s Office arrested him on a petit theft charge. Details weren’t immediately available. His arrest warrant for the two murders says he told police his name was Thomas Kray — the same fictitious name he used after another arrest and with one of his victims, according to police.

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

It was a mid-afternoon on Miami Beach and Zsolyomi — shirtless, homeless and riding a trolley, according to his arrest report — watched as a woman took cash from her purse. He grabbed $50 from her and took off on foot.

A small group and the woman gave chase. They pinned him at a Lincoln Road store and got the attention of police. Zsolyomi was taken into custody and charged with a single count of strong-armed robbery.

State prosecutors dropped the charge on Sept. 25, a day after Zsolyomi was taken into custody by ICE. Police believe his first murder was less than two months later.

On Nov. 21, family members concerned they hadn’t heard from Villaquiran went to his Pennsylvania Avenue apartment. Inside they found the amputee dead in the bathroom. A camera in the apartment complex captured footage of a thin white male in dark clothing and a baseball cap entering and exiting the apartment several times a day earlier. He was the only person seen.

Villarquin’s car and house key were missing. Police also discovered several intimate texts on the victim’s cellphone between him and a man named “Thomas.” In the texts, Villarquin accuses Thomas — who can be seen wearing a monitor on his left ankle — of being abusive. Police said Villarquin discovered Thomas’ real name and threatened to go to police if his personal belongings weren’t returned.

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

On Jan. 20, the lead Miami Beach detective was notified by Miami Police of a similar crime. A day earlier, a car had crashed into a fence in Little Havana with Fernandez de Velasco’s body inside.

But the cause of death wasn’t the accident, according to Miami-Dade’s Medical Examiner. Rather, de Velasco was found with his seat belt twisted tightly around his neck. Police found Zsolyomi’s fingerprints on the vehicle and identified him through pictures on de Velasco’s cellphone.

Zsolyomi was captured in downtown Miami on Feb. 19. He didn’t put up a fight and police said he admitted to both murders. They said he knew Villarquin for a few weeks and that Zsolyomi had only met de Velasco at a gas station less than four hours before his death.