Amanda Pal says her son Jozsef was beaten to death.
He attended the University of Oklahoma when the alleged incident took place in March, near campus. Five months later, authorities have taken few actions in response, so she called the Scripps News Group in Tulsa.
“No one’s been handling it well. No one expects their brother or their son to die. No one should have to bury their kid,” Pal said, “I never get to hug him again, I never get to hear his voice again. [Jozsef and his sisters] were just getting to that stage where they weren’t just siblings anymore, they were becoming best friends.”
Jozsef had his sights set on an engineering degree, but a change of heart led him to the National Guard for training to become a medic. After a year off, he returned to school in Norman, Oklahoma, where he joined the rugby team and briefly walked on the football team. But when he left, it was the last time his family saw him alive.
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His mom said a night of celebrations at the bars turned deadly and someone beat her son to death. The Scripps News Group obtained a police report from police.
“I was dispatched to a reported altercation at 305 E Boyd St. This report is being completed for assault. All involved parties have been identified. No one has been arrested. One individual was taken to the hospital in critical condition,” the report says.
Five days into a hospital stay, Jozsef’s parents made an impossible decision: taking him off life support.
“We made [the decision] after we talked to the neurosurgeon that did the surgery on him. He couldn’t breathe on his own, he couldn’t eat on his own, he couldn’t move his legs, he couldn’t respond, he couldn’t blink,” Pal said, “He was so full of life. He never stopped moving, he’s never stopped doing, and I knew he wouldn’t want that. He wouldn’t wanna live like that.”
Pal said the Cleveland County district attorney had not charged anyone in the case, nor publicly identified suspects.
Merydith Harmon, the first assistant DA, said the office “is meeting with the Pal family in the coming weeks to discuss our review of the investigation of the death of Jozsef Pal. We will refrain from making any comment on our charging decision until after that meeting.”
Pal said her limited conversations with the DA’s office have not gone far.
“They can’t prove that he wasn’t fatally wounded in the two hours, that we don’t know exactly where he was,” she said.
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In a death certificate, provided by Pal, it lists Jozsef’s cause of death as acute trauma, caused by assault. But she is speaking out, hoping someone will come forward with the key evidence to bring about justice.
“Even though, their friend, cousin, their nephew, their child … needs to … have some consequence for their actions, and that those consequences might take them away," Pal said. "At least they’re still going to be able to talk to that person, they’re still going to be able to see that person. They’re still going to be able to hug that person. I don’t get that ever again. As a mother, I never get that ever again."
Norman police can be reached by calling (405) 321-1600.
The Cleveland County District Attorney can be reached by calling (405) 321-8268 or emailing d21da@dac.state.ok.us
This story was originally published by Brodie Myers with the Scripps News Group in Tulsa.
