By the time Judith Barsi was 10 years old, she had already built an acting career that many people dream of. The young girl had racked up a number of roles, including voice parts in two beloved movies: The Land Before Time and All Dogs Go To Heaven.
Unfortunately, things at Judith's home were far from perfect. In fact, the little girl and her mother were subjected to abuse from Judith's father — abuse that ultimately resulted in their deaths.
Judith was born in 1978 to Maria and József Barsi, who moved to the United States from Hungary in the 1950s. The Mirror states that Maria began raising Judith for child stardom at an early age, giving the young girl lessons in posture and how to conduct herself.
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Judith was spotted at an ice skating rink when she was only 5 and would go on to star in more than 70 commercials. By 1985 she was earning $100,000 a year, and her family moved into a three-bedroom home in Hollywood's West Hills.
Then, in December 1986, Maria filed a police report against her husband. She alleged a multitude of instances of abuse, including that he had choked her and said he would kill her. The police didn't see any signs of physical injury, and Maria didn't pursue the case.
Judith's agent Ruth Hansen has said that in the last year of her life, the little girl's demeanor changed. As Judith headed to the Bahamas to film Jaws: The Revenge, her father reportedly turned his abuse on her. Hansen says that József told Judith he would kill her if she came back from filming the movie, and as the little girl departed, said, "Remember what I told you before you left."
When Judith returned two months later, things continued to worsen. A neighbor of the family's told the Los Angeles Times that Judith's father "told me 500 times he was going to kill his wife." The neighbor added, "I'd try to calm him down. I'd tell him, 'If you kill her, what will happen to your little one?'"
By 1988, Judith's agent says that the little girl was having difficulty communicating. When she was sent for auditions, she would break down, so her team sent her to a psychologist for evaluation. When Judith's mother met with social services, she said she was planning to leave her husband and move herself and Judith out.
Before Maria could solidify her plan, she and Judith were shot to death by József. Judith's final role was as Ducky in The Land Before Time, which came out after her death.
