Slain Hollywood Woman's Son Charged With Her Murder
HOLLYWOOD (CBS4) – A Hollywood man who had been suspected of murdering his mother is being formally charged with first-degree murder and other charges are pending, said Hollywood police spokesman Lt. Norris Redding.
Jason Kertesz, 29, is already behind bars because of an unrelated probation violation charge. According to court records, Kertesz moved away from a court-mandated sobriety house in Pompano Beach earlier this year without telling his probation officer.
Kertesz's mother 62-year-old Irene Kertesz was found dead in her home on 2400 block of NW 57th Way at around 9 p.m. on July 30th. Her husband, John, discovered her body.
Two days after authorities found her body, her son was arrested in the unrelated charge.
Hollywood police have surveillance video of Kertesz using his mother's ATM card at a gas station not long after she died.
Web Extra Video: Jason Kertesz At ATM
The tape, released by Hollywood police last week, shows Kertesz getting out of a taxi at an ATM several miles away from his mother's home. Officials said Kertesz took out an undisclosed amount of cash using a credit card belonging to his mother.
- Police released this image and video showing who they say is Jason Kertesz. Kertesz used his mother's credit card. (Source: Hollywood Police Department)
Hollywood Police confirmed to CBS4 News that they had been tracking Jason Kertesz since he used the credit card at the gas station on Saturday night. Police said Kertesz was also driving his mother's rental car. Her car had been stolen several weeks earlier.
A check of state records reveals that Jason Kertesz has been arrested numerous times since 2000.
CBS4 cameras captured one of his arrests in March 2006 when Kertesz led police on a chase through the streets of Miami-Dade and Broward. He was arrested for grand theft of a motor vehicle and aggravated fleeing and eluding. He was sentenced to four years in prison.
Records show he left prison in January 2010.
Irene Kertesz worked as a secretary at St. Lawrence Catholic School in North Miami Beach for the last 12 years.
"She was wonderful and everybody loved that woman," said Father William Ebert.
Kertesz's neighbors, however, seemed to know very little about her or her husband.
Police have released very few details about their investigation, including how Kertesz died.
