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Amber Pasztor Murder Update: Indiana Mother Who Admitted Smothering Her Two Children To Death Described By Neighbors As Angry, Unhinged

By Nathan Francis
Published on: 07:59 PST, Sep 30, 2016

Amber Pasztor allegedly gave police details of how she murdered her two young children this week, telling investigators that she covered their mouths with her hand until they stopped breathing.

Now, neighbors are opening up about Pasztor herself, describing the mother as unpredictable and prone to fits of anger and violence.

The Fort Wayne, Indiana, mother is facing two counts of murder in the deaths of Liliana Hernandez, 7, and Rene Pasztor, 6. Police said 29-year-old Amber Pasztor did not have custody of her children but kidnapped them this week from their father’s home, then drove 70 miles to Elkhart, Indiana. An Amber Alert was issued after the children were discovered missing.

As KSDK reported, Pasztor made several stops along the way, including going to a restaurant, and at some point during the trip, she allegedly smothered her two young children to death. Police said Pasztor waved down a police officer in Elkhart, informing the officer that her children were dead inside the car.

The admission came as a shock to the officer, who didn’t know that the woman who approached his patrol car was wanted in an Amber Alert.

“It’s not a well traveled road, so people will stop and ask for directions,” said Sgt. Chris Snyder of the Elkhart Police Department (via WNDU). “So he was taken a little off guard and caught a little bit surprised exactly with what happened when she told him what the nature of her stopping him was for.”

Autopsies conducted in the days after the murders confirmed that both children died of asphyxiation. The Indianapolis Star reported that police don’t know exactly how long the children were in the car before Amber Pasztor alerted police officers.

Police are reportedly still investigating the death of 66-year-old Frank Macomber, who was also named in the Amber Alert that went out this week. He was found shot to death on Tuesday. Police are still trying to determine the relationship between Pasztor and Macomber, the Indianapolis Star reported. Officers previously told the newspaper that they believe Macomber was killed before the children were abducted.

The deaths of Liliana Hernandez and Rene Pasztor rocked the community around Fort Wayne, especially at Arcola Elementary School, which both children attended. KSDK reported that counselors met with students at the school and tried to explain the tragic circumstances.

“Rene was known for his fondness for Batman, dogs and the trampoline at his grandparents’ house, where the two children lived. Liliana liked the color turquoise.

“A school counselor was brought in to help grieving students. One boy asked the counselor if he would ever see his friends again, comparing it to when a friend moves away and goes to a new school.

“The counselor answered the boy’s question: ‘Yes, it’s like that. You won’t see them again.'”

Neighbors also described Amber Pasztor as unhinged, with one telling KSDK that he saw her stabbing holes in her mobile home. Another said she would “run around cussing and mad.”

Amber Pasztor also had a long history of arrests, ABC 57 reported. She charged with underage drinking in 2005, and in 2006, she was charged for drunk driving and causing bodily injury. Pasztor also had a number of arrests for violent incidents, including three battery charges between 2009 and 2010.

Reports claimed that there were warrants out for the arrest of Amber Pasztor at the time she allegedly kidnapped and killed her children.

And police now believe that Amber Pasztor could be connected to another murder. Investigators said they planned to interview Amber about the 2009 murder of her boyfriend, Rene Hernandez, whose body was found in a wooded area in two pieces. As Fox 59 reported, investigators had initially interviewed Amber at the time of Rene’s murder, but she was never considered a suspect. They plan to speak to her again after she is interviewed for the murders of her two children.

“If she wasn’t a person of interest then, she sure is now,” Whitley County Sheriff Marc Gatton told Fox 59.

While the murder charges for Amber Pasztor allegedly killing her two young children are moving forward, it is not clear when or if she could face charges for the deaths of Frank Macomber or Rene Hernandez.

[Featured Image by Amber Pasztor/Facebook]

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