Archie McFarland Murder: Where is her killer Janos Kulcsar now? – A two-decade marriage between a police officer and his college sweetheart ends in betrayal and violence; a married couple bonds over their love of dirt track racing until a stunning younger man arrives on the scene, but he’s no prince charming.
Season 2 Episode 1 of Investigation Discovery’s ‘Deadly Affairs: Betrayed by Love,’ titled ‘Racing Hearts,’ depicts the grisly 1985 murder of Archie McFarland. Investigations uncovered his wife’s scandalous, adulterous relationship with a younger man called Janos Kulcsar, who became the case’s key suspect. After a lengthy trial, he was found guilty almost twenty-seven years later.
Do you want to learn more about Janos? Here’s everything we have to say.
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Janos Kulczar, Who is he?
In 1982, Janos Kulcsar of Long Beach, California, met Mary Ann McFarland in a Torrance restaurant. He was 32 at the time, while she was 49 and married to Archie McFarland. Her first marriage resulted in a daughter named Linda, and she had a son named Gary with Archie, who was born in 1965.
Mary Ann and her husband were having marital problems when she met Janos, so it wasn’t long before she fell in love with him and began seeing him. They gradually developed a sexually intimate connection, which her kid and husband discovered.
Mary Ann moved home with Janos for a year and a half in 1984, despite Archie’s persistent requests that she stay. However, she eventually chose to return to her husband and children in order to resolve their issues and build a brighter future for them. Janos was angered by this and was resolute about not allowing her to leave.
He began calling Mary Ann regularly and threatening her not to leave him when she returned home. He also allegedly threatened Archie on phone call, as well as visiting the McFarlands on December 3, 1985, and threatening his ex-lover to shoot himself.
Mary Ann persuaded Janos not to do so and to depart, but he gave her an ultimatum to return to him, and he did, three days later, in her husband’s absence. Archie MacFarland, 58, left for work earlier than normal on December 9, 1985, but was discovered by his son in the driveway, laying on his side with his hand over his body, by his son.
Furthermore, his automobile could be heard running in the garage. Gary initially mistook his father’s condition for a heart attack and dialled 911, but when he and Mary Ann attempted to lift him, they were shocked to see his wounded chest.
Janos was the only one who had had any recent friction with Archie, so the mother and son immediately accused him. Unfortunately, the latter died from his injuries, which included three stab wounds to the chest, one to the lower abdomen, and one to the crotch. Janos was detained later that morning, but due to a lack of proper incriminating evidence and his contradictory alibis, he was released two days later, on December 11, 1985, without charges.
Following that, in March 1986, the matter was closed as a cold case, and Mary Ann continued her relationship with Janos. In 2002, just as everyone had given up hope of ever identifying Archie’s killer, the investigation was re-opened. In 2009, Detective Walt Delsigne and Sergeant Keith Fornier were sent to re-interview Janos and examined the evidence once more. On the day of the murder, he reportedly changed his previous testimony and indicated that he was going to watch his brother Laszlo’s children.
However, Laszlo refuted such statements when questioned, and Mary Ann also revealed her lover’s threats against her and Archie in December 1985. Janos was arrested and charged with one count of murder on September 27, 2010, based on the testimony, with a special accusation that he personally employed a lethal weapon in the conduct of the crime.
Several considerations were examined by the jury during the trial, including Linda and Gary’s testimony regarding Janos menacing Archie and their father has no other known adversaries. In addition, forensic evidence such as clothes collected from Janos’ apartment during the original investigation after the murder, as well as Archie’s blood samples and injuries deduced in previous examinations, were re-examined.
Not only that, but the McFarlands’ neighbor’s evidence was taken into account, as well as the fact that Janos’ automobile engine was abnormally hot the day of his arrest, as if it had been just driven.
What Happened to Janos Kulcsar and Where Is He Now?
Janos Kulcsar was convicted guilty of the first-degree murder of Archie McFarland on January 19, 2012. He was given a state jail sentence of 26 years. Gary approached him during the sentencing and said, “I despise what you did, but I don’t hate you… It took 25 years, but I’m grateful that the system is now working.”
Janos then filed a defence plea for a review of the case in 2013, citing pre-arrest delay, but his appeal was refused on November 20, 2013. He is currently 71 years old and confined at the California Correctional Institution in Tehachapi, with a parole date of June 2026.