Murder: True Crime Stories - SOLVED: The Acid Doctor Murder 1

Episode Date: July 1, 2025

She thought she’d found her perfect match. But just five weeks into their marriage, 25-year-old Hajna Piller was dead—and her husband, a Hungarian doctor named Geza de Kaplany, was the prime suspect. In Part 1, we trace Hajna’s journey to America, her search for stability, and the chilling murder plot that would end it all. Murder: True Crime Stories is a Crime House Original Podcast, powered by PAVE Studios. Listen wherever you get your podcasts. For ad-free listening and early access to episodes, subscribe to Crime House+ on Apple Podcasts. Don’t miss out on all things Murder: True Crime Stories! Instagram: @murdertruecrimepod | @Crimehouse TikTok: @Crimehouse Facebook: @crimehousestudios X: @crimehousemedia YouTube: @crimehousestudios To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This is Crime House. We all know what it's like to be betrayed. It's never a good feeling. Especially when that betrayal comes from those closest to us, like our family or friends. But some of us are better at dealing with those difficult emotions than others. And instead of working through their anger in a healthy way, certain people choose to fight fire with fire. People like Geza de Kaplani In 1962, Geza married his dream woman, a fellow

Hungarian immigrant named Hoina, but their life as newlyweds unraveled quickly. Before long, Geza felt like he couldn't trust Hoina, and he believed her good looks were the root of the problem. So Geza decided to commit the ultimate act of revenge. He would take away Hoina's beauty, even if that meant killing her in the process. People's lives are like a story. There's a beginning, a middle, and an end. But you don't always know which part you're on. Sometimes the final chapter arrives far too soon, and we don't always get to know the

real ending. I'm Carter Roy, and this is Murder True Crime Stories, a Crime House original powered by Pave Studios that comes out every Tuesday. At Crime House, we want to express our gratitude to you, our community, for making this possible. Please support us by rating, reviewing, and following Murder True Crime Stories wherever you get your podcasts. And to enhance your Murder True Crime Stories listening experience, subscribe to Crime House Plus on Apple podcasts.

You'll get ad-free listening, early access to every two-part series, and exciting bonus content. This is the first of two episodes on the murder of 25-year-old Hoina Piller. In 1962, the Hungarian immigrant was brutally killed by her husband just five weeks into their marriage. Today, I'll tell you about Hoina's childhood and her family's journey to America.

I'll explain how she and her mother struggled to find their footing, and how just when they'd given up hope, Hoina seemed to find her perfect match. Next time, I'll tell you how Hoina's new husband, Dr. Geza DiCapilani, showed his true colors. By the time Hoina learned the awful truth about Geza, it was too late to save herself. All that and more coming up. Crime House Studios has released its first audiobook called Murder in the Media. Studios has released its first audiobook called Murder in the Media. Told through the lens of five heart-pounding murder cases, this thrilling audiobook traces the evolving and sometimes insidious role the media has had in shaping true crime storytelling.

Murder in the Media is a Crime House original audiobook. Find it now on Spotify. When it comes to Hoina Pilar, there's a lot we don't know. Part of the reason is because she was born in Hungary in 1936. Back then, the country was still a part of the Soviet Union. Between the many wars and the restriction of information under communism, much of Hoina's story has been lost. But we do know that like so many other people living in the Soviet Union, life wasn't easy for Hoina and her family. In the Soviet Union, work hours were long and wages were low. Society was tightly controlled and highly monitored. Daily necessities were nearly impossible to come by. Still, the Pillars did have it a bit better than most citizens. That's because Hoina's

dad, George Piller, was a world-famous fencing master and a coach for the Hungarian national fencing team. The details are sparse, but this probably meant the Piller family had certain social and political advantages that others didn't. But even they were walking on pins and needles. In the Soviet Union, there was no such thing as freedom of speech. And while it doesn't seem like the Pillars were ardent communists, they definitely didn't speak out against the regime either. If they did, they risked jail, exile, or death. It made for a difficult life. And the pillars were looking for a way out.

That opportunity finally came in 1956, when Hoina was 19 years old. That year, the leader of the Soviet Union, Nikita Khrushchev, gave a speech to his fellow politicians. He promised more leniency between Moscow and the governments of other communist nations like Hungary. He envisioned a Soviet Union with fewer human rights abuses and more diplomacy. His words were promising, but they came in a closed meeting. These were still just early conversations and nothing had been said in stone. No one outside of that room was supposed to hear what Khrushchev said.

But somehow the rest of the USSR got wind of his proposals and the people of Hungary were especially eager to capitalize on the moment. That June, the country erupted in massive protests against the current regime, and their efforts paid off. Later that summer, a new, more liberal Prime minister took office in Hungary. Right away he promised a slate of sweeping changes to make them an independent nation, far from the Soviet Union's control. When Khrushchev heard about it, he was livid. By October, the USSR sent troops out to Hungary.

They were determined to stamp out the protests and the new Prime Minister. And yet life went on. Less than a month later, even with the country in revolt, Hoina's dad George was sent to Melbourne, Australia for the Olympic Games. Despite all the turmoil at home, George's fencing team needed him, which left Hoina and her mom, Ilona, to fend for themselves. George was still overseas when the fighting ramped up in November. That month, Soviet tanks rolled into the Hungarian capital of Budapest by the thousands, intent

on forcing the country back in line. Before the Olympics were over, the USSR had succeeded in arresting or executing the rebels. They restored communist control and closed Hungarian borders to prevent dissidents from escaping, which meant that anyone who returned wouldn't be able to leave again either. So the athletes overseas faced a difficult choice. Go back to a country in chaos or defect and risk never seeing their homeland or their families again. George took the chance to run.

He hopped on a flight to the United States with the support of contacts at Sports Illustrated magazine. Meanwhile, he presumably used his connections to help Hoina and Alona even from afar. The details are unclear, but we do know that Hoina and Alona traveled mostly on foot to the Austrian border. From there, they were able to cross and make their way to the United States to join George. Once they were all together, the family settled in San Francisco, California. There was already a Hungarian community living there, and they welcomed the pillars with

open arms, especially George, who was well known for his successful fencing career. And it didn't take long for him to find work, either. He quickly became a fencing coach at the University of California, Berkeley. But sadly, his tenure was cut short. In 1960, just a few years after coming to San Francisco, 61-year-old George died of throat cancer. Plina and her mom were heartbroken. Not only did they lose a father and a husband, but they were also saddled with medical debt

from George's cancer treatment. Alona took jobs here and there, working as a housekeeper or babysitter, but those jobs didn't last, once she was fired for complaining about her boss smoking in their own home, which left 23-year-old Hoina to pick up the pieces. Like her mom, Hoina didn't have many qualifications, but she had something almost as valuable. Her beauty. With dark hair and a clear complexion, Hoina looked like Snow White. Her light blue eyes were so striking, some people even thought they looked lavender.

That coupled with her tall frame and slim figure was enough to get her hired as a model at a local boutique, though it didn't pay much. So to supplement her modeling income, Hoina got a second, slightly more scandalous job as a showgirl. It seems like Alona knew about her daughter's work and wasn't very happy about it. Although they lived in America now, Alona had old world values and dancing for money wouldn't have fit the bill. But even Alona understood how badly they needed cash. So while she probably didn't approve of Hoina's career, it's possible she saw it as a necessary

evil. At least until she and Hoina could find a more acceptable form of financial support, like a promising marriage. While Alona worked occasionally, her true focus was finding Hoina a husband, which proved to be difficult. After George's death, the Hungarian community the Pillars had been a part of slowly iced out Hoina and Alona. Most people knew what Hoina did for a living, and they didn't seem thrilled about it.

So even though she was gorgeous and the daughter of a legend, Hoina was a tough sell. It didn't help that she and Alona were a package deal. Not everyone appreciated Alona's enthusiasm, and they also didn't enjoy her attitude, which was described as snobby. So it seemed like a true stroke of luck when in August of 1961, the Pillar women received an unexpected visit from a Hungarian doctor named Geza de Kaplani. Elona thought this was the match she'd been praying for. She had no idea just how wrong she was. By 1961, Elona Piller and her 24-year-old daughter Hoina had been through a lot.

Between emigrating from Hungary to San Francisco, to the death of Hoina's father, the last few years had been difficult. But it seemed like their luck might turn around when they met 35-year-old Dr. Geza de Kaplani. Geza was also a Hungarian refugee. Born in the city of Mekó on Juneth, 1926, he was the third of four brothers and grew up extremely wealthy. The family home, which had eighteen rooms, was somewhere between a mansion and a castle. There were servants working around the clock, making sure Geza was always taken care of. Life was good, but it got a bit less glamorous in 1940 when Geza was 14. That year, Geza's father was swindled by his estate manager and the family was forced to downsize.

Their sprawling home was sold and the decaplonis moved to a townhouse. Four years later, Hungary was dragged into World War II and no one, not even aristocrats like the Dikaplonis, were spared. The details are hazy, but it seems like Geza and his brothers all enlisted in the army, though Geza didn't see active combat. His oldest brother was killed during the fighting, while Geza and his other brother stayed back with the family. But that didn't mean they were safe.

During an air raid, Geza's two surviving brothers ran toward the chaos, hoping to help. Sadly, they didn't make it out alive. Meanwhile Geza was hiding in a bomb shelter with his parents, apparently at his mother's insistence. By the end of the war, he was the only surviving Decaplani's son. After the war the Decaplaniis did what they could to get by. Geza had always excelled in science, and he dreamed of becoming a doctor. But most of the family's wealth was gone by then, and Geza knew that if he wanted to get a degree, he needed to ingratiate himself with the Communist Party.

So he did. And at 20 years old, the party paid for him to go to medical school. He was even sent to a prestigious summer course in Denmark. It would have been the perfect opportunity to leave Hungary and never come back. Instead, Gezer returned and graduated from the University of Szeged in 1951. He worked at a few different hospitals and clinics until the Hungarian uprising in 1956. Like many others, 29-year-old Geza fled the country after the failed revolution on November 2, 1956.

He made it out just in time. Two days later, Soviet troops entered Budapest. From there, his story becomes a bit murky, and most of what we know comes from Geza himself. In 1958, Geza published a memoir called Doctor in Revolt. Interestingly, he didn't't write it, though. The author was a man named Godfrey Lias, who wrote the book based on extensive interviews with Geza. According to Lias, he wanted to write about the Hungarian uprising and found Geza's name on a list of refugees. Something about Geza piqued his interest, and the young doctor

was chosen to be the subject of this book. And he had a good story. Geza claimed he was nothing short of a genius. He said he was such a talented medical student, there was a special ceremony held just for him when he graduated. Not only that, but he was so dedicated to the Hungarian revolution that he was questioned by the secret police twice. And while his convictions as a doctor prevented him from fighting, Geza was still in the line of fire. At some point he was helping a Russian soldier and got shot through the calf.

According to Geza, his injury was so serious that he couldn't work for some time. He took it as a sign to leave Hungary and start fresh elsewhere. It was an inspiring tale, but it was also rife with factual inaccuracies. Some of them seemed unnecessary, like claiming he was the family's youngest son instead of the third of four. Geza also claimed his father died before World War II. In reality, he lived through the war and passed away in a car accident in 1953. But there were more serious issues with Gaze's account as well.

For example, there aren't any records of the special graduation ceremony the university supposedly held for him. And while none of these inconsistencies were dangerous, they did call into question how much of Geza's story was actually true. Even if it was nothing more than an attempt to rewrite his own history, the book was a glimpse into the way Geza saw himself. And it was clear that he felt like a hero. By the time the memoir came out, Geyser was in his early 30s and living in the United

States where his career took off. He studied anesthesiology at Harvard before teaching at Yale for a year. But the whole time, Geyser was still working towards an American medical license. Without it, he couldn't actually work as a doctor in the US. As part of that process, he accepted a job as chief resident at Franklin Hospital in San Francisco in August 1961. Like the Pillars, he quickly connected with the Hungarian community in the Bay Area, which is how he heard the Pillars lived nearby.

Despite Ilona and Hoina's bad reputation, 35-year-old Geza went to visit them anyway. And the moment he laid eyes on 24-year-old Hoina, he was smitten. Although she didn't show much interest in him, Geza couldn't stay away. Hoina was truly the most stunning woman he'd ever seen. So whenever Ilona invited him back for more dinners at the house, Geza accepted. He ignored his friends, who warned him that Hoina would make a terrible wife. They said she did nothing to help around the house, she couldn't cook, she couldn't clean.

Ilona did all that for her. Of course, that was probably because Hoina was the one supporting the family financially, but her work was just another reason why she wasn't wife material. When Geza found out she was a showgirl, he was disappointed. Like many others in the Hungarian community, he thought it was a disgraceful career. It made Geza rethink his intentions with Hoina. After all, he wanted a wife he was proud of, not someone he would have to hide. So Geza kept his options open. The entire time he was courting Hoina, he was seeing at least four other women, and

his intentions weren't always honorable. In April 1962, 35-year-old Geza took one of these women on a trip to Yosemite National Park. She was young, just 21 years old, and worked with Geza at the hospital as a clerk. The trip was great, until it was time to turn in for the night. Geza had only booked them one room to share, although his companion wanted to sleep in separate beds. But in the middle of the night, the doctor slipped into the woman's bed and tried to initiate sex.

When she said no, he respected her wishes. And when she woke up in the morning, Geza was gone. He'd abandoned her hundreds of miles from the city with no way home. It was clear that Geza didn't handle rejection well, which was difficult because he faced a lot of it. He was serious enough with several of the women he was dating to propose to them. The first said no because of religious differences, another refused because she didn't love him, the third did say yes, but once the chase was over, Geza seemed to lose interest in

her and rescinded his offer, which left one last option. In June 1962, 36-year-old Geza asked 25-year-old Hoina to marry him. She wasn't over the moon about it, but Alona reminded her that Geza was their ticket out of debt and into a new life of luxury. Hoina couldn't argue with that, so she accepted his proposal. From there, things quickly fell into place. On July 12th, Geza passed his licensing exams, which meant he could officially practice medicine in California. Just nine days later, on July 21st, he and Hoina were married.

It should have been the happiest time of the couple's life, but it wasn't. And it was only going to get worse. In July 1962, 36-year-old Dr. Geza Dikaplani married 25-year-old Hoina Piller. They'd known each other for barely a year by that point, and Geza only proposed after his other prospects didn't work out. It's fair to say their relationship was underwhelming from the start. And if Geza hoped things would improve during their honeymoon, he was quickly disappointed. But we should note, the following information comes from Geza himself, so it's possible Hoina had a very different experience.

According to Geza, the couple spent two weeks in Hawaii. At first it had all the trappings of a romantic getaway. Geza booked them an expensive suite, there were flowers and champagne waiting for them, but according to Geza, Hojna wasn't interested in consummating the marriage. According to Geza, she seemed completely repulsed by him sexually, or else she found pleasure in teasing him. He said she would undress in front of him and ask for massages, but whenever Geza tried to progress things, she would pull away.

Adding insult to injury, Geza claimed that if he left her alone for even a second, she took the opportunity to chat up other men. By the end of the trip, Geza was sure that Hoina didn't love him at all. Even so, he apparently tried to make it work. When they returned to the mainland, the newlyweds moved into an apartment in San Jose, California, where Geza started a new job. But for Hoina, the honeymoon never seemed to end. From what Geza could tell, his new wife did nothing but sunbathe by the pool in the courtyard

in full view of all their neighbors. It made Geza extremely insecure. And beyond lounging around, it seemed like all Hoina did was spend money and visit her mother in nearby San Francisco. That's what she was doing on August 27th, 1962. According to Geza, Hoina had a few errands to run, so she planned to stay the night in the city with her mother, Alona. Shortly after Hoina left, Geza also drove to San Francisco to see a friend. It was odd, since the couple could have driven together, but it didn't seem like Hoina knew about Geza's plans, because it turned out he was coming to the city to talk about her. At some point that day, Giza met up with a middle-aged woman and fellow immigrant named

Jane Hadu. She'd known the pillars back in Hungary, but she was now much closer to Geza. So she listened as the doctor told her how miserable he was. Although it had only been five weeks, he felt like his marriage to Hoina was all wrong. He said Hoina was cold and distant and a terrible housekeeper. As the doctor went on about how mistreated he felt, Jane squirmed. She knew a secret about Hoina, and she couldn't keep it hidden for much longer. After dropping several hints, Jane eventually came out and told Geza Hoina was having an affair. Geza took Janejna was having an affair.

Geza took Jane at her word. He asked how she knew, and she claimed Hojna had told her. Geza didn't ask any other follow-up questions. To him, all that mattered was that Hojina had done it. Just five weeks into their apparently loveless marriage, Geza had found a way out. He asked Jane what he should do, and she suggested consulting an attorney. Geza was distraught and in no state to be alone, so Jane took him back to her apartment in San Francisco, where he took a sleeping pill and passed out. The next morning, August 28th, he and Jane went to see a lawyer in Berkeley named Scott

Anderson. They arrived at his office for a consultation at 11 am. Geza didn't beat around the bush. Right away, he told Anderson that his wife was cheating on him and he wanted a divorce. When Anderson asked how he knew, Geyser replied that Hoina had told Jane who'd told him. Anderson knew that a divorce on the basis of adultery would require more than a game of telephone. At the time, in 1962, it was much more difficult to get a divorce. You couldn't just file without proving infidelity.

After several hours of back and forth, Anderson told Geza to gather more evidence and then they could meet again. Geza agreed and he and Jane left the office around 2 p.m. After they went their separate ways, Geza hopped in his car and headed back to his and Hoina's apartment in San Jose, but he made a pit stop along the way to a drug store. There he purchased three pint-sized bottles of acid. One was nitric acid, commonly found in labs and used to make fertilizer and explosives. The second was hydrochloric acid, which can be used to tan leather, and the last was sulfuric

acid, a main ingredient in drain cleaners. All three are highly toxic. With these deadly chemicals in his possession, Geza made one final stop, to his office at Doctor's Hospital. He gathered more supplies, including surgical gloves and swabs. Then he went home and waited for his wife to return. Hoina had no idea that when she stepped through the front door that evening, she was walking into a lethal trap. And her own husband was the mastermind. Thanks so much for listening. I'm Carter Roy and this is Murder True Crime Stories.

Come back next week for the story of a new murder and all the people it affected. Murder True Crime Stories is a CrimeHouse original powered by PAVE Studios. Here at CrimeHouse, we want to thank each and every one of you for your support. If you like what you heard today, reach out on social media at CrimeHouse on TikTok and Instagram. Don't forget to rate, review, and follow Murder True Crime Stories wherever you get your podcasts. Your feedback truly makes a difference.

And to enhance your Murder True Crime Stories listening experience, subscribe to Crime House Plus on Apple Podcasts. You'll get every episode ad-free, and instead of having to wait for each episode of a two-part series, you'll get access to both at once, plus exciting bonus content. We'll be back next Tuesday. Murder True Crime Stories is hosted by me, Carter Roy, and is a Crime House original powered by Pave Studios. This episode was brought to life by the Murder True Crime Stories team, Max Cutler, Ron Shapiro, Alex Benedon, Natalie Pertsofsky, Sarah Camp, Megan Hannum, Hania Saeed, and Russell Nash.

Thank you for listening. Ready to rethink everything you know about true crime? Check out Murder in the Media, the first audiobook from Crime House Studios. Find Murder in the Media on Spotify. Hey there, it's Nicole Lapin. For your next listen, check out Scams, Money, and Murder. This week we dive into the true story of the Wolf of Wall Street himself. And don't miss our recent episode with Jessica Pressler.

That's the journalist who uncovered the truth behind fake heiress, Anna Delphi. Listen now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, or wherever you get your favorite podcasts.