Israeli man found dead in Hungary was beaten to death

Ofir Gross, an Israeli student who disappeared while on vacation in Hungary, was apparently beaten to death and his body hidden in a construction site by two men who sought to steal his personal effects, according to Hungarian police.

The two allegedly killed Gross while he was sleeping in the yard of an abandoned house by repeatedly hitting him with bricks that were strewn on the ground.

After killing him, the two suspects moved Gross’s body to an abandoned building site and covered it with construction waste. They then buried one of his two mobile phones along with his sleeping bag and tent, and proceeded to sell the second phone along with his laptop, a preliminary investigation found.

Gross was reported missing after dropping out of contact with his family on April 21 while traveling in Hungary.

His body was found in a forest overnight Saturday, April 30, by Hungarian police. According to a report released a day after the find, police — based on forensic evidence from the scene — came to the conclusion Gross was murdered.

Police have yet to release the names of the suspects, who are 19 and 21 years old..

His family said Gross, 40, who was a biomedical engineering student in Germany, was staying with a friend in the southern town of Tiszakecske when his host suddenly had to travel to the capital, Budapest.

Gross then took off to the eastern city of Debrecen, the country’s second-largest, and went missing somewhere along the way.

Last week, his sister Gali told Ynet that her brother was a very competent and capable person, and that his disappearance was unexpected.

In their last conversation on April 21, Gali said Gross had told her he had nowhere to stay while in Debrecen, and that a young man he had just met invited him to spend the night at his house.

Gali Gross took to Facebook Tuesday after hearing the news, expressing her grief and thanking those involved in the efforts to find her brother.

“It’s hard to write now… it expresses acceptance of the current situation, and how can such a situation be accepted?” she wrote.

“In any case, it’s important to me to thank you. To thank all those who were active in sharing the post, to those who helped and advised and offered help. Animals took my brother away, plucking a flower from our lives. Ofir was special, one in a million, a smart, beautiful, curious human being who used his knowledge to help those around him. Ofir, I miss you so much already! I’m hurting and having a difficult time believing what happened.”

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.