Brother of man driven off Wicklow pier and drowned will ‘never forgive’ killer

Csaba Orsos (31) died after his coworker Marta Herda deliberately drove her Volkswagen Passat through the crash barriers at Arklow’s quays in Co Wicklow shortly before 6am on March 26, 2013.

Herda was aware that her colleague had an intense fear of water couldn’t swim before she took his life.

The Polish waitress escaped through the driver’s window while Csaba’s died by drowning in the vehicle. His body was found on a nearby beach later that day.

She was convicted of murder in 2016 and handed a life sentence.

Speaking about his brother’s death a decade on, Zoltan Sandor said Herda robbed Csaba of the chance to be a godfather to his child.

“I will never forgive her,” he told the Irish Sunday Mirror.

“Before he died, I met with my brother in a hotel for breakfast and he was so happy because he was seeing her. He had a big smile and was so happy. I told him to leave her as I believed she was just playing games with him.

“But he smiled and told me he would be safe. Three days later my brother was murdered.

“If I was to meet with her (Herda) I don’t know what I would say because no words would express the pain of the last ten years.

“All I wish for her is that she feels the same pain as what we have... I hope she stays in jail for the rest of her life.”

He said Csaba was a family man who really cared for his loved ones.

“He always looked after me. He always looked after my mother, my brother and two sisters too.

“When I lost him something died in my heart. My mother died one year ago too and my kids can only visit their uncle now at the cemetery.

“All my brother wanted was a normal happy life with a nice lady and kids.

“My wife was five months pregnant when he was killed and we had told him we wanted him to be a godfather to my daughter, and he couldn’t wait.”

At her trial, Herda claimed that Csaba was in love with her, and the pair had been arguing about their relationship when she drove off the pier.

The court heard that Herda had grown tired of Csaba’s attention and decided to kill him as a result.

She initially denied deliberately driving into the water but later told gardaí: “When I drove into the water, I wanted this all to stop.”

She has unsuccessfully tried to appeal her murder conviction.