Editing Elizabeth Báthory (section)

===Arrest===
On 13 December 1610, Nikola VI Zrinski confirmed the agreement with Thurzó about the imprisonment of Báthory and distribution of the estate.<ref name="Kord2009"/> On New Year's Eve 1610, Thurzó went to Csejte Castle and arrested Báthory along with four of her servants, who were accused of being her [[accomplice]]s: Dorottya Szentés, Ilona Jó, Katarína Benická and János Újváry ("Ibis" or Ficzkó). According to Thurzó's letter to his wife, his unannounced visit found one dead girl and another living "prey" girl in the castle,<ref name="Kord2009"/> but there is no evidence that they asked her what had happened to her. She recovered but did not testify in the trials.<ref name="Kardoss2"/> Although it is commonly believed that Báthory was caught in the act of torture, she was having dinner.<ref name="Kardoss2"/> Initially, Thurzó made the declaration to Báthory's guests and villagers that he had caught her red-handed. However, she was arrested and detained prior to the discovery or presentation of the victims. It seems most likely that the claim of Thurzó's discovering Báthory covered in blood has been the embellishment of fictionalised accounts.<ref>{{cite book |last=Thorne |first=Tony |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=u4_jb6NjucMC |title=Countess Dracula |date=1997 |publisher=Bloomsbury |location=London |pages=18–19 |isbn=9780747536413 |author-link=Tony Thorne}}</ref>

Thurzó debated further proceedings with Báthory's son Paul and two of her sons-in-law, Nikola VI Zrinski and György [[Drugeth family|Drugeth]].<ref name="Kord2009"/> Her family, which [[Gabriel Báthory|ruled Transylvania]], sought to avoid the loss of Báthory's property which was at risk of being seized by the crown following a public scandal.{{citation needed|date=October 2021}} Thurzó, along with Paul and her two sons-in-law, originally planned for Báthory to be sent to a [[nunnery]], but as accounts of her actions spread, they decided to keep her under strict [[house arrest]].<ref name="autogenerated291">A letter from 12 December 1610 by Elizabeth's son-in-law Zrínyi to [[György Thurzó|Thurzó]] refers to an agreement made earlier. See {{cite book |last=Farin |first=Michael |title=Heroine des Grauens: Wirken und Leben der Elisabeth Báthory: in Briefen, Zeugenaussagen und Phantasiespielen |year=1989 |page=291 |language=de |trans-title=Heroine of horror: the life and work of Elisabeth Báthory: in letters, testimonies and fantasy games |oclc=654683776}}</ref>

Two trials were held in the wake of Báthory's arrest: The first was held on 2 January 1611, and the second on 7 January 1611.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://ir.library.illinoisstate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1134&context=etd|title=No Blood in the Water: The Legal and GenderConspiracies Against Countess Elizabeth Bathory in Historical Context|accessdate=8 September 2024}}</ref>
In the first trial, seventeen witnesses testified, including the four servants who were also fellow suspects. These suspects had been tortured before the proceedings.<ref name="Kardoss2"/> They confessed, and stated that they were acting on Elizabeth's orders. After the trial, they were executed as her accomplices.<ref>{{cite book |last=McNally |first=Raymond T. |title=Dracula Was a Woman: In Search of the Blood Countess of Transylvania |publisher=McGraw Hill |year=1983 |isbn=978-0-07-045671-6 |location=New York |author-link=Raymond T. McNally|page=77}}</ref> Ilona Jó and Dorottya Szentes had their fingers torn out with a pair of red-hot pincers and were then burned alive. Due to his youth and the belief that he was less culpable, János Újváry was executed by a much less painful method: Beheading. Afterwards, his body was burned on the same pyre as Jó and Szentes. Another servant, Erzsi Majorova, initially escaped capture but was burned alive after being apprehended. Katarína Benická received a life sentence after evidence showed that she had been abused by the others.

The accusations of murder were based on rumours. There is no document to prove that anyone in the area complained about the Countess. During this period, letters of complaint were written whenever someone was harmed, even in a matter of a stolen chicken.<ref name="Kardoss2"/><ref name=":2">{{cite book|last1=Lengyel|first1=Tünde|title=Báthory Erzsébet, egy asszony élete|last2=Várkonyi|first2=Gábor|publisher=General Press|year=2011|isbn=9789636431686|location=Budapest|pages=285–291|trans-title=Erzsébet Báthory: The Life of a Woman}}</ref> Although 300 witnesses testified against Báthory, none were victims or eyewitnesses of the torture.<ref name="Kardoss2"/>

The highest number of victims cited during the trial of Báthory's accomplices was 650, but this number comes from the claim by a servant named Susannah that Jakab Szilvássy, Báthory's court official, had seen the figure in one of Báthory's private books. The book was never revealed and Szilvássy never mentioned it in his testimony.<ref name="Thorne 1997 53">{{cite book |last=Thorne |first=Tony |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=u4_jb6NjucMC |title=Countess Dracula |year=1997 |publisher=[[Bloomsbury Publishing|Bloomsbury]] |isbn=978-1408833650 |location=London, England |page=53 |author-link=Tony Thorne}}</ref>