Szilveszter Matuska was born on January 29, 1892, in Csantavér, a town that was then part of Austria-Hungary (now Čantavir, Serbia). He trained as a mechanical engineer and served as an officer in World War I. After the war, he worked in construction and business, but his career never really took off. He was known to be intelligent but also unpredictable, with some reports suggesting that he had a fascination with destruction and explosives.

Matuska was also deeply religious, though his beliefs seemed extreme and unusual. Later, during his trial, he claimed that he heard voices telling him to cause destruction. Some psychologists who studied his case believed that he may have suffered from serious mental illness. Despite his odd behavior, Matuska was married and had children, and for a while, he appeared to live a normal life. 

Between 1930 and 1931, Szilveszter Matuska attempted to derail passenger trains in Germany, Austria, and Hungary. He sabotaged railway tracks, causing massive crashes that left dozens of people dead and injured. His exact motive was never completely clear, but he later told authorities that he felt a strange satisfaction watching trains crash and hearing the screams of the passengers.

His first successful attack happened on August 8, 1931, when he sabotaged the Berlin-Basel express train near Berlin, Germany. More than 100 people were injured, but no one died. At first, authorities thought the attack was politically motivated, because they found defaced Nazi newspapers near the scene. However, it soon became clear that the person behind the attack had other intentions.

The deadliest attack took place on September 13, 1931, when Matuska targeted the Vienna Express near Biatorbágy, Hungary. He placed dynamite on a bridge, causing the train to plunge into a ravine. 22 people were killed, and over 120 were injured. Shockingly, Matuska stayed at the scene and pretended to be a survivor, watching as rescuers pulled out bodies from the wreckage.

Matuska was finally caught on October 10, 1931, in Vienna, Austria. At first, he denied everything, but later, he confessed to all the train derailments. He seemed to enjoy talking about his crimes and even smiled in court. Some reports suggest that he was sexually aroused by destruction, making his crimes even more disturbing.

He was sentenced to death in Hungary, but because Austria had an agreement not to extradite criminals to face execution, he was given a life sentence instead. In 1944, as World War II was coming to an end, Matuska escaped from prison in Vác, Hungary. His fate remains a mystery. Some believe he fled to Germany and lived under a new identity. Others claim he worked as an explosives expert for the Soviet army and later died in the Korean War. To this day, no one knows exactly what happened to him.