Family of 31-year-old American tourist killed in Hungary’s capital mourns loss, suspect in custody

BUDAPEST, Hungary – Family members of a 31-year-old American tourist killed while vacationing in the Hungarian capital mourned their loss, while a 37-year-old suspect was in custody on Saturday.

The victim, Mackenzie Michalski of Portland, Oregon, was reported missing on November 5 after she was last seen at a nightclub in central Budapest. Police launched a missing persons investigation and reviewed security footage from local nightclubs where they observed Michalski with a man later identified as the suspect on the night of her disappearance.

The man was arrested on November 7 and questioned by police. He later confessed to the murder.

Before the confession, Michalski’s family and friends had been trying to find her and started a Facebook group to collect tips about her whereabouts. Her parents traveled to Hungary to help with the search, but learned along the way that she had been killed.

At a candlelight vigil in Budapest on Saturday evening, the victim’s father, Bill Michalski, told The Associated Press that he was “still overcome with emotion” over his daughter’s death.

“There was no reason for that,” he said. “I’m still trying to come to terms with what happened… I don’t know if I ever will.”

Police arrested the suspect, an Irish national, on the evening of November 7th. Investigators said Michalski and the suspect met at a nightclub and danced before heading to the man’s rental apartment. The man killed Michalski during an “intimate encounter,” police said.

The suspect, whom police identified by the initials LTM, confessed to the murder but said it was an accident. Police said he tried to cover up his crime by cleaning the apartment and hiding Michalski’s body in a closet before buying a suitcase and putting her body inside.

He then rented a car and drove to Lake Balaton, about 150 kilometers southwest of Budapest, where he disposed of the body in a forest outside the town of Szigliget.

A video released by police showed the suspect leading authorities to the spot where he left the body. Police said that before his arrest, the suspect researched online how to dispose of a body, how police handle missing person cases, whether pigs actually eat corpses and whether there are wild boars in the Lake Balaton area.

He also conducted an internet search and inquired about the competence of the Budapest police.

Crime scene photos released by police showed a rolling suitcase, several items of clothing, including a pair of fleece-lined boots, and a small purse next to a credit card with Michalski’s name on it.

According to a post from an administrator of a Facebook group called “Find Mackenzie Michalski” created on Nov. 7, Michalski, who called himself “Kenzie,” was a nurse who “will forever be remembered as a beautiful and compassionate person.” “. young woman.”

At the candlelight vigil in Budapest on Saturday, Michalski’s father delivered brief words to those gathered, wearing a baseball cap that he said he had received as a gift from his daughter.

Michalski had visited Budapest before and called it her “happy place,” her father told the AP.

“She just loved the story and was just so relaxed here,” he said. “This was their city.”