A 31-year-old American woman was on vacation in Budapest when she disappeared on November 5. A 37-year-old Irish man confessed to killing her.
The stay turned into drama. A 31-year-old American woman was killed while on vacation in Hungary, the Associated Press announced on Saturday, November 9. A suspect was arrested and taken into custody.
Originally from Portland, Oregon, where she worked as a nurse, Mackenzie Michalski was enjoying her vacation in Budapest when she disappeared on Tuesday, November 5. The young thirty-year-old was last seen in a nightclub in the capital.
The local police launched investigations, while in the United States, the young woman's family took action by creating a Facebook group to try to collect testimonies.
By examining the video surveillance images, investigators spotted a man interacting with the American woman. After further research, a suspect of Irish nationality aged 37 was identified and arrested on November 7.
While Mackenzie Michalski's parents were on their way to Hungary to participate in the search, the suspect admitted to the police that he had killed the American. Things belonging to the latter, including his suitcase and his credit card, were found at his home.
Met in a nightclub
According to investigators, the Irishman said he met the American tourist in a nightclub. After dancing together, the two then went to the apartment rented by the 37-year-old man.
The latter then claimed to have killed the young woman, but spoke of an “accident”. According to the police, the suspect then cleaned the apartment and hid Mackenzie Michalski's body in a wardrobe, before hiding it in a suitcase.
He said he then rented a car to drive to Lake Balaton, about 150 km from Budapest, to deposit the body in a surrounding wooded area.
According to investigators, the suspect had previously searched the Internet to find out how to dispose of a body, to find out if pigs eat corpses or to find out if there were wild boars in the Lake Balaton region.
A candlelight vigil in Budapest
Saturday evening, a candlelight vigil was held in Budapest in tribute to the young American. His father, Bill Michalski, told the Associated Press of his sadness, saying he was “overwhelmed with emotion.”
“There was no reason for this to happen,” he said. “I'm still trying to understand what happened. I don't know if I ever will.”
According to her father, the young American had already gone on vacation to Budapest, a place she liked. “She felt so comfortable there (…) It was her city,” he confided.
