A 37-year-old Irish man has been arrested in Hungary in connection with the murder of Mackenzie Michalski, a 31-year-old nurse from Portland, Oregon, police report.
Ms. Michalski was last seen during a night out in Budapest on Tuesday. After she failed to return to her accommodation, her friends reported her missing. Hungarian police identified the suspect through CCTV footage, which later led to his confession. The suspect, however, claimed that her death was accidental.
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In a statement released Saturday, police revealed that the man allegedly attempted to cover up Ms. Michalski’s death by renting a car, concealing her body in a suitcase, and hiding it in woodland near the village of Szigliget, located in western Hungary.
According to the statement, Ms. Michalski’s death occurred during what police described as an “intimate encounter” with the suspect, though they did not elaborate on the specifics. The two reportedly met at a nightclub, where they danced before moving on to the man’s rented apartment.
The suspect was taken into custody at his apartment on Thursday evening and has since been remanded. Following questioning, he reportedly directed police to the location where he had disposed of Ms. Michalski’s body. Authorities added that he initially hid her body in a wardrobe while attempting to clean his apartment to remove evidence before transporting her remains to the wooded area.
Throughout their investigation, police uncovered evidence that led them to suspect foul play in Ms. Michalski’s death.
Following Ms Michalski’s disappearance, the man made a series of online searches – including “what does a dead body smell like after it decomposes?”, “how do the police handle missing person cases?”, and “removing rotting meat smell”.
The suspect is also reported to have searched online about whether pigs consume human remains and the presence of wild boar around Lake Balaton, a large lake near the village of Szigliget.
Footage released by Hungarian police shows the handcuffed man leading officers through the woodland, with sniffer dogs and forensic teams combing the area.
A Facebook group called Find Mackenzie Michalski reveals that the 31-year-old was often affectionately known as “Kenzie.”
On Saturday, her friends gathered near the U.S. Embassy in Budapest to hold a candlelit vigil in her memory.
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