A Hungarian court has convicted an Irish man of murdering an American woman in Budapest and sentenced him to 14 years in prison. The victim was identified as 31-year-old Mackenzie Michalski from Portland, Oregon.
The Budapest Metropolitan Court found the man, identified by the initials L.T.M., guilty of murder after he confessed to killing Michalski during a sexual encounter in his rented apartment. He beat and strangled her, then attempted to cover up the crime by cleaning the apartment and disposing of her body in a wooded area near Lake Balaton.
Investigators linked the suspect to Michalski through nightclub security footage from the night of her disappearance on November 5, 2024. Police said he had searched online for information on body disposal and missing person procedures before his arrest on November 7.
Michalski, a neurosurgery nurse practitioner, had described Budapest as her "happy place" during previous visits. Her family and colleagues remembered her as kind and dedicated to her work at Providence St. Vincent.
The court ordered the man to pay 2.5 million forints in costs and ruled he will be deported after serving his sentence, which includes time already spent in detention. His attorney has appealed the verdict.
