Mackenzie “Kenzie” Michalski, 31, of Portland, Ore., went missing from a Budapest nightclub during a 2024 vacation
Shortly after, police arrested an Irish citizen identified only by his initials
The man confessed to killing the nurse and led police to where he disposed of her body
An American nurse who was last seen at a Budapest nightclub during a trip to Hungary was found dead — and now, the man who murdered her has learned his fate.
In the early morning hours of Nov. 5, 2024, Mackenzie “Kenzie” Michalski, 31, of Portland, Ore., disappeared from a nightclub in the country’s capital while on vacation, according to a GoFundMe campaign and a Facebook page dedicated to the search for her.
After a massive search, detectives from the VI District Police Department in Budapest announced on Friday, Nov. 8, 2024, that Michalski had been found dead and a suspect had been arrested.
The suspect, who was 37 years old at the time and identified only as an Irish citizen with the initials “LTM,” confessed to killing her and showed police where he disposed of her body, according to authorities.
On Thursday, July 9, 2026, the Budapest Metropolitan Court found the man guilty of murder and sentenced him to 14 years in prison without the possibility of parole, the Associated Press, PBS and CBS News reported.
During the investigation, detectives learned that Michalski had been seen with a man — later identified as the suspect — at several clubs on the night of Nov. 4, 2024.
Police questioned him two days later, on Nov. 7, 2024, and he confessed to killing her, according to the AP.
Mackenzie-Kenzie-Michalski
Credit: facebook
He said they met at a nightclub and danced together, later going to his apartment where he beat and strangled her while they were in an “intimate encounter,” the outlet reported.
He then tried to cover up the scene by cleaning his apartment and placing Michalski’s body in a wardrobe cabinet while he went out and bought a suitcase to put her body inside, police said, per the outlet.
The man later drove about 90 miles outside of Budapest to Lake Balaton with the suitcase in his trunk before disposing of it in a wooded area outside of Szigliget.
The Budapest Police Headquarters said that the suspect made various internet searches about how to dispose of dead bodies, if pigs eat dead bodies, the smell of decomposing corpses, the competence of Budapest police and missing-person case procedures.
After the man completes his sentence behind bars in Hungary, he will be ordered to leave the country, officials said, according to the AP. He was also ordered to pay 2.5 million forints ($7,995) in court costs.
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His attorney has appealed the conviction, the outlet reported.
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