An American tourist who disappeared in Hungary earlier this week has been found dead, and a suspect has been arrested.
The suspect, a 37-year-old Irish citizen identified as L.T.M., allegedly confessed to killing Mackenzie “Kenzie” Michalski, 31, and led investigators to her body, ABC News reported.
Michalski, a nurse practitioner living in Portland, Oregon, was last seen Monday night in Budapest’s Jewish Quarter, as CrimeOnline previously reported. Her last known location was a bar in the area, Szimpla Kert.
Budapest police said she was seen with L.T.M. at several clubs, ABC reported.
At a news conference on Saturday, investigators said Michalski and the suspect met at a club Monday night and then went to several other venues before going to the suspect’s rented apartment, where the murder took place. L.T.M. reportedly cleaned the apartment and hid Michalski’s body in a wardrobe while he went out to buy a suitcase.
After stuffing the body into the suitcase, he rented a car and drove to Lake Balaton with the suitcase in the trunk. There, outside Szigliget, he allegedly hid the body in the woods and drove back to Budapest.
Investigators said he made several odd internet searches, including “Do pigs really eat dead bodies” and “Texas woman killed by a wild boar.”
Michalski was originally from Fredonia, New York. Friends there told WKBW that she had been traveling with friends throughout Europe. The friends parted ways with her on Monday, and she was to fly out herself on Tuesday.
After not hearing from her, the friends called the US Embassy in Budapest and reported her missing.
