An Irish man has been sentenced to 14 years in prison for killing an American tourist during a sexual encounter and later abandoning her body in woodland.
Mackenzie Elizabeth Michalski, a 31-year-old nurse from Portland, Oregon, disappeared while travelling in Hungary in November 2024.
The defendant, referred to only as LTM under Hungarian anonymity rules, had met Michalski at a Budapest nightclub before inviting her back to his apartment for sex.
Prosecutors said he restrained her, assaulted her and strangled her, then tried to cover up the killing by placing her body inside a closet.
The man, who was 37 at the time, later put her remains into a suitcase and drove roughly 90 miles southwest of Budapest to the Lake Balaton area, where he concealed them in nearby woods.
After the killing, he cleaned the apartment, bought a new suitcase, loaded it into a rented car and transported the body to the lakeside region in an attempt to hide the crime.
Mackenzie Elizabeth Michalski, 31, a nurse from Portland, Oregon, disappeared during a trip to Hungary in November 2024
Michalski, far right, pictured with her parents, Jill and Bill, and her brother Nikk
Michalski in the elevator with LTM inside his apartment building after they left the nightclub together – the last time she was seen alive
The Budapest-Capital Regional Court found the man guilty of murder, and on Wednesday sentenced him to 14 years in prison without parole.
‘The defendant did not attempt to resuscitate the deceased, nor did he call for help; according to the court’s findings, he intended the outcome of his actions, that is, the victim’s death,’ the court said in a statement.
Michalski was reported missing on November 5, 2024, by friends after she never checked out of their Airbnb and missed her flight back to the US.
Hungarian police investigating her disappearance soon found security footage of her leaving the club with LTM.
Investigators said his internet search history included queries on whether pigs eat dead bodies, the presence of wild boars around Lake Balaton and the reliability of Budapest police.
They included ‘Do pigs really eat dead bodies?’ and ‘Texas woman killed by a wild boar’.
Other searches asked ‘what does a dead body smell like after it decomposes’ and how to ‘remove rotting meat smell’.
Michalski was reported missing on November 5, 2024, by friends after she never checked out of their Airbnb and missed her flight back to the US
Michalski was a frequent travel and posted photos of herself all over the world on social media
LTM’s defense petitioned the court to exhume her body for testing and to reopen her psychological and medical history, but this was denied by the court
LTM also searched ‘how reliable is the police in Budapest’ and ‘how do the police handle missing person cases?’.
After his arrest in Budapest two days after the murder, he helped investigators locate Michalski’s body, but insisted her death was accidental.
Video released by police at the time showed LTM in handcuffs leading police to where the body was abandoned inside the suitcase.
Police dogs watched on as specialists in hazmat suits placed markers in the ground at the direction of the killer.
Evidence bags labeled ‘one’ and ‘two’ were collected, along with samples of grass and leaves, before the Irishman was returned to the police car.
LTM’s lawyers argued at his trial that Michalski’s injuries were from consensual rough sex and she asked him to choke her, which accidentally killed her.
Police shared photos of the evidence collected, including this suitcase that Michalski’s body was stuffed inside and later recovered from woods
Police released photographs of the evidence collected during their investigation
His defense petitioned the court to exhume her body for testing and to reopen her psychological and medical history, but this was denied by the court.
Once he has completed his sentence in 2038, he will be deported back to Ireland.
The defense has already lodged an appeal against the verdict.
Michalski dated Kenton Reichen in Portland for six years before her death, but they were on a break at the time and he pulled out of going on the trip to Europe.
Reichen wrote on social media that he blamed himself for her death and promised to ‘make it up to her… someday’.
‘I’ll miss you. I fell in love with you watching the sunset in Ibiza carrying you with your broken ankle. You were everything I needed in life. I’m sorry I failed you,’ he wrote.
Michalski dated Kenton Reichen (pictured together on a previous trip to Budapest) in Portland for six years before her death, but they were on a break at the time and he pulled out of going on the trip to Europe
Reichen wrote on social media that he blamed himself for her death and promised to ‘make it up to her… someday’
A vigil held for Michalski in upstate New York – where she grew up and her parents still live – two days after her killer was arrested
Photos of Michalski and her friends and family displayed at the candlelight vigil
‘She was perfect, but I neglected her in many ways. It hurts me a lot, and I wish I could have protected her.
‘Kenzie did not deserve to be beaten, raped and killed so brutally. I wish I could have saved her from this. This will forever be the biggest mistake of my life.’
Kenton flew to Budapest after hearing she was missing, and assisted Michalski’s parents in searching for her until her killer confessed.
‘Kenzie will forever be remembered as a beautiful and compassionate young woman who dedicated herself to caring for others and making the world a better place,’ Michalski’s family said after LTM’s arrest.
‘As a nurse practitioner, Kenzie used her humor, positivity, and limitless empathy to help heal her patients and encourage family and friends alike.’
