In a tragic case from 2024, an Irish man will be incarcerated for over a decade for the brutal murder of an American nurse during her vacation in Hungary.
The assailant, referred to only as LTM, was convicted of killing Mackenzie “Kenzie” Michalski of Fredonia, NY, during a private encounter in Budapest on November 5, 2024.
In a ruling by the Budapest Metropolitan Court, LTM was sentenced to 14 years behind bars, which accounts for an 18-month reduction for time already served prior to the trial.
Additionally, the court ordered LTM to cover legal costs amounting to $7,995.
Michalski, a Portland, Oregon resident, had been indulging in the vibrant nightlife of Budapest, known as her “happy place,” after exploring Europe with a friend.
She was expected to fly back home the next day before she met the then-37-year-old Irish native at a nightclub.
The two danced before returning to the man’s rented apartment.
During the night, Michalski was strangled and beaten to death by the man during their “intimate encounter,” police said.
LTM admitted to killing Michalski, but claimed it was an accident.
Between the time of Michalski’s death and his arrest, LTM made several disturbing internet searches, including how to dispose of a body, do pigs really eat dead bodies, wild boars in the Lake Balaton, Hungary area and the competence of Budapest police.
Michalski’s body was stuffed in a wardrobe before the killer moved her to a newly bought suitcase and drove her to an area 90 miles southwest of Budapest.
He dumped Michalski’s body in a wooded area near the town of Szigliget.
Gretchen Tower, the friend Michalski had been travelling with, reported her missing to the US Embassy after she stopped answering her phone, failed to check out of her Airbnb on Nov. 6, and missed her flight back to the US.
Police launched a missing persons investigation where they found several videos that captured Michalski with the man at multiple nightclubs the night she went missing.
LTM was identified as the mysterious suitor and taken into police custody on Nov. 7, two days after Michalski’s death.
LTM’s attorney appealed the ruling.
With Post wires