An American woman was killed after meeting an Irish man in a nightclub in Budapest, Hungary, with family members stating that the woman was on vacation in his “happy place,” shortly before her death.
Following her disappearance on Nov. 5, police have recovered the body of 31-year-old Kenzie Michalski, a resident of Portland, Oregon. Hungarian police have arrested an Irish man who is suspected of having killed the woman at his apartment rental.
The woman, who worked as a nurse, came to Hungary as a tourist and disappeared from a Budapest nightclub on Tuesday. Security footage revealed that the woman was filmed going from club to club with a 37-year-old Irish citizen, who has only been recognized by his initials, LTM.
The police in Terézváros have since taken the man into custody and questioned him. The man has confessed and also shown the police where he hid the woman’s body. The murder happened while he and the woman were engaged in an “intimate encounter.”
The man allegedly put the woman’s body in a suitcase and drove to Lake Balaton, 90 miles southwest of Budapest, to dispose of her in the woods. However, his internet search history revealed his mindset shortly after the murder.
His internet history was full of searches about how to dispose of a body, questions about whether wild boars or pigs eat dead bodies, and questions about how competent the Budapest police are.
Michalski and her friend had just finished a trip through Europe, and Budapest was their last stop.
At a candlelight vigil in Budapest held on Saturday, the victim’s father, Bill Michalski, said she had visited Budapest before and referred to it as her “happy place.” Notably, Budapest is considered one of the safest big cities in Europe and such a crime is highly out of the ordinary.
The family had a touching farewell
“We are grateful to our Hungarian friends and locals for drawing attention to the case on social media, spreading the word, translating and starting a search to find Kenzie,” the family of the 31-year-old woman wrote on Facebook.
“We are thankful that Kenzie’s soul is now at peace. Her memory lives on in the hearts of everyone she knew. She wished for the world: live in the present, always be yourself and always walk in the light,” reads the post. They then thanked everyone for their support and prayers and asked that the family’s privacy be respected during this difficult time.
