American nurse Mackenzie Michalski killed during ‘intimate encounter’ in Budapest

Mackenzie Michalski, a nurse and New York native who went missing while vacationing in Hungary last week, was killed during an “intimate encounter” by an Irish man she met during a night out in the nation’s capital city, according to local police.
Michalski was last seen at a nightclub in Budapest in the early hours of Nov. 5, law enforcement said. Her friends had become concerned when they were unable to get in touch, so they alerted Budapest police to her disappearance later that day.
Amid their search for missing Michalski, investigators combed through security footage from local nightclubs where they observed the 31-year-old nurse with a man, who has since been arrested for her murder. His name has not been released, but he was identified in court documents by initials LTM.
LTM, a 38-year-old Irish citizen, was arrested on Nov. 7. He allegedly confessed to killing Michalski shortly thereafter, but claimed it was an accident. Police said he and Michalski met at a club and danced before leaving for LTM’s rented apartment, where he allegedly killed her during a romantic tryst.
In the immediate aftermath, he stashed her body in a wardrobe and scrubbed his apartment clean before purchasing a suitcase and stuffing her remains inside.
He then rented a car and drove to Lake Balaton, around 100 miles southwest of Budapest, where he disposed of the body in a wooden area outside the town of Szigliget. Police said the suspect eventually led them to the spot.
“At present, it is not possible to establish exactly how the victim was killed and this is the subject of the ongoing investigation,” authorities said in a statement earlier this week.
During a candlelit vigil over the weekend, the victim’s father, Bill Michalski, said he was “still overcome with emotion” and that he’s working to process his daughter’s tragic death.
“There was no reason for this to happen,” he said. “I’m still trying to wrap my arms around what happened … I don’t know that I ever will.”
A Fredonia, N.Y. native, Michalski worked for several years at Buffalo General before relocating to Portland, Ore., where she worked as a neurosurgery nurse practitioner at Providence St. Vincent.
“Those who worked with her and knew her best say Kenzie was kind and loving — a great friend and a valued caregiver who lived out our Providence mission and values in her daily life,” the medical center said in a statement.
The U.S. State Department confirmed they’re working with the U.S. Embassy in Budapest and local police to bring the suspect to justice.
With News Wire Services