(Associated Press) – Relatives of a 31-year-old American tourist who died while on vacation in Budapest, Hungary, mourned their loss. A 37-year-old suspect is in custody this Saturday.
The victim, Mackenzie Michalski of Portland, Oregon, was reported missing on November 5 after she was last seen at a nightclub in downtown Budapest.
Police launched a missing person investigation and reviewed security footage from local nightclubs where they observed Michalski with a man, who was later identified as the suspect, at several of the clubs on the night of her disappearance.
The man was detained on November 7 and questioned by police, and then allegedly confessed to the murder.
After Michalski disappeared, her family and friends launched an effort to find her, creating a Facebook group to gather clues about her whereabouts. Her parents traveled to Hungary to help in the search, but while they were en route they learned that she had been killed.
At a candlelight vigil in Budapest on Saturday night, the victim’s father, Bill Michalski, told The Associated Press that he was “still overwhelmed with emotion” over his daughter’s death.
“There was no reason for this to happen,” he said. “I’m still trying to understand what happened… I don’t know if I ever will.”
Police arrested the suspect, an Irish national, on the night of November 7. Investigators said Michalski and the suspect had met at a nightclub and danced before leaving for the man’s rented apartment. Police alleged the man killed Michalski while they were involved in an “intimate encounter.”
Police alleged that the suspect confessed to the killing, but said it was an accident. Police said he had attempted to cover up his crime by cleaning out the apartment and hiding Michalski’s body in a closet before buying a suitcase and placing his body inside.
He allegedly then rented a car and drove to Lake Balaton, about 150 kilometers southwest of Budapest, where he disposed of the body in a wooded area outside the town of Szigliget.
A video released by police showed the suspect leading authorities to the location of the body. Police said the suspect had conducted internet searches before being arrested on how to dispose of a body, police procedures in missing persons cases, whether pigs really eat corpses and the presence of wild boars in the Lake Balaton area.
They said they had also conducted an internet search asking about the capacity of the Budapest police.
Crime scene photos released by police showed a rolling suitcase, several items of clothing, including a pair of wool-lined boots, and a small purse along with a credit card with Michalski’s name on it.
According to a post by an administrator of a Facebook group called “Find Mackenzie Michalski,” which was created on Nov. 7, Michalski, who went by “Kenzie,” was a nurse who “will always be remembered as a beautiful and compassionate young woman.” ”.
At the candlelight vigil in Budapest on Saturday, Michalski’s father gave brief remarks to those gathered and wore a baseball cap he said he received as a gift from his daughter.
Michalski had visited Budapest before and called it his “happy place,” his father told the AP.
“The story, I just loved it and was so relaxed here,” she said. “This was his city.”
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