A Dublin man has been sentenced to 14 years in a high-security Hungarian prison without parole for the murder of American tourist Mackenzie Michalski, a 31-year-old nurse from Portland, Oregon. The Budapest Metropolitan Court also ordered his expulsion from Hungary for 20 years following the completion of his sentence.
Michalski was last seen at a central Budapest nightclub on November 5, 2024. The defendant beat and strangled her during an encounter at his rented apartment, then cleaned the scene, concealed her body in a suitcase, and drove to a wooded area near Lake Balaton to hide the remains. He had researched online how police investigate missing persons and whether wild boars consume human bodies. Police later recovered phone footage showing the victim's lifeless body.
The court rejected the defense's claim that the death was accidental during consensual activity, finding the defendant guilty of intentional homicide. The defense has filed an appeal.