Hungary jails Irishman who murdered a US tourist he’d invited home for sex

• An Irishman was sentenced to 14 years in Hungary for murdering an American tourist he invited home for sex.
• He strangled the victim, Mackenzie Elizabeth Michalski, then hid her body in a suitcase in the woods near Lake Balaton.
• The man researched topics about disposing bodies and police reliability, but claimed the death was accidental; the defence has appealed the verdict.

BUDAPEST - A Hungarian court has sentenced an Irishman to 14 years in prison for brutally killing an American tourist during sex before dumping her body in the woods.

The Budapest-Capital Regional Court on July 8 found the man guilty of the murder of Mackenzie Elizabeth Michalski, a 31-year-old nurse from Oregon who was on holiday in the central European country.

The defendant, identified only by his initials L. T. M., had invited the victim to his apartment for sex after meeting her in a Budapest nightclub.

According to the ruling, he then tied up the woman, assaulted her, and strangled her to death before attempting to conceal the murder.

“The defendant did not attempt to resuscitate the deceased, nor did he call for help; according to the court’s findings, he intended the outcome of his actions, that is, the victim’s death,” the court said in a statement.

After killing Michalski, the man cleaned the apartment, put her body in a freshly bought suitcase and drove it in a rented car to a wooded area in western Hungary close to Lake Balaton.

Investigators said his internet search history included queries on whether pigs eat dead bodies, the presence of wild boars around Lake Balaton, and the reliability of the Budapest police.

After his arrest in the capital two days after the murder, he helped investigators locate Michalski’s body, but insisted her death was accidental.

The defence has already lodged an appeal against the verdict. AFP