Tourist, 31, ‘dismembered & stuffed into 2 suitcases by man she met on night out before being dumped in wood’
AN AMERICAN tourist’s dismembered body was found stuffed inside two suitcases after she was allegedly killed by a man she met on a night out.
Mackenzie Michalski, who was partying in Budapest, was reported missing before her body was found some 100 miles outside the capital city.
The 31-year-old nurse from Portland, Oregon, was dumped deep inside a forest near Lake Balaton near Szigliget – a two-hour drive from Budapest.
Cops investigating Michalski’s disappearance arrested an Irish man just 24 hours after her friends reported her missing to the authorities.
The man, said to be in his 30s, later confessed to killing her while having sex, but claimed it was an accident.
A happy Michalski reportedly sent a picture of her enjoying drinks in the Jewish Quarter of Budapest, shortly before she went missing.
CCTV footage later showed the Irishman dancing with her before the couple went to his rented apartment where she was allegedly killed while having sex.
He even tried to clean his apartment before dumping inside the suitcases.
Cops said in a statement: “They had gotten intimate, and he killed her in the process.
“The perpetrator tried to cover up the murder; he cleaned his apartment and hid the girl’s body in the wardrobe cabinet while he went out to buy a suitcase.”
Footage released by the Budapest police department showed the handcuffed man leading the cops to the forest where he allegedly dumped her body.
Investigators alleged he made several internet searches after the killing, including “getting rid of the smell of rotting meat”.
He also is said to have googled “how reliable is the police in Budapest?”.
Authorities are now investigating her cause of death but said it could have been a result of a sex game gone wrong.
It comes just days after the ex-boyfriend of Michalski claimed that she had been “beaten, raped and brutally” murdered by the suspect, the DailyMail reports.
Kenton Reichen, who was in a relationship with her for six years, had plans to travel to Budapest with her but cancelled at the last minute after the pair went through a sudden breakup.
The heartbroken man said he “could have saved her from this” and “protected her”.
FAMILY’S LOSS
Michalski’s devastated parents are currently in Budapest.
Friends and family said in a statement that she will “forever be remembered as a beautiful and compassionate young woman who dedicated herself to caring for others and making the world a better place”.
They added: “We are thankful that Kenzie’s soul is now at peace. Her memory and legacy will endure in the hearts of all whom she’s touched. To understand Kenzie’s spirit is to wholeheartedly embrace the vast joy and wonder of life.”
On Saturday night at a candlelit vigil in Budapest, Bill Michalski, her father, told The Associated Press he was ‘still overcome with emotion’.
‘There was no reason for this to happen. I’m still trying to wrap my arms around what happened’, he added. ‘I don´t know that I ever will.’
While struggling to come to terms with his daughter’s death, he revealed that Hungary was her ‘happy place.’
‘The history, she just loved it and she was just so relaxed here,’ he said. ‘This was her city.’
The Department of Foreign Affairs is understood to be aware of the case.