Trial of Irish man accused of murdering American nurse to start in February
Sarah Slater
The trial of an Irish man who allegedly murdered an American nurse in Hungary last year is to begin next February.
Mackenzie Michalski, 31, from Fredonia, New York, was on holiday in the Hungarian capital of Budapest, and was last seen alive at a nightclub in the city in the early hours of Tuesday, November 5th last. She was listed as missing by Budapest Police Headquarters later that day.
A 38-year-old Irishman, who worked in marketing, has allegedly admitted to killing Ms Michalski, a nurse practitioner, accidentally, after claiming they became intimate at a rented apartment while on holiday.
The arrested man allegedly informed police after his arrest that he attempted to conceal her body in a suitcase along with her handbag and credit card, which he transported her in the boot of his rental car to a marshy area in Szigliget in western Hungary.
The Metropolitan Court of Budapest has extended his detention on several occasions while investigations were carried out.
Detectives have also said they found numerous alleged incriminating online searches on a computer and allege that the detained Irish suspect cleaned his apartment.
It is alleged that the Irish man met Ms Michalski at a nightclub on the evening of November 4th last year, where they drank and danced together. They allegedly went to the man’s apartment, where the defendant assaulted and strangled the woman during sexual intercourse.
It is further alleged that the man then tidied up the apartment, left, bought a large suitcase, and put the woman’s body in it. He then hid the suitcase in a wooded area near Lake Balaton, in western Hungary.
The Budapest Metropolitan Court held a preliminary hearing on Wednesday last and heard that the prosecution proposed a 12-year prison sentence without parole and expulsion from Hungary for 10 years if the defendant made a confession and waiver of trial.
The court then referred the case to trial. The proceedings will continue on February 13th next, according to the Hungarian News Agency and Daily News Hungary. The Irish man was remanded in custody by authorities.
A memorial candlelight vigil was held in Budapest’s Liberty Square on Tuesday night.
Ms Michalski’s family flew from the US to Budapest for the court hearing and vigil.
In a social media post Ms Burek Michalski said that her daughter’s “short, amazing life was important and impacted so many. We love you. Endlessly. Always and forever. To infinity and beyond”.
