Irish Citizen Sentenced to 14 Years in Hungary for Murder of American Tourist

In a ruling on Thursday, a Hungarian court sentenced an Irish national to 14 years in prison for the strangling death of an American tourist in Budapest in 2024.

The victim, 31‑year‑old Mackenzie Michalski of Portland, Oregon, was visiting Hungary on vacation and was reported missing on November 5, 2024, after she was last seen leaving a nightclub in central Budapest.

Police opened a missing‑person investigation, reviewed surveillance footage from nearby clubs, and spotted Michalski—known to friends as “Kenzie”—with a man later identified as the suspect in several venues that night.

The suspect, identified by the initials L.T.M. and aged 37 at the time, was detained on November 7, questioned, and later confessed to the killing.

Investigators said Michalski and the suspect met at a nightclub, danced together, and then went to the man’s rented flat, where he assaulted and strangled her during what police described as an “intimate encounter.”

The Budapest Metropolitan Court found the man guilty of murder on Thursday and imposed a 14‑year prison term without parole. The approximately 1.5 years he has already served in pre‑trial detention will be credited toward the sentence, after which the court ordered his deportation from Hungary.

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