A trip to her favorite spot turned into a nightmare for an American nurse when she was tragically killed this week by a man she met at a nightclub in Hungary, according to police reports released on Friday.
Kenzie Michalski, 31, from Portland, Oregon, disappeared from the Budapest nightlife scene on November 5, sparking an urgent manhunt as authorities quickly suspected foul play.
Surveillance footage captured her that night hopping between clubs with a man who later became the prime suspect.
This 37-year-old Irish man, identified only by his initials LTM, confessed to the murder while in custody and led investigators to where he had hidden her body.
They had met at a club and danced together before heading back to his rented apartment.
Reports indicate that he attempted to conceal his crime by cleaning up the apartment and hiding Michalski’s body in a wardrobe before putting it into a suitcase he bought for this purpose.
Afterward, he rented a car and drove about 90 miles southwest of Budapest to Lake Balaton, where he disposed of her remains in some woods near Szigliget.
Investigators found his internet search history alarming; it included queries about how to dispose of bodies and even whether pigs eat human remains—along with questions about police procedures for missing persons cases and details about wild boars in the Lake Balaton area.
This shocking incident took place just one day after Michalski wrapped up her European trip with her friend Gretchen Tower.
While Tower headed off to visit friends in Italy, Michalski stayed behind for one last night in Hungary.
They kept in touch until shortly after midnight on Tuesday when Michalski didn’t check out of her Airbnb or catch her flight back home. Concerned for her safety, Tower reached out to the US Embassy.
At a candlelight vigil held in Budapest on Saturday evening, Michalski’s father Bill shared that she had previously visited Budapest many times and cherished it as her happy place.