A journey to a “happy place” turned into tragedy when an American nurse was murdered by a man she met at a Hungarian nightclub this Friday, police said.
The investigation began after Kenzie Michalski, 31, of Portland, Oregon, disappeared from a night scene in Budapest on November 5, and police immediately suspected she had been murdered. Budapest police.
Security footage from the scene showed Michalski going from club to club on the night of her disappearance with a man who was later identified as the suspect.
While in custody, a 37-year-old Irish man, identified only by his initials LTM, confessed to the murder and led police to the body.
LTM allegedly told police the murder was an accident and occurred during an “intimate encounter.”
Investigators said the two met at a nightclub and danced before heading to a rented apartment.
In an attempt to cover up the murder, the man allegedly cleaned out the apartment, hid the nurse's body in a dresser, and then stuffed her into a suitcase he had bought to sneak the body out.
LTM then rented a car and drove to Lake Balaton, about 90 miles southwest of Budapest, where they dumped the body in a wooden area on the outskirts of the town of Sigligget.
His internet history is filled with searches about not only the capabilities of the Budapest police, but also how to dispose of bodies, police procedures in missing persons cases, whether pigs really eat carcasses, the presence of wild boars in the Lake Balaton area, etc. Ta.
The shocking murder occurred just one day after Michalski and a friend completed a trip to Europe.
Michalski remained in Hungary for the final night while Gretchen Tower visited friends in Italy. a grieving friend told WKBW.
The two kept in touch until just after midnight Tuesday. Michalski was then unable to check out of the Airbnb and was unable to board a flight back to the United States, so Tower called the U.S. Embassy.
Speaking at a candlelight vigil in Budapest on Saturday, Michalski's father, Bill, said he had previously visited Budapest and called it his “happy place.”
“She loved history and was very relaxed here. This was her city,” says grieving father. he told the Associated Press.
“There was no reason for this to happen. I'm still trying to come to terms with what happened…I don't know if it will ever happen.”
