Mackenzie ‘Kenzie’ Michalski, Portland, Oregon nurse murdered vacationing in Budapest, following an ‘intimate evening’ with an Irish man who insists her death was accidental amid incriminating internet searches and abandoning her body in a suitcase in nearby woods.
A Portland nurse who was reported missing while she was vacationing in Budapest, Hungary, has been found dead and a suspect arrested, according to Budapest police.
Mackenzie ‘Kenzie’ Michalski, 31, had last been heard from in the early morning hours of Nov. 5, according to her friends and family. She was originally from New York but was currently living in Portland, working as a neurosurgery nurse practitioner at Providence St. Vincent. She’d been with Providence since 2021.
On Friday, Budapest detectives released a news release, stating that Michalski had been found dead and that a male suspect had been arrested.
Intimate evening that turned into a fatal ‘accident’?
According to the release, the suspect confessed and showed police where he hid Michalski’s body.
‘Teresa City police came into sight of a man with whom the missing girl was seen in several nightclubs; 37-year-old Irish citizen M.L.T. was identified and apprehended outside an apartment in District VII,’ the Hungarian press release said.
‘Life Protection Division detectives questioned the Irishman as a suspect in manslaughter, who confessed and showed police where he had hidden the woman’s body. He was taken into custody and an arrest was initiated.’
On Saturday, Budapest police shared new details about what happened, with police saying that the suspect took the victim to his rented apartment, where they got ‘intimate.’ He then admitted to killing her and claiming it was an ‘accident,’ according to authorities.
The suspect told police he put Michalski’s body in a suitcase and drove to some 90 miles to a wooded area outside Budapest where he hid her body. The man drove back to Budapest where he was arrested.
Incriminating internet searches
The Associated Press, which cited the police update, reported that the suspect had attempted to cover up the scene by cleaning his apartment and placing the Michalski’s body in a wardrobe cabinet while he bought a suitcase — which he later put her body inside.
The investigation showed that the man searched online for phrases including ‘What happens after a person is reported missing’ and ‘How do the police handle missing person cases?,’ Budapest police stated.
The suspect also made an internet search inquiring about the competence of Budapest police, CBS News reported.
Leading up to her disappearance, Michalski who had left for Budapest late October, had visited a few bars on the night of Nov. 4. The last contact she had with friends was a text sent around 12:45 a.m. on Nov. 5. She was at a bar at the time in walking distance from her Airbnb. However, the host of the Airbnb called to report that Michalski never checked out, and never collected her items from the home, according to WGRZ.
Michalski had been scheduled to fly out on November 5 back to the U.S, only to have her life cut short out after having met the suspect. How the nurse came to die and under what circumstances had yet to be revealed as the 37 year old suspect continues to insist her death was ‘accidental’.
Nurse practioner remembered
A Facebook page dedicated to finding Michalski that was created by her friends posted an update Friday that read: ‘We want to thank everyone for the overwhelming support. At this time, we ask that you please respect the privacy of MacKenzie’s friends and family and refrain from posting or commenting any information as the case is being handled exclusively by the police.’
Suarenzo grew up in western NY before moving to Oregon. According to Crystal Suarenzo, a friend of Michalski’s for more than 20 years, the nurse loved to travel and was always up for an adventure. The nurse practitioner had been to Hungary before, Suarenzo said, and said there was something about the country that drew her back.
‘Very, very adventurous and brave. She has been everywhere. She’s been around the world many times over, and she was always wanting more. She had a real hunger for experience and life,’ Suarenzo told KGW.
Adding, ‘she was a very, very pure-hearted person. Very pure-hearted.’
Another friend, Anna Hoenig, told KGW, ‘she was always responsible, on time for things, she would never not just check out of her Airbnb, she was always reachable, had her phone on her.’
Providence released a statement about Michalski’s death, saying she was a great friend and caregiver.
‘The people of Providence are deeply saddened by the news of the death of Mackenzie ‘Kenzie’ Michalski,’ Providence said in the statement. ‘Those who worked with her and knew her best say Kenzie was kind and loving — a great friend and a valued caregiver who lived out our Providence mission and values in her daily life.’
Kenzi’s family have since arrived in Hungary, where they had gone looking for their missing daughter, beset with the tragic news of her death and murder.
The family are now planning to bring her body back to the United States.
A GoFundMe to assist in family expenses as of early Saturday evening had raised $37,761 raised of a $35K goal.
