Family members of a 31-year-old American tourist who was killed while on vacation in Hungary\u2019s capital mourned their loss while a 37-year-old suspect was in custody Saturday. <\/p>\n
The victim, Mackenzie Michalski from Portland, Oregon, was reported missing on Nov. 5 after she was last seen at a nightclub in central Budapest. <\/p>\n
Police launched a missing person investigation and reviewed security footage from local nightclubs where they observed Michalski with a man later identified as the suspect in several of the clubs the night of her disappearance. <\/p>\n
The man was detained on Nov. 7 and questioned by police, and later allegedly confessed to the killing. <\/p>\n
After Michalski\u2019s disappearance, her family and friends had launched an effort to find her, starting a Facebook group to gather tips on her whereabouts. Her parents traveled to Hungary to assist in the search, but while en route learned that she had been killed. <\/p>\n
At a candlelight vigil in Budapest on Saturday night, the victim\u2019s father, Bill Michalski, told The Associated Press that he was \u201cstill overcome with emotion\u201d at the death of his daughter. <\/p>\n
\u201cThere was no reason for this to happen,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m still trying to wrap my arms around what happened \u2026 I don\u2019t know that I ever will.\u201d <\/p>\n
Police detained the suspect, an Irish citizen, on the evening of Nov. 7. Investigators said that Michalski and the suspect had met at a nightclub and danced before leaving for the man\u2019s rented apartment. Police alleged the man killed Michalski while they were engaged in an \u201cintimate encounter.\u201d <\/p>\n
Police alleged the suspect confessed to the killing, but said it had been an accident. Police said that he had attempted to cover up his crime by cleaning the apartment and hiding Michalski\u2019s body in a wardrobe before purchasing a suitcase and placing her body inside. <\/p>\n
Allegedly, he then rented a car and drove to Lake Balaton, around 90 miles (150 kilometers) southwest of Budapest, where he disposed of the body in a wooden area outside the town of Szigliget. <\/p>\n
Video released by police showed the suspect guiding authorities to the location of the body. Police said the suspect had made internet searches before being apprehended on how to dispose of a body, police procedures in missing person cases, whether pigs really eat dead bodies, and the presence of wild boars in the Lake Balaton area. <\/p>\n
They said he had also made an internet search inquiring on the competence of Budapest police. <\/p>\n
Crime scene photographs released by police showed a rolling suitcase, several articles of clothing including a pair of fleece-lined boots, and a small handbag next to a credit card bearing Michalski\u2019s name. <\/p>\n
According to a post by an administrator of a Facebook group called \u201cFind Mackenzie Michalski,\u201d which was created on Nov. 7, Michalski, who went by \u201cKenzie,\u201d was a nurse practitioner who \u201cwill forever be remembered as a beautiful and compassionate young woman.\u201d <\/p>\n
At the candlelight vigil in Budapest on Saturday, Michalski\u2019s father gave brief comments to those who had gathered, and was wearing a baseball cap he said he had received as a gift from his daughter. <\/p>\n
Michalski had visited Budapest before, and called it her \u201chappy place,\u201d her father told the AP. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe history, she just loved it and she was just so relaxed here,\u201d he said. \u201cThis was her city.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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