Irishman jailed 14 years for US tourist's murder in Hungary

A Hungarian court sentenced an Irishman to 14 years in prison on Wednesday for murdering US tourist Mackenzie Elizabeth Michalski in Budapest.

The Budapest-Capital Regional Court found the defendant, identified only as L. T. M., guilty of killing Michalski, a 31-year-old nurse from Oregon who was on holiday in Hungary.

The court said the man met Michalski in a Budapest nightclub and invited her to his apartment for sex. According to the ruling, he tied her up, assaulted her and strangled her, then tried to conceal the killing.

The court said he did not try to resuscitate her or call for help and found that he intended the outcome of his actions.

After the killing, the man cleaned the apartment, put Michalski's body in a newly bought suitcase and drove it in a rented car to a wooded area in western Hungary near Lake Balaton.

Investigators said his internet search history included queries about whether pigs eat dead bodies, wild boars near Lake Balaton and the reliability of Budapest police.

After his arrest in Budapest two days after the killing, the man helped investigators locate Michalski's body but said her death was accidental. The defence has appealed the verdict.