Suspect arrested after body of Portland woman vacationing in Budapest found in suitcase

A 37-year-old Irish man has been arrested in connection with the murder of an American woman holidaying in Budapest, local police said.

The man was arrested in his rented apartment earlier this week, the Budapest police headquarters said in a translated post on Facebook on Saturday. They identified him by the initials LTM

Police said the suspect met the victim, Mackenzie Michalski, 31, at a nightclub in Budapest. According to the Facebook statement, authorities said the two danced and then went to the man's apartment. Security footage showed Michalski and the suspect together before she disappeared Tuesday.

The suspect allegedly tried to cover up the murder, Budapest police said. He is said to have cleaned the apartment, put Michalski's body in a suitcase and dumped the luggage in a wooded area near Lake Balaton.

He was arrested this week at his rented apartment, police said.

The man allegedly told investigators that Michalski's death was an accident, police said in the Facebook post. Investigators also accused him of researching on the Internet whether wild boars eat human remains and how the Budapest police are investigating a missing person case.

In a video shared by authorities, the man was seen being taken to prison, leading police into the wooded area and showing them where he hid the body.

Michalski was from Portland, Oregon. Her father told the Associated Press at a candlelight vigil in Budapest that he was “still overcome with emotion.”

“There was no reason for that,” he said. “I'm still trying to come to terms with what happened… I don't know if I ever will.”