The murder took place a year ago, and the details of the crime have now been fully clarified. The Hungarian Prosecution Service has filed charges.
The Budapest Chief Prosecutor’s Office has brought charges against a 38-year-old Irish man who allegedly killed his casual American acquaintance in Budapest, the office announced on November 3.
According to the indictment, the man, who often traveled for work, arrived in Budapest on October 28, 2024. The victim came to the Hungarian capital as a tourist three days later.
On the evening of November 4, they met at a bar in the city’s 7th district—Budapest’s main nightlife area. After several hours of partying together, the woman went with the man to his rented apartment “for intimate relations.” During the encounter, the man tied her up, assaulted her, and ultimately strangled her to death.
The next afternoon, the man bought a large suitcase, placed the body inside, and drove a rented car to a wooded area near Lake Balaton, where he hid it. He then returned to Budapest, where police arrested him the following day.
What Happened?
The police had previously released some further details about the case.
After the 31-year-old American woman was reported missing, an investigation was launched immediately. Soon, several suspicious circumstances emerged, suggesting that she might have been the victim of a crime.
Detectives reviewed security camera footage and identified a man who had been seen with the missing woman at several bars.
Two days later, Budapest police apprehended the Irish suspect, who admitted to killing the woman but claimed it was a “tragic accident” during an intimate encounter.
He even showed police the location where he had buried the suitcase containing the body, in a forested area near Szigliget, close to Lake Balaton.
Investigators determined that the woman had willingly gone to the man’s apartment, where he tied her up and intentionally strangled her.
He also recorded videos of his helpless victim, which police later found on his phone.
During the investigation, police examined the man’s internet search history, discovering queries such as:
- “Do pigs really eat human bodies?”
- “Texas woman killed by a wild boar”
- “Wild boar sightings near Lake Balaton”
- “What does a decomposing body smell like?”
- “How to remove the smell of rotting meat”
- “Budapest webcams”
- “What happens after reporting a missing person?”
- “How do the police handle missing person cases?”
- “How reliable is the Budapest police?”
The suspect also tried to cover his tracks: he cleaned the apartment and hid the woman’s body in a wardrobe while he went out to buy a suitcase.
The Indictment
The suspect has been held in custody throughout the criminal proceedings.
He underwent forensic psychiatric and psychological evaluations, but experts found no condition that would exclude criminal responsibility.
The Budapest Chief Prosecutor’s Office has now charged the Irish man with murder and has requested that the court sentence him to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. The prosecution also seeks his expulsion from Hungary following his prison term.
The police had previously released a video showing the arrest of the Irish man.
