A Hungarian judge has refused to temporarily release under house arrest an Irish man who admitted killing an American woman in Budapest in 2024. He pleaded not guilty to murder, insisting her death was the result of an accident during consensual sex. The man gave a lengthy testimony behind closed doors about the graphic circumstances and the aftermath of Michalski’s death. The man and his victim had drinks at Szimpla and at a nightclub also popular among tourists, before going to the man’s apartment. The trial continues in April at the metropolitan court of Budapest.

Source: The Irish Times February 23, 2026 20:35 UTC