Irish man arrested in Budapest on suspicion of murdering ex-wife

An Irish citizen, 43, was arrested this week as part of an investigation into the death of a woman in Budapest, Hungary last Wednesday, January 29.

Police in Budapest have not released the names of the man and woman, but have confirmed that the man is a 43-year-old Irish citizen and that the victim, the Irish man’s ex-wife, was a 43-year-old Japanese woman.

The AFP reported on Wednesday that during questioning, the Irish man said that he met his ex-wife in the US 25 years ago, they got married in 2002, and lived in multiple countries before settling down in Hungary in 2013.

In 2020, their relationship deteriorated and he moved to the Netherlands before they divorced in 2023.

The woman was raising the two children on her own in Budapest for a number of years, but last summer, the couple had agreed on a contact arrangement, according to Hungarian publication Telex.

The morning of the woman's death, the Irish man took the two children to school.

He is the second Irish man to be arrested on suspicion of a woman's murder in Budapest within three months.

Budapest Police said on Tuesday, February 4 that they responded on January 29 to a fire in a third-floor apartment in a condominium building located on Stollár Béla Street, District 5, Budapest.

The Irish man, police said, reported the fire and was at the scene.

Firefighters ultimately found the body of the deceased 43-year-old woman and police investigated the scene.

The Irish man was questioned as a witness, police said. He provided a DNA sample and his clothes were confiscated as part of the investigation.

Police said on Tuesday that preliminary findings indicated that the fire was caused by someone smoking in bed, but investigations into the fire are ongoing.

Police also said on Tuesday that an official autopsy was performed on the victim on January 29 and that the results showed no signs of foul play.

Police said they interviewed witnesses and analyzed surveillance footage, but all evidence indicated that no crime had occurred.

However, police said there was a "turning point" on February 3 when suspicions arose that the Irish man, after leaving the apartment with the children in the morning, had changed clothes somewhere and returned to the scene disguised in a hood and helmet.

Police now believe the Irish man killed the woman in the apartment, left, and then returned, changing clothes again.

Police shared this CCTV footage of the man on YouTube on Tuesday:

A forensic autopsy performed on February 3 found signs of abuse, police said.

At the request of police, the Irish man was arrested by the Counter-Terrorism Center’s operation unit around 11 pm in an apartment building on Ferenc Boulevard in the 9th district.

The Irish man was questioned as a suspect in the early hours of February 4, taken into custody, and a warrant was issued for his arrest.

The Irish suspect denied committing any crime.

Police shared a video of the Irish man's arrest on YouTube, though the video is age-restricted:

Police were met with criticism of their investigation before the "turning point."

On Saturday, February 1, Patent Egyesület (Patent Association), a group that provides counseling and intervention for gender-based violence survivors, said on social media that the victim turned to them for legal help in 2023.

Patent said the woman "was afraid of her husband, who had previously abused her for a long time, and wanted to return to her native country with her children," though the Irish man objected.

The group said the woman "lived in fear because of her ex-husband's threats" and that although several reports were made against the Irish man, the police did not deal with the cases.

"The police are treating the fire as an accident, although several unsettling circumstances have arisen, so the victim's friends turned to the public - and now we do the same," the group said on Saturday.

The group called for a thorough investigation into the incident.

Patent added: "When a woman has reported for years that she is afraid to ask for help over and over again, when she files reports — but authorities do nothing and then eventually dies, it clearly indicates the inability of the justice system to protect victims of sexual violence.

"In this case, the minimum is for the police to take the matter seriously, at least afterwards and to investigate as much as possible what happened.

"Violence against women is not private. Not a unique tragedy. Rather, it is a systematic social crisis, which is deepening with each case that is silenced and hidden."

The AFP reported that on Sunday, police dismissed concerns about the investigation in a Facebook post, but suddenly changed course the next day.

A candlelight vigil was held in Budapest for the victim on Tuesday evening.