Megumi, a Japanese mother of two, was brutally killed by her former Irish husband – but police initially believed his account of what had happened. The Budapest Chief Prosecutor’s Office has charged a 45-year-old Irishman with premeditated murder and is seeking a lengthy prison sentence after he allegedly disguised the killing of his former wife as a domestic fire, prosecutors told Hungary’s MTI news agency on Monday. The tragedy provoked widespread outrage over the police’s victim-blaming statements and serious failures, which led to disciplinary consequences for several officers.
Prosecutors say murder was carefully planned
Prosecutors said they would seek a 17-year prison sentence if the defendant made a full confession. They are also seeking a custodial sentence followed by his expulsion from Hungary, and asking the court to rule that he should not be eligible for parole, MTI wrote.
According to the indictment, the Irishman, who lived in the Netherlands, decided to kill his Japanese former wife the next time he travelled to Hungary to see their children. He allegedly planned to make her death appear to have been caused by a household fire. The crime was committed on 29 January in 2025.
The case arose after the victim applied to the guardianship authority in March 2024 for permission for the children to settle in Japan, as well as seeking arrangements concerning their choice of school and parental custody. Prosecutors say the man decided to kill his former wife in order to avoid a protracted administrative process – and any subsequent court proceedings – and to prevent a decision that might have gone against him.
Japanese mother Megumi had no chance of survival – yet police believed the Irishman’s story
The defendant travelled to Hungary on 27 January 2025, and stayed at the former family flat in Budapest’s fifth district. On 29 January, after their son had left for school, he took their daughter to a swimming pool, leaving his former wife alone at home.
He took a change of clothes with him, changed, and began making his way back to the flat. On the way, he also put on a hood and a helmet. When he returned to the flat, he allegedly attacked and killed his former wife. He then placed her body on the sofa and arranged a wine bottle, tea lights, cigarettes and cigarette ends nearby.
In an attempt to destroy evidence of the crime, he set fire to the furniture and left the flat. While walking around the area, he discarded the clothes he had changed into and put his original outfit back on. He then went to a wellness centre before returning to the flat in the early afternoon. When he opened the door, the influx of fresh oxygen caused the fire he had lit earlier to flare up more fiercely. Ten minutes later, he reported the blaze.
Police arrested the man on 3 February 2025. He has been held in pre-trial detention since 6 February. At the request of the Chief Prosecutor’s Office, the court extended the detention after charges were brought.
Murder sparked widespread outrage
Megumi’s killing caused widespread outrage at the beginning of 2025, with several civil liberties and women’s rights organisations examining the police’s role in the case.
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In 2022, Megumi had reportedly complained about her former husband, saying that he had kept her in fear and had even threatened to kill her, warning that she would “die in agony”.
Police failed to act on the complaint. They also carried out a cursory investigation following her death and for days accepted the Irishman’s version that the fire had been caused by smoking in bed.
Megumi’s friends said on social media that she did not smoke. In response, they received patronising and mocking replies from the member of staff running the police’s official social media account.
The case led to an internal investigation. Several officers were removed from their posts, the employee responsible for social media was dismissed, and even the chief of police in Budapest’s fifth district was replaced.
A march was organised for the murdered Japanese woman in Budapest
