Trial of US-British-Hungarian citizen charged with killing French national begins in Budapest

According to the charges, the defendant arrived in Budapest in December 2019, and on the night of February 7, 2020, he drank a large amount of alcohol at several pubs in Budapest.

In the small hours of Feb. 8, he ran up to a 25-year-old Frenchman walking on the pavement near Karolyi Gardens in central Budapest, punched him in the face twice and stabbed him in the chest with a knife. He then ran away. The victim died on the spot.

The 28-year-old defendant has been charged with homicide.

The court said earlier that the man had a clean criminal record but based on the nature of his act including ad hoc violence it can be suspected that he had a mental disorder. He said earlier that he suffered from bipolar disorder and was treated for alcoholism in the United States.

The trial is set to continue on March 1 next year with expert testimonies from psychiatrists, the court said in a statement.