‘I was Grace’s voice’
The faceon the televisionwas blurred. But for onewoman that wasn’t enough to conceal the identity of the manwho killed British backpacker Grace Millane.
Gut instinct told her themanwith the obscured face washer abusive former partner— Jesse Shane Kempson, aman she went to police about the day she left him.
Kempsonhadnowtaken a life and itwas a devastating realisation.
“Mywhole worldcamecrashing downaround me,” she would later tell thehigh Court at Auckland.
As the police investigation tightened on Kempson, police contacted thewomanand she had a filmed interview as they gathered evidence to bring himto justice. Her case would becomeanentirely separate, second trial.
At the judge-alone trial in
October before Justice Timothy Brewer, Kempsonfaced two charges of sexual violation, three of assault, two of assault with a weaponand one of threatening to kill in relation to the complainant.
Justice Brewer asked thewoman howthe knowledge of Millane’s death had affected the evidence she gave police. “I’ve told nothing but the truth this wholewaythrough,” she said.
“Iwasgrace’s voice and Iwill be Grace’s voice.”
Shewasnot the onlywoman speaking up. Anotherwomancame forward after Kempson’s identitywas publicised by international media as theman arrested and accused of killing Millane.
This secondwomaninstantly recognisedhimas themanwho had raped her in an Auckland motel.
Her casewas Kempson’s third trial, which began innovemberbefore Justice Geoffrey Venning.
Heis appealing the conviction and sentence of both cases but the details can be revealed after the Supreme Court yesterday orderedname suppression forkempsonto lapse.
Tindermatchbecameviolent
In September 2016, after matching on Tinder, thewomanpickedkempson upfrom hismtalbert hostel and the pair went to agrey Lynn cafe, exchanging small talk over coffee, she said.
Kempsonclaimed he hadcometo Newzealand from Australia on business. Hesaid hewasadopted at a young age by an “extremely wealthy” manafter his biological mother locked himin a car boot and set the vehicle ablaze. In the story he told, his mother wasinjail for attempted murder. In reality his mother leftwhenhewas3.
Thewomantold police sheknew Kempson’s stories were “bizarre” but shewasvulnerable.
“And she said shewastaken with him: Atall, attractivemanfeeding her the lines she wanted to hear.”
Within weekskempsonwas asking her formoney— he claimed his Australian benefactorwasbeing prosecuted for fraud which had also frozen his funds.
Hehad next to no belongings. “He justcamewith his softball bag… and a suitcase. Andthatwasit.”
Feeling ‘insane’ for leaving
Not long after theymovedin together the fighting started.
Thecrowncase at the judgealone trialwas underscored by the theme that Kempson’s financial dependence hadmadeit harder for his partner to leave an abusive relationship.
“Wewould just fight all the time.
. . . Itwas always around money,” the womansaid.
Oneday, after drinking a glass or two ofwine and fedup with the bickering, she began to walkaway with her keys.
In her evidence, she said he “slammed” her on to the ground and told her she wasnot going anywhere.
Kempsonclaimed he had acted out of concern, she said, wanting to stop her from driving drunk.
Hehadmanaged tomakeher “feel insane” for wanting to get out. Later that year she managedto stayaway for a couple of days.
Butkempsonbegged her tocome back, just to talk. Her keys were on the table as she toldhim she did not want to be with himany more.
“Something snapped and he grabbed the keys,” she said.
Andtherewas a terrifying look in his eyes that she alreadyknewtoo well— she described it as “pure evil”.
Hecoerced her to stay using a threat, she said.
The youngwomanmoved her belongings back in and told everyone the situationwas fine.
But the realitywasdifferent. Theworst night in the relationship wasjanuary 19, 2017, she told police.
Shecamehomefrom work to find he had fallen asleep on the couch.
As he woke, hewas groggy. “He said ‘I’ve been senthere by thecia to kill you’. Youare going to die today. Youare going todie.”
Kempsonchased her around the house with a knife. Heforced her into sexual acts by threatening to kill her and her family.
That night she hadwrittendown an account of the events— minus the details of the sexual violation— while hewasasleep.
“And I signed it because Ihonestly thought that night Iwas going to die
. . . people would need toknowthat itwashim that did it.”
She said finding concrete evidence of his infidelity gave her the “final push” to leave.
Thesameday in April 2017 that she ended the relationship, she went to the police andmadea complaint.
She sought and wasgranted a protection order but didnot pursue any criminal charges at that stage.
But at a hearing on October 22, Justice Brewer said he had found Kempsonguilty on all eight charges.
Athird trial begins
Littlemorethan aweek later, Kempsonwason trial in thehigh Court at Auckland for a third time.
Ayear after his ex-girlfriend left him, hewas on Tinder again andhe met anotherwomanhe would go on to hurt.
After exchanging texts with the young Britishwomantheymet for a date in Auckland’s Viaduct Harbour.
The pair ended upat theepsom motel where he wasliving. He becameaggressivewhenshe rebuffed his sexual advances and— later the samenight— he raped her, the prosecutor said.
“She froze. She tried to block out whatwashappening.”
She did notknowhowto get home, Paterson said, so she stayed in the roomuntil the morningwhenhe drove her to a supermarket carpark.
Crowdedaround a computer screen at work with her colleagues, thewomanwas not prepared forhow the Millane homicide inquiry story wasgoing to develop. The Daily Mail, in breach ofnamesuppression, was reportingwhohad been charged with the murder and her workmates had been searching thenameon social media. She immediately recognised the photos of the accused as the Tinder datewhohad raped her.
Her boss encouraged thewoman to go to the police. Onnovember6, Justice Venning said he had found Kempsonguilty on one charge of sexual violation by rape.
I’ve told nothing but the truth this
whole way through. I was Grace’s voice
and I will be Grace’s voice.
Ex-partner