Rough sex is not a defence – detective
The detective inspector who led the investigation into British backpacker Grace Millane’s death says rough sex should not be a defence to murder.
Yesterday, the killer, who cannot be named, was sentenced by Justice Simon Moore in the High Court at Auckland to life imprisonment with a minimum nonparole period of 17 years for the ‘‘highly callous’’ crime.
Millane, 21, died sometime between December 1 and 2, 2018, after she went on a Tinder date with the man in central Auckland.
The now 28-year-old man denied murder and claimed her death was a tragic accident after the pair had sex at his apartment.
At yesterday’s sentencing, Crown prosecutor Brian Dickey said the killer should spend at least 16 years in prison as there were a number of aggravating factors, such as the brutality and callousness he showed after killing Millane. That included searching for pornography and taking intimate photographs of Millane.
Dickey said it was not a case of rough sex that went wrong but a ‘‘violent death’’.
The killer’s lawyer, Ian Brookie, said while his client accepted the judge must sentence him, he still maintained his innocence.
Brookie said the pair engaged in consensual sex that night and there was no evidence of a non-consensual attack on Millane. He said it was not a sustained attack, and burying and concealing a victim’s body was not that uncommon in this country.
Justice Moore agreed with the Crown, saying the killer tailored his story to match what he knew of the police investigation into Millane’s disappearance and what the police were likely to uncover.
A psychologist had found the killer at ‘‘very high risk’’ of reoffending. No mental health issues had yet been diagnosed.
Justice Moore accepted manual strangulation was a physical and intimate type of violence but accepted the murder was not premeditated.
He said Millane was vulnerable as she trusted the killer enough to go into his room and engage in intimate physical activity. ‘‘You were a large powerful man, she was diminutive ... you were in a position of total physical dominance.’’
Justice Moore found Millane must have died before 1.20am on December 2 when the killer searched ‘‘Waitakere Ranges’’ on his phone. Her lifeless body was in the room when he searched and accessed pornographic sites. ‘‘You took grossly intrusive intimate photos.’’
‘‘If people are going to use that type of defence, all it actually does is repetitively revictimise the victim and the victim’s family.’’
Detective Inspector Scott Beard
The killer’s sense of self-entitlement and his objectification of Millane’s body showed his high degree of callousness, Justice Moore said.
‘‘In my view, you can [take] little credit for showing the police where Ms Millane’s body was ... the police were already on your heels.’’
Speaking to media outside court, Detective Inspector Scott Beard, who led the police investigation, thanked those who worked tirelessly to get ‘‘justice for Grace’’, and spoke of the ‘‘absolutely unbelievable’’ support from the public.
Turning to the case, he said rough sex should not be used as a defence to murder and said strangling someone for five to 10 minutes until they die ‘‘is not rough sex’’.
‘‘If people are going to use that type of defence, all it actually does is repetitively revictimise the victim and the victim’s family,’’ Beard said.
‘‘The Millanes sat through a trial for a number of weeks and their daughter’s background, rightly or wrongly, was out in the public. I do not believe that rough sex should be a defence.’’
He said the impact of having to listen to intimate details about their daughter was tough for the Millane family, and losing her on her birthday while she was alone in a foreign country was a life sentence for them.