Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Grace ‘forever a Kiwi’
Family’s tribute to backpacker killed in New Zealand
GRIEVING friends of Grace Millane weep at a vigil for the British backpacker – as her family praised the people of New Zealand for their support in the search for her.
Thousands of people joined in an emotional rendition of Amazing Grace at the ceremony in
Wellington. Speaking for the first time since the 22-year-old’s body was found in bushland, her devastated family said their world “turned upside down” when she vanished.
But they added: “We would like to thank the people of New Zealand for their outpouring of love, numerous messages, tributes and compassion.
“Grace only managed to stay a few weeks, but you have taken her to your hearts and in some small way she will forever be a Kiwi. By the amount of pictures and messages we received, she clearly loved this country, its people and the lifestyle.”
Relatives also paid tribute to police for completing a “concise, stringent and thorough investigation” into the “heinous” crime.
Preparations are being made to fly Grace’s body back the UK, after she was formally identified.
The University of Lincoln graduate, from Wickford, Essex, was last seen alive at an Auckland hotel with a male companion on December 1. Her body was found on Sunday in the Waitakere Range area. Police believe she was killed between December 1 and 2.
Jesse Kempson, 26, appeared in court charged with Grace’s murder on Monday, after police found her “intact” remains in the beauty spot 12 miles west of the city.
Officers were searching for a long-handled shovel on Tuesday in connection with the investigation into the crime that has shocked New Zealand.
Grace had left home in mid-october to travel the world. She arrived Down Under on November 20.
ON NEW ZEALAND SUPPORT