N.Z. man found guilty in ‘rough sex’ murder
Auckland • The parents of a British backpacker murdered on a Tinder date in New Zealand wept as they said their daughter “didn’t deserve to be murdered in such a barbaric way.”
Grace Millane was choked to death on the night before her 22nd birthday and buried in a suitcase in a shallow grave outside Auckland.
Her killer, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was found guilty Friday.
David Millane, the victim’s father, struggled to compose himself outside court alongside his wife Gillian as he offered his thanks to the people of New Zealand for “opening their hearts” during the proceedings.
After enduring three weeks of a trial that delved into the details of his daughter’s past sexual activity, he wept as he said the verdict “will not reduce the pain.” Grace Millane was killed during what the defence characterized as “rough sex” at the flat of her murderer after the two met through the dating app Tinder.
The defendant did not dispute the fact that Millane died in his home and that he disposed of her body in rugged bushland on Dec. 9, 2018, outside Auckland, where it was found a week later.
But his defence claimed Millane died after encouraging him to choke her during consensual sex and he then disposed of the body and cleaned up the scene because he was in a panic.
Prosecutors labelled the story a “labyrinth of lies,” revealing that after Millane’s death he took pictures of her, searched online for sites to dispose of the corpse, watched pornography, and arranged another Tinder date for the following night.
Prosecutors said the accused man was seeking “total domination” over his victim.
The defence pointed to Millane’s membership of BDSM websites and history of choking during sex with previous partners in an attempt to paint her death as consensual sexual activity that “went wrong.”