‘Killer left Grace’s body to go on date’

A N E W Zea la nd ma n strangled a British backpacker then put her body in a suitcase and went on another date, a court has heard.

The body of 22-year-old Grace Millane was found in a forested area near Auckland, New Zealand, a week after she was last seen at a hotel in the city centre on December 2 last year.

Ms Millane, from Wickford in Essex, was on a round-the-world trip when she arrived in New Zealand last November.

A 27-year-old man, whose name cannot be published for legal reasons, is standing trial accused of her murder at the city’s High Court.

Prosecutor Robin McCoubrey said Ms Millane and the defendant met via the dating app Tinder, and went to a number of bars.

He said: “They were plainly comfortable in one another’s company that evening,” referring to security footage that showed them together.

“From the footage, you’ll see them kissing. Both parties probably anticipated sexual activity,” he added.

Mr McCoubrey said the defendant lied to police, telling them he had simply met Ms Millane “for a drink and then parted company”.

But he later told them that they had engaged in rough sexual intercourse, Mr McCoubrey said. “‘I woke up the next day and saw that she was lying on the floor. I saw that she had blood coming from her nose’,” Mr McCoubrey quoted the defendant as saying.

The prosecutor said that in the hours after Ms Millane died, the defendant engaged in internet searches, including for the Waitakere Ranges, where her body was found.

“What (the defendant) is trying to do is find a place to dispose of her body.” He said the defendant “doesn’t seem concerned by the dead body” and went “on another date”.

Ms Millane’s parents David and Gillian were present in court for the start of the trial.

Parents David and Gillian, right, arrive at court for the first day of the trial into the alleged murder of Grace, inset.