Grace Millane murder suspect 'went on Tinder date with her body still in his room'
The man accused of murdering British backpacker Grace Millane went on a Tinder date while her body was still in a suitcase in his room, the court has heard. The first evidence in the five-week trial was presented today in Auckland, New Zealand, where 21-year-old Grace was killed last December.
The suspect, who cannot be named for legal reasons, re-entered his guilty plea when the trial began on Monday. He claims Grace's death was an accident, after "acts designed to enhance sexual pleasure went wrong" during consensual sex.
Grace Millane was on a year-long solo overseas trip when she disappeared on December 1, the eve of her 22nd birthday. That night, the backpacker went on a date with the accused man at SkyCity in Central Auckland after the pair met on Tinder. She was last seen alive at the CityLife hotel in Auckland at 9:41pm, but could not be traced after that. When Grace's parents received no response to the birthday messages they had sent her, concerns grew and she was reported missing. Essex-born Grace's body was found in bushland on the outskirts of Auckland a week after she went missing.
Almost a year later, a 12-strong jury made up of seven men and five women is being asked to decide whether Grace was murdered by her date back at his apartment, or whether the young woman was strangled by accident during consensual sex.
"Only two people know what happened in that room," prosecuting lawyer Robin McCoubrey told Auckland high court. "One of them can't tell us, and the other hasn't told the truth about what happened."
David and Gillian Millane, Grace's parents, were seated in the front row of the packed public gallery as the trial officially opened today (Wednesday 6 November).
It was the first time the details of the backpacker's death have been disclosed publicly for the first time, with prosecutor McCoubrey telling the jury that the young woman had died from close-range pressure to her neck. Officials determined she had "bruises that were consistent with restraint" when Grace's body was later discovered in a suitcase in a shallow grave.
The trial continues.
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