January 16, 2019 9.09 am This story is over 62 months old

Grace Millane murder suspect pleads not guilty

A murder trial date has been set

A 27-year-old man accused of the murder of Lincoln graduate backpacker Grace Millane has pleaded not guilty.

The suspect, who has not been named for legal reasons, appeared before Auckland’s High Court on Wednesday morning, his second appearance since he was arrested in December.

Millane, 22, went missing during a trip to New Zealand on December 1, sparking a worldwide search. Her body was found by local police on the outskirts of Auckland.

A murder investigation was launched and police arrested a 27-year-old man was allegedly seen with Grace at the CityLife hotel before her disappearance, and charged him with murder.

The New Zealand Herald reported the man is accused of murdering Millane between December 1 and 2 last year.

The paper also reported that Justice Simon Moore has set a trial date of November 4, expected to last for three weeks.

A suppression on the suspect’s name was denied at his first court appearance on December 10, but lawyers were given 20 working days to appeal, therefore the suppression remains in place until at least late January.

Stuff, reported that the accused will next appear in court on April 3.