Grace, a graduate from the University of Lincoln and former hockey club vice captain, was on a trip to New Zealand when she went on a date with the defendant, who cannot be named until a court suspension is lifted, on December 1, a day before her 22nd birthday. They had met on the Tinder dating app and visited a number of bars in the city centre.
They returned to the City Life hotel and leisure complex, where he was staying. A trial heard he had chocked her to death during sex.
Tributes continue to pour in for Grace Millane. Photo: Facebook
Following her death, the court heard the defendant searched for pornographic content online, and took photographs of her body. He also went on a date with another woman the following day while Grace was still in his apartment.
During the trial at the city’s high court, the 27-year-old defendant claimed she died accidentally during “rough sex”. He reportedly showed no emotion as the verdict was read out in court, with some members of the jury breaking down and sobbing as they left the courtroom for the final time.
Justice Simon Moore said the defendant would be sentenced on February 21, 2020.
According to the New Zealand Herald, Grace Millane’s parents, who were seated in the first row of the public gallery, broke down in tears and embraced each other as they heard the guilty verdict.
Her father David Millane told journalists: “This will be with us for the rest of our lives. Grace was a a beautiful, talented, loving daughter. Grace was our sunshine and she will be missed forever.”
He added that she “did not deserve to be murdered in such a barbaric way”.
Photo of his apartment, issued by Auckland City Police
Photo issued by Auckland City Police. Inspectors used luminal to highlight blood stains on the floor of the killer’s apartment.
Other women told their story to the jury regarding their encounters with the defendant.
An Auckland woman, who matched with the defendant on Tinder and met him for a sexual encounter described him as a “sociopath” in the New Zealand Herald. She was one of three women to tell their story to the jury, including the accused’s alleged supposed liking for erotic asphyxiation.
The New Zealand Herald said the defence, however, used expert evidence and those who knew Millane to say it was an accidental death during erotic asphyxiation.
They said at the time: “Grace Millane was a beautiful young woman who spent her three years at University as a cherished member of the Hockey Club. Upon learning the tragic news, the society have decided to raise money in Grace’s honour for both a Lincolnshire based cancer charity – Candles (from the funds raised on Wednesday), and the Lucie Blackman trust, who support British victims overseas and have supported her family during this time.”
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A 38-year-old man from a North Lincolnshire village charged with murder will face an eight-day trial later this year.
Emergency services were called at 4.23am on Saturday, July 2 to reports that a man was seriously injured on South Parade in central Doncaster.
The 28-year-old victim was taken to hospital but was sadly pronounced dead a short time later.
A post-mortem examination found that he died of injuries to his head, chest and abdomen.
Formal identification of the victim is yet to take place, South Yorkshire Police said earlier this week.
Steven Ling, 38, of Park Drain, Westwoodside in North Lincolnshire, has been charged with murder and was remanded in custody to appear at Doncaster Magistrates Court on Monday, July 4.
Ling later appeared at Sheffield Crown Court on Tuesday, July 5 for a plea and trial preparation hearing.
No pleas were entered during the hearing, but an eight-day trial was set for November 28, 2022. Ling has now been remanded into custody until the next hearing.
The Lincolnite went on a ride-along with a Lincolnshire Police officer from the force’s Roads Policing Unit (RPU), which aims to disrupt criminals’ use of the roads and reduce the number of serious and fatal accidents.
The team will support the county response including local policing, neighbourhood policing and criminal investigation too.
Operations first began in Grantham in January this year and started in Louth earlier this week with a sergeant and nine PCs based in both locations.
The Lincolnite went out on a ride-along with PC Rich Precious from Lincolnshire Police’s Roads Policing Unit. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
PC Rich Precious has been a police officer for 22 years after joining the force in 2000 and he recently rejoined the Roads Policing Unit, working out of Louth.
PC Precious, who also previously worked as a family liaison officer for road deaths for 16 years, took The Lincolnite out in his police car to the A1 up to Colsteworth and then back to Grantham. He described that particular area as “one of the main arterial routes that goes through Lincolnshire”.
PC Rich Precious driving down the A1 up to Colsterworth. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
Speaking about the new Roads Policing Unit, he said: “It’s intelligence led policing, it’s targeted policing in areas that have been underrepresented in terms of police presence, on the roads certainly, over a number of years.
“We’re hoping that the development of this unit will help address that balance, and look towards using the ANPR system to prevent criminals’ use of the road, and to identify key areas or routes where there’s a high percentage of people killed or seriously injured on the road, what we commonly refer to as KSI.
PC Precious is helping to keep the roads safer in Lincolnshire. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
When asked if he thinks the new team will help reduce the number of serious and fatal accidents in the county, he added: “That’s what the the unit designed for. Sadly, in Lincolnshire our road network does seem to incur a number of those KSI accidents year on year, and we need to reduce that.
“I’ve worked additionally in my roles as a family liaison officer on road death for 16 years, so I’ve seen first hand the impact that road death has on families and victims families.
“I know it’s important that we try and reduce those because, it’s very sad to see how a fatal road traffic collision can affect a family and the victims of that family.”
Marc Gee, Inspector for Lincolnshire Police’s Roads Policing Unit. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
Marc Gee, Inspector for the Roads Policing Unit, told The Lincolnite: “Every day there will be officers on duty from both teams and they’ll cover the whole county or the county’s roads.
“Eventually, we’ll have nine police cars and we’ve got six motorbikes. We’ll be utilising them with as many officers as we can every day basically to make our roads safer and enforce against the criminals who feel like it’s okay to come into the county and use our road for criminal purposes.”
Lincolnshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner Marc Jones at the launch of the force’s Roads Policing Unit. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
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