Grace Millane murderer convicted of rape of another British tourist

Jesse Shane Kempson, who New Zealand’s Supreme Court ruled can now be named, was convicted of murdering Ms Millane by strangling her in a hotel in Auckland after meeting her via Tinder on December 1, 2018 – the day before her 22nd birthday.

The 28-year-old has since been convicted of further violent offences in two recent trials, including raping another woman he met on Tinder.

Kempson, who opted for the trials in October and November to be heard before a judge, was convicted of rape last month.

The Guardian reported that offence occurred eight months before Kempson murdered Ms Millane, and the victim was also a British tourist who he met on the dating app.

The paper says he raped the tourist when she refused sex after a date.

The woman reportedly went to the police when she recognised Kempson from media coverage on the day he was charged with the murder of Ms Millane.

Kempson was also convicted of threatening to kill, two charges of assault with a weapon, three assaults and two counts of sexual violation by unlawful sexual connection at a trial in October, court documents state.

The Guardian says the victim in that case was Kempson’s former girlfriend, with the offences taking place over the span of a few months in 2017.

Kempson was allowed to keep his name secret through the court proceedings as his defence counsel argued naming him would prevent him getting a fair trial.

The Supreme Court has now allowed his name to be made public stating “the orders suppressing the name of the applicant in relation to his conviction for the murder of Ms Millane and his October and November convictions now lapse.”

It comes after Kempson had appealed to the New Zealand Court of Appeal in August but it found against him on Friday, according to court documents seen by the PA news agency.

Justices Stephen Kos, Mark Cooper and Patricia Courtney said the Auckland murder was “committed with a high degree of callousness” due to the man failing “to call for assistance, searching on the internet for methods of body disposal … taking steps preparatory to disposing of the body and going on another date while Ms Millane’s body remained in his room”.

The judges also found his sentence was not “manifestly unjust”.

Ms Millane’s body was found in a suitcase buried in a forested area.

Kempson was convicted by a jury in November 2019 and jailed in February for at least 17 years for the murder.

He claimed Ms Millane, of Wickford, Essex, died accidentally after the pair engaged in rough sex that went too far.

In sentencing, Justice Simon Moore told Kempson his actions amounted to “conduct that underscores a lack of empathy and sense of self-entitlement and objectification”.

On Friday, the judges upheld that saying: “Ms Millane was particularly vulnerable, being intoxicated, in a strange apartment, naked, in the arms of a comparative stranger with whom she thought she could trust, and with his hands around her throat”.

Ms Millane’s father David Millane, 62, died last month after a battle with cancer, New Zealand Police said.

On Friday the force issued a statement from the Millane family, who said they were “pleased at the outcome that has been reached” in the loss of the appeal.

The family thanked the police, judges, prosecutors and the people of New Zealand and said “Grace, you are, and will always be, our sunshine.”

They added: “Grace was a kind, fun-loving daughter, sister, granddaughter, niece, aunty, cousin and friend with her whole life ahead of her.

“She was enjoying the first of what would have been a lifetime of adventures before her life was so cruelly and brutally cut short by her murderer.

“Her sense of fun, her sense of adventure, her love of travel and exploring, along with her ability to light up any room she walked into it with her generosity of spirit, are memories we as a family cherish and how we will forever remember her.”