Grace Millane killer sentenced to minimum 17 years behind bars

The man convicted of killing backpacker Grace Millane in 2018 has been sentenced to life in prison.

The man who killed a British female backpacker in 2018 has been sentenced to life in prison.

The killer will spend at least 17 years behind bars for the 2018 killing of Grace Millane.

The convicted killer, 28, who still cannot be named for legal reasons, was found guilty and convicted last November for the December 2018 death, after the pair met on a dating app.

This morning he was led into the dock, flanked by two court security guards in the High Court at Auckland.

Grace Millane went missing while travelling in New Zealand.

Ms Millane went missing from Auckland.

Footage shown in court of the date Grace Millane went on with the 27 year old accused of murdering her.

Ms Millane disappeared on the eve of her 22nd birthday, a few days after arriving in Auckland while on a year-long around-the-world trip after graduating from university.

Her parents became concerned about her after she didn’t reply to birthday messages they sent to her on December 2. She was reported missing three days later. Her body was discovered in a shallow grave on December 9.

Ms Millane had met the killer on Tinder while travelling in Auckland. The pair went out together drinking at several bars before returning to his hotel room in central Auckland.

The Crown said in court the man spent five to ten minutes strangling Ms Millane before he took photos of her lifeless body. After the killing, he contorted her body into a suitcase, which he then took to the Waitākere Ranges, west of Auckland.

He initially denied any involvement in her death, then told police she had accidentally choked during a sex game gone wrong.

A jury unanimously rejected his defence at a trial last November after just five hours of deliberation.

Read more: Who is Grace Millane’s murderer? Unravelling labyrinth of lies and a fatal Tinder date

The man, whose name has been suppressed by the court, was convicted for the murder by a jury on November 22 last year and was sentenced on Friday.

In sentencing the man, Justice Simon Moore said Ms Millane was in a vulnerable position and trusted the killer.

“You were a stranger, she trusted you,” Justice Moore said to the killer.

“You are a large and powerful man, she was diminutive.

“You were in a position of total physical dominance.”

In police interviews the killer attempted to describe the death as “some terrible accident” according to the New Zealand Herald.

Gillian Millane holds a family photograph during her televised victim impact statement. Picture: Greg Bowker/Getty Images

Ms Millane’s mother Gillian said in a victim impact statement hearing that her daughter had been found in a shallow grave will “haunt” her forever.

“The terror and pain she must have experienced at your hands, as a mother I would have done anything to change places with her,” Gillian said.

“She died terrified and alone in a room with you … all her dreams and aspirations taken,” she said in a victim impact statement.

The victim’s brother Declan said his sister was “a beautiful soul”.

“You’ve ripped our family apart and for what,” he asked the killer.

“There is no reason behind this unspeakable act.”