By Catrin Owen
Auckland: The man convicted of killing British backpacker Grace Millane will spend at least 17 years behind bars for the "highly callous" murder.
Grace, 21, died sometime between December 1 and 2, 2018, after she went on a Tinder date with the man in Auckland's CBD.
British tourist Grace Millane.Credit: Facebook
The now 28-year-old, who cannot be named, denied murder and claimed her death was a tragic accident after the pair had rough sex at his apartment.
After a three-week-long trial at the High Court at Auckland, the jury took just over five hours to deliver a guilty verdict.
On Friday, he was sentenced by Justice Simon Moore to life imprisonment with a minimum non-parole period of 17 years.
At the sentencing, Crown prosecutor Brian Dickey said the killer should spend at least 16 years in prison as there was a number of aggravating factors, such as the brutality and callousness he showed after killing Grace
That included searching for pornography and taking intimate photographs of Grace.
Grace's parents David and Gillian Millane arrive with Detective Inspector Scott Beard, left, at the Auckland High Court for a previous hearing.Credit: Getty Images
Dickey said this was not a case of rough sex that went wrong, but a "violent death".
The killer's lawyer Ian Brookie said while his client accepted the judge must sentence him, he still maintained his innocence.
Brookie said the pair engaged in consensual sex that night and there was no evidence of a non-consensual attack on Grace.
He said this was not a sustained attack and burying and concealing a victim's body was not that uncommon in New Zealand.
"There's no evidence from the scene or the post-mortem that would support a brutal and callous death," Brookie said.
The defence still did not accept the intimate photographs were taken after Grace's death and that the killer viewed pornography, he said.
The killer had a difficult and traumatic upbringing and was cut off from his mother and brother from an early age, he said.
The man who killed Grace, whose identity has been suppressed, being interviewed by police.
In December 2018, he was isolated from his family and there was no question he had "issues".
Justice Moore agreed with the Crown. He said the killer had searched for pornography and taken intimate photos of her after her death.
The judge said the killer tailored his story to match what he knew of the police investigation into Grace's disappearance and what the police were likely to uncover.
Justice Moore said a psychologist had found the killer at "very high risk" of reoffending. No mental health issues had yet been diagnosed.
Grace Millane disappeared on the eve of her 22nd birthday in December 2018. Credit: Stuff
Justice Moore accepted manual strangulation was a physical and intimate force of violence, but accepted the murder was not pre-meditated.
"This was not driven by rage or loss of self-control," Justice Moore said.
Justice Moore said Grace was vulnerable as she trusted the killer enough to go into his room and engage in intimate physical activity.
"You were a large powerful man, she was diminutive ... you were in a position of total physical dominance."
Justice Simon Moore addresses the court on Friday. Credit: Getty Image
Justice Moore found Grace must have died before 1.20am on December 2 when the killer searched "Waitakere Ranges" on his phone.
Millane's lifeless body was in the room when he searched and accessed pornographic sites.
"You took grossly intrusive intimate photos."
The killer's sense of self-entitlement and his objectification of Grace's body showed his high degree of callousness, Justice Moore said.
"In my view, you can [take] little credit for showing the police where Ms Millane's body was ... the police were already on your heels."
After the hearing, Crown prosecutor Brian Dickey said he had spoken to the family and they "seemed happy" with the sentence.
Auckland Crown Solicitor Brian Dickey addresses the court on Friday. Credit: Getty Images
Speaking to media outside the court, Detective Inspector Scott Beard, who led the police investigation, thanked those who worked tirelessly to get "justice for Grace", and spoke of the "absolutely unbelievable" support from the public.
Turning to the case, he said rough sex should not be used as a defence to murder and said strangling someone for five to 10 minutes until they die "is not rough sex".
He said the impact of having to listen to intimate details about their daughter was tough for the Millane family, and losing her on her birthday while she was alone in a foreign country was a life sentence for them.
Family ripped apart
Grace's family, including her mother Gillian, brother Declan and sister-in-law Victoria read their victim impact statements via a video link from Essex.
Grace's mother Gillian Millane holds a family photograph during her televised victim impact statement from her home in the UK. Credit: Getty Images
The three told the court their lives had been ripped apart.
"No life sentence you receive today will match the life sentence without my Grace. But I will do my utmost to ensure that any other family will not go through what we have endured," Gillian said.
"You have ripped a hole in my heart, one that will never be repaired.
"You walked into our lives and destroyed Grace in pursuit of your own sexual gratification."
The killer was also given his first strike under the three strikes regime.