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Solved December 1, 2018 Homicide

Grace Millane

Status Solved
Type Homicide
Date December 1, 2018
Location Auckland, New Zealand
Victim Age 22
Gender Female

British backpacker Grace Millane was murdered by a man she met on Tinder in Auckland, New Zealand on her 22nd birthday. Jesse Kempson was convicted of murder.

Grace Millane, a 22-year-old British backpacker, was killed on December 1, 2018—her birthday—after a Tinder date in Auckland, New Zealand. She had been traveling the world after graduating from university.

Her date, Jesse Kempson, strangled her in his hotel room. He took intimate photos of her body, stuffed it in a suitcase, and buried it in a wooded area outside Auckland.

Kempson claimed Grace died accidentally during consensual rough sex. The jury rejected this defense. He was convicted of murder in November 2019.

Grace's father David gave an emotional press conference in Auckland. The case sparked a national conversation in New Zealand about violence against women. Kempson's name was initially suppressed under New Zealand law.

homicide New Zealand 2010s solved
2018-12-01
Grace Millane murdered in Auckland.
2019-11-22
Kempson convicted of murder.

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