The Tinder date who strangled British backpacker Grace Millane during sex has failed in his last-ditch bid for freedom.
He was jailed for life with a non-parole period of 17 years for murdering Ms Millane in his Auckland apartment in December 2018.
But despite having no more options to avoid life in prison, the 28-year-old still cannot be named due to a court ruling in New Zealand.
The vile killer s lawyers managed to keep his name secret by appealing to the Supreme Court on Friday morning, hours before the appeal verdict.
British backpacker Grace Millane, left, was strangled to death after meeting her killer via Tinder on December 1, 2018 – the day before her 22nd birthday
Grace Millane murder appeal: A brief encounter; a date, with death its conclusion
18 Dec, 2020 12:00 AM
7 minutes to read
Focus: Grace Millane s family read their victim impact statements. Video / Chris Tarpey
NZ Herald A brief encounter; a date, with death its conclusion. A young woman, Grace Millane, died; a young man, the appellant, is now serving a life sentence for her murder. He accepts his actions caused her death. But he says he is not culpable of her murder.
This haunting description was how the Court of Appeal started its 63-page judgment, which today dismissed an effort by the British backpacker s murderer to quash his conviction and 17-year non-parole period.
David White stuff.co.nz
Detective Inspector Scott Beard, who led the Grace Millane murder investigation, says rough sex is not a defence to murder.
Taxpayers have spent more than four hundred thousands dollars on legal fees to help the man who killed Grace Millane defend himself. The 28-year-old, who now has name suppression until further court order, was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum non-parole period of 17 years for the murder of Grace, 21, who was from Essex in the UK. The graduate of the University of Lincoln in England, died sometime between December 1 and 2, 2018 after she went on a Tinder date with the man in Auckland s CBD.
Grace Millane: British backpacker s murderer loses appeal in New Zealand dailytelegraph.com.au - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from dailytelegraph.com.au Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Grace Millane was killed in November 2018
Credit: Hagen Hopkins /GETTY IMAGES
The man who was convicted of murdering British backpacker Grace Millane in New Zealand has lost his appeal against life imprisonment.
The killer was on Friday denied his bid to reduce his sentence, hours after New Zealand s Supreme Court made a last-minute order to keep his identity secret until a second appeal is completed.
The man murdered Ms Millane in December 2018. The jury at the trial heard that the 22-year-old from Essex was strangled to death on her birthday by the man she met on a dating app.
The defendant argued that her death was not murder but the result of rough sex that had gone wrong.