Grace Millane was 'naive and trusting' in the online sex community, court hears as defence closes case

British backpacker Grace Millane was murdered in New Zealand
PA

Grace Millane was “naive and trusting” in the online sex community, her murder trial in New Zealand has been told.

The British backpacker gave a list of her fetishes to a man she met on a BDSM dating website, the court heard before the defence closed its case.

Three chats were recovered from BDSM online app Whiplr, which Miss Millane was a member of.

A user of the app said he had previously connected with Miss Millane, from Wickford in Essex, and had his police statement read in court.

Forensic officers where the suitcase containing Grace Millane's body was found in the Waitakere Ranges, near Auckland

"I felt like Grace was more naive and trusting in the BDSM area," read the statement of the unidentified man from London.

“The users could be any undesirable person online, and Grace had a naivety."

A 27-year-old man is on trial accused of murdering Miss Millane on December 1 last year, the night before her 22nd birthday, in his hotel room in Auckland.

Prosecutors allege he strangled Miss Millane before disposing of her body.

The parents of Grace Millane, David and Gillian Millane arrive at court at an earlier hearing
Getty Images

His defence told Auckland High Court today that she died accidentally after being consensually choked during sex.

The man suspected of murdering Miss Millane admitted putting Ms Millane's body in a suitcase and burying it in a mountainous woodland area outside Auckland.

He told police he had "freaked out" after finding her dead in the morning after their date.

Defence lawyer Ron Mansfield told the jury there was an “absence of any motive”.

Mansfield said his client "panicked out of a fear of the consequence" when he disposed of Miss Millane's body.

New Zealand courts have banned reporting the defendant's name and the country's government has asked international media to respect that ruling.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in