The Tinder Date Who Was Strangled and Stuffed Into a Suitcase

Grace Millane’s backpacking trip turned deadly when she met her date

In 2018, Grace Millane was a 21-year-old British woman who had just graduated and was on a gap year trip. She had been looking forward to her trip to New Zealand for months.

As part of her adventure, she decided to travel solo as a backpacker and her plan was to stay in hostels in the area. First, she travelled to Peru and then as Christmas approached, she landed in New Zealand.

She had only been in New Zealand for 2 weeks but she was looking to have some fun and celebrate her upcoming 22nd birthday. She set up a Tinder date with 28-year-old Jesse Kempson.

On Saturday, December 1, she was scheduled to meet up with Kempson so she set off from the Base Backpackers hostel where she was staying in Auckland to meet up with him. As the date with Kempson was proceeding, she even messaged a friend to say,

“I click with him so well.”

A few hours later, they headed to his hotel room and during sex, Kempson murdered Millane.

A Man With a Sordid Past

What Millane could never have known when she decided to go on a date with Kempson was that he had a history of rape and sex attacks on women.

Kempson had previously terrorized his live-in girlfriend in 2017. He would threaten her with a knife and force her into having rough sex.

Also, earlier in 2018 and months before he met Millane, he had raped another British tourist whom he had met via Tinder. He raped the tourist when she refused to have sex with him following a date. Unfortunately, the tourist never reported the rape until after the murder of Millane.

According to reports, Kempson’s disgusting attitude towards women was because his own mother had rejected him.

He became obssessed with Tinder dating in his early 20s. He would often tell lies about his life to lure women. He would claim that he was a CIA spy, a cancer patient, a cousin of a famous rugby star, a gang member and a playboy on Tinder.

Kempson would even boast of being very wealthy claiming that he was going to buy a restaurant. The truth was that he could not hold a job and had mainly worked as a barman and a sales assistant. He went as far as writing fake invoices and calling his own phone.

He has been described as an odd-ball, a pick-up artist, a pathetic fantasist and a pathological liar by those who know him.

At the time of meeting Millane, he was living at a hotel in Central Auckland and his rent was paid by state benefits.

The Murder

On the fateful day of the murder, Kempson and Millane had decided to meet at one of Auckland’s popular landmarks, The Sky Tower. Kempson first dropped into a bar and started downing at least 4 bottles of beer before the scheduled meeting.

Meanwhile, Millane had left the Backpackers hostel dressed in a black dress and a small handbag. She took photos of Christmas trees and sent them to her parents.

When both Kempson and Millane arrived at the Sky Tower, they immediately recognized each other and even hugged.

At the Sky City complex, they stopped at a burger restaurant and a bar. Kempson acted the gentleman and paid for drinks. Then they left and headed to another restaurant and a bar near Kempson’s hotel.

During this time, there was no indication of discomfort or awkwardness from Millane. She seemed to be having a good time talking and smiling constantly with her date. They even started kissing.

Around 9:30 pm, they headed towards Kempson’s hotel room where the murder took place.

According to a pathologist, Millane was pinned down, strangled, and had bruises on her arms and chest area. A lot of force was used and there was considerable pressure on her neck. Kempson was heavily built and there was no chance that Millane could have fought him off.

After Kempson had killed Millane, he went online and without a care in the world started to peruse extreme porn sites. He even took intimate photos of Millane’s body. It was thought that he was sexually aroused by Millane’s dead body.

Eventually, he also started searching online for specific locations to bury Millane without getting caught.

Shortly after, he went out and purchased a suitcase and cleaning products. With Millane still dead in his room, he even managed to go on another Tinder date.

When he got back to his room, he rented a car and stuffed Millane into a suitcase. He loaded the suitcase into the car and drove to her burial site with a shovel. Kempson buried Millane’s body in a bushland area. The body was recovered by the police 8 days later.

Arrest and Trial

Millane was reported missing by her parents when she failed to contact them. The police immediately narrowed onto Kempson. He became a person of interest because he had posted a message on Millane’s Facebook page on the day of the murder. There was also extensive CCTV footage showing the movements of Millane and Kempson on the day of the murder.

Kempson was interrogated by the police. Initially he lied but the CCTV footage was so incriminating that he finally revealed that he had killed Millane accidentally. He stated that she died during rough sex.

During the trial, the defense used the rough sex angle to defend Kempson. On the other hand, the prosecution claimed that Kempson was cold-blooded and did not seek help for Millane when she was dying.

Kempson was found guilty and sentenced to life with a 17 year non-parole period.

Millane’s murder shocked New Zealand and prompted New Zealand’s Prime Minister to issue a tearful apology to Millane’s family.

In Britain, politicians decided to ban the “rough sex defense” in cases of sexual violence.

Although she died very young and unfairly, Millane‘s death resulted in some positive steps taken towards the defense of women in cases of sexual violence.

Sources: The Daily Mail, The Sun, CNN, Sky News, The Guardian, stuff.co.nz

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