On December 2, 2018, the parents of twenty-one-year-old Grace Millane, a British tourist on vacation in New Zealand, became concerned when the birthday wishes they sent their daughter went unacknowledged. Having completed her degree at the University of Lincoln a few months earlier, Grace had spent several weeks traveling during her gap year but had been keeping in regular contact with her parents since leaving for her trip. When they still hadn’t heard from their daughter three days later, Grace’s parents called Auckland police and reported her missing. A week later, Grace Millane’s body was discovered in a suitcase near an access road in the Waitakere Ranges, a dense wooded area about twelve miles outside Auckland. A day later, investigators arrested twenty-six-year-old Jesse Kempson, who was the last person seen with Grace on the night of the murder when the two were captured together by a CCTV camera going up to Kempson’s room at the CityLife Hotel.

Thank you to our favorite David White for research assistance

References

BBC News. 2018. Grace Millane: Man appears in court charged with backpacker's murder. December 10. Accessed May 3, 2023. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-essex-46502649.

Creed, Rebecca. 2021. "Former flatmate of Grace Millane's killer says he was." The Echo, November 15.

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Emes, Toby. 2019. "Accused killer admitted Grace was dead in second interview." The Echo, November 14.

Faulkner, Doug. 2019. Grace Millane murder: A trial that gripped a nation. November 22. Accessed May 2, 2023. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-essex-50515326.

Feehan, Katie. 2018. "Brother of Wickford woman missing in New Zealand says lack." The Echo, December 5.

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Jesse Shane Kempson v. The Queen. 2021. SC 11/2021 NZSC 74 (Supreme Court of New Zealand, June 29).

Kirk, Tristan. 2019. "Guilty: Fantasist who killed Grace." London Evening Standard, November 22.

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Kolirin, Lianne. 2020. "Grace Millane's killer attacked other women." The Times, December 22.

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MacDonald, Stuart. 2021. "'Rough sex' defence for murder could be banned." The Times, May 29.

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Cowritten by Alaina Urquhart, Ash Kelley & Dave White (Since 10/2022)

Produced & Edited by Mikie Sirois (Since 2023)

Research by Dave White (Since 10/2022), Alaina Urquhart & Ash Kelley

Listener Correspondence & Collaboration by Debra Lally

Listener Tale Video Edited by Aidan McElman (Since 6/2025)

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