In 2018, 21-year-old Grace Millane graduated from the University of Lincoln with a degree in marketing.
Grace was born in Essex on December 2nd 1996, to parents Gillian and David and had worked incredibly hard to secure her education. In 2015, she left her home in Essex to attend the University of Lincoln, and her hard work paid off.
Grace decided to embark on a gap year with thousands of other students in the UK to celebrate her graduation.
A gap year is typical amongst new graduates and includes travelling around the world before returning home to start their careers. In late 2018, Grace travelled to South America, just one of the many planned stops in her tour.
After 6 weeks of working and travelling around South America, Grace boarded a plane to New Zealand, arriving on November 20th 2018.
Grace was alone when she entered New Zealand, but quickly made friends at the hostels she was staying at. She met people from around the world and quickly found a small group to hang out with.
On November 30th, Grace travelled to Auckland, which would, unfortunately, be the final stop of her journey.
During her time in Auckland, Grace stayed at the Base Backpackers hostel, which cost her just £10 a night. The hostel attracted dozens of young travellers like Grace who were looking to save as much money as possible.
Swipe Right
While in Auckland, Grace was browsing the popular dating app Tinder, looking to meet somebody new and possibly spark a holiday romance. Tinder is a simplified way of meeting new people, swiping right for yes and left for no.
On November 30th 2018, Grace came across the profile of 26-year-old Jesse Kempson, and she immediately swiped right. Luckily for Grace, Jesse also swiped right on her profile, connecting the two.
From the outset, Jesse was determined to get Grace to agree to go on a date. The conversation started casually with Jesse asking if she had any plans.
From here, Jesse sent messages back and forth, trying to convince Grace to go on a date with him. In one odd message, he wrote, “You haven’t said no either 🙂 So what’s it gonna take to make this happen then?”
When Grace didn’t respond, he added, “Would be nice.” In the end, Jesse’s attempts to woo Grace worked, but she faced a dilemma.
She only had casual clothes, and he had talked about taking her out for drinks. Jesse assured Grace this would be fine, and the pair arranged to meet the following day.
On December 1st 2018, the day before Grace’s 22nd birthday, she glammed herself up at the Base Backpackers hostel before heading out at around 5:00 PM.
At 5:45 PM, Grace sent her parents a picture of the SkyCity Tower Christmas tree. She promised to call them tomorrow, and this would be the last time they would ever hear from their daughter.
Shortly before 6:00 PM, Jesse and Grace can be seen meeting outside of the Sky Tower for the first time, exchanging a hug. The two then head inside Andy’s Burger Bar to start their date.
By all accounts, the date went well, and the pair chatted over food and drinks. At 7:15 PM, the pair left and headed to another bar for more drinks.
Throughout the night, the pair would move once more before finally leaving downtown. At 9:41 PM, Grace and Jesse are seen entering the CityLife Hotel, where Jesse was living at the time.
Throughout their date, Jesse and Grace were seen hugging and kissing, and it is believed that Grace returned with Jesse to engage in consensual activities. After entering Jesse’s hotel room, Grace would never be seen alive again.
Missed Birthday Wishes
On December 2nd 2018, Grace’s phone lit up with birthday wishes from her friends and family.
When the messages went initially unanswered, her parents assumed that it was due to the time difference or that Grace was out celebrating. But when days passed without a word from their daughter, David and Gillian became concerned.
Her parents contacted the Auckland Police Department and reported Grace missing. Gillian and David told the media that, at first, the police were in no rush to investigate Grace’s case and merely classified her as a missing person.
As the days went by and the details began to emerge, the Auckland Police Department realised that something was not right.
A Grim Discovery
The Auckland Police began to trace Grace’s final steps, and that is when they found their suspect, Jesse Kempton. CCTV footage confirmed he had been the last person to see Grace alive. CCTV also proved that she had never made it out of his hotel room alive.
In one piece of evidence, Jesse Kempton can be seen taking a baggage trolley to his room. Moments later, he reappears with two large suitcases and takes them outside to his car. Upon seeing this footage, investigators felt uneasy and knew they needed to dig even deeper.
Investigators began tracking Jesse’s every move and quickly discovered a possible crime scene. On December 9th 2018, their fears were confirmed when they encountered a shallow grave in the Waitakere Ranges in Piha, just outside Auckland. Inside the suitcases were the remains of Grace Millane.
A post-mortem examination was carried out on Grace’s remains, the results of which have never been released to the public.
We do know that Grace had defensive wounds on her body, which were inconsistent with Jesse’s later defence. Grace’s family were notified of the discovery, and their world fell apart.
A Nation In Mourning
The entirety of New Zealand and the UK was shocked by Grace’s murder. Jesse Kempton was promptly arrested and held pending a trial. The then Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, apologised to Grace’s family, as she should have been safe in the country.
In November 2019, New Zealand residents watched on as Jesse Kempton’s trial officially began.
The prosecution alleged that Jesse strangled Grace in his hotel room after their Tinder date and also made other shocking allegations. Once Grace was dead, Jesse is said to have taken intimate photos of her.
After strangling Grace to death, Jesse made Google searches for ‘Flesh-eating birds,’ ‘Are there vultures in New Zealand?’, ‘Hottest fire’, ‘large bags near me’, and ‘Waitakere Ranges’. He also made other disturbing searches about strangulation and rigour mortis.
Jesse’s defence made some bizarre and insensitive claims during the trial. The most shocking of which was that Grace had been killed accidentally in a breath play game gone wrong. He also claimed that Grace enjoyed rough lovemaking and tried to hide behind this defence to avoid more serious charges.
This defence sparked serious conversations about the ‘rough intercourse’ defence and how Grace was being blamed for the events that led up to her death.
Some online believed that Grace ‘deserved’ what happened to her because she went to a hotel room with a stranger and believed Jesse’s claims of a bedroom game gone wrong.
Thankfully, the jury saw through Jesse Kempson’s disgusting attempt to deflect blame back onto Grace and on November 22nd 2019, Jesse Kempson was found guilty of murder.
During the trial, Jesse Kempton maintained his innocence and did not show a morsel of remorse for what he had done. Jesse screamed after the verdict was read, “You have no reason to convict me.”
In February 2020, Jesse Kempson’s sentencing hearing was held in Auckland, where he was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum of 17 years. Jesse has since made several appeals, the last of which was in June 2021, after which all of his avenues to appeal collapsed.
During the trial, other women came forward and testified to Jesse’s violent and coercive behaviour. It was found that prior to the conviction for Grace Millane’s murder, Jesse Kempson had faced a total of 9 other charges, including SA, threatening to kill and assault.
Jesse Kempson will remain behind bars until 2036, when he will be referred to the parole board. His parole will likely be denied, and he will spend the rest of his life behind bars, where he belongs.
Sources
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/7911725/grace-millane-murder-new-zealand-jesse-kempson/
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