Image copyright Lucie Blackman Trust The mother of a woman murdered in New Zealand has told her killer she thinks about “the terror and pain she must have experienced at your hand”.
A 28-year-old man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is being sentenced for strangling Grace Millane while on a Tinder date in December 2018.
Her mother Gillian Millane told the killer “she died terrified and alone in your room”.
The man is being sentenced for murder at Auckland High Court.
Mrs Millane, speaking to the court via a video-link and next to a picture of her daughter, told the man she had wanted to take her own life because of the pain he had caused her.
She said: “Grace wasn’t just my daughter. She was my friend. My very best friend.
“I am absolutely heartbroken that you have taken my daughter’s future and robbed us of so many memories that we were going to create.
“The tears I shed are never-ending at the thought of never having the chance to kiss my Grace goodbye.”
Her daughter’s murderer held his head in his hands as he listened to the impact his “barbaric actions” have had on his victim’s family.
Ms Millane, from Wickford in Essex, met her killer on the dating app while travelling in Auckland.
The pair spent the evening drinking before returning to the man’s room in the CityLife hotel in central Auckland where he killed her.
He then disposed of her body by burying it in a suitcase in the Waitākere Ranges, a mountainous area outside the city.
He was found guilty of murder last year.
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